Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1873, Part 12

Author: Worcester (Mass.)
Publication date: 1873
Publisher: The City
Number of Pages: 450


USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1873 > Part 12


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SECT. 3. There shall be appointed at this first meeting of the Board by the Chair, four standing committees, of three members each : one on Finance, one on the Farm, one on Relief, and one on Truant School.


SECT. 4. The Finance Committee shall examine all bills, and if found correct, shall audit the same.


SECT. 5. The committee on the Farm shall have charge of the farm and the inmates of the Institution. Under the direction of the Board they shall make, advise, or order all purchases and supplies for the same, and examine and approve all bills contracted therefor. They shall visit the institution monthly, and make to the Board at each monthly meeting a report of the condition of the same.


154


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


SECT. 6. The Committee on Relief shall direct no aid to be allowed unless the case has been fully examined and a proper record made of all the facts connected therewith. In cases of doubt they shall exam- ine with the clerk all new applicants for relief, who, if found entitled thereto, shall then receive temporary aid. The Committee shall exam- ine all bills for aid authorized by the clerk, and shall audit the same if found correct.


SECT. 7. The Committee on the School shall have control of all matters relating to the interests of the Truant School. They shall furnish the requisite books and apparatus; employ the teacher, and in cases of difficulty decide questions of discipline.


SECT. 8. The regular meetings of the Board shall be held in the Aldermen's room on the first Friday of each month, and the chairman may call special meetings whenever it may be necessary.


SECT. 9. These By-laws may be altered or amended at any regular meeting of the Board, provided the alteration has been proposed at a previous regular meeting, and the subject laid over one month.


February 8, 1867. . Adopted by unanimous vote of Board.


GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.


RULES AND REGULATIONS


AT THE


ALMS-HOUSE AND FARM.


1st. The whole establishment shall be under the general supervision of the Board of Overseers of the Poor.


2d. The immediate direction of the Institution shall be under the supervision of a Superintendent and Matron.


3d. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent and Matron to see that the inmates labor in such a way, and at such times as they may direct, and that no one shall be permitted to lead an idle life.


4th. The Superintendent shall see that the industrious and deserv- ing are rewarded, and the idle and dissolute are punished.


5th. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to make a monthly report to the Board of Overseers at their monthly meetings, of any in- formation he may be possessed of relating to the interests of the Institution.


6th. No person shall be allowed to visit the Institution on the Sab- bath without a permit from some member of the Board of Overseers or the Superintendent.


7th. No person shall be allowed to converse or have intercourse with any prisoner sent to the institution by the Police or any other Court, without permission of the Superintendent, or some member of the Board of Overseers.


8th. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to see that all sen- tences imposed upon persons sent by any Court are strictly enforced.


9th. The Superintendent and Matron shall in no instance whatever, leave the Institution at the same time, without permission from some member of the Committee on the Farm, and not then until some suita- ble person shall be obtained by them to take charge of the Institution during their absence.


10th. The Superintendent is expressly directed to prohibit all per- sons from bringing or drinking Ardent Spirits upon the premises, without direction of the attending physician.


21


156


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


11th. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent and Matron to see that all the inmates of the Institution bathe as often as once a week, unless otherwise directed by the attending Physician.


12th. No pauper shall leave the Alms-house without permission from the Superintendent.


13th. The Superintendent is hereby directed to report to the Board of Overseers, any inmate who shall refuse to comply with the foregoing regulations relating to their discipline and government.


WORCESTER, February 8, 1867. Adopted by unanimous vote of the Board.


GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.


REGULATIONS


FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE


TRUANT SCHOOL OF THE CITY OF WORCESTER.


SECTION I.


ARTICLE 1. The School shall be under the general direction of the Committee on the Truant School, which shall be appointed by the Mayor, from the Board of Overseers of the Poor.


SECTION II.


ARTICLE 1. The Superintendent of the Alms-house shall keep a sepa- rate book of accounts for the Truant School, in which he shall credit all appropriations for its support, and all the labor of the boys at a price fixed by the Board of Overseers of the Poor, and he shall charge against the school all the expenses incurred for its support, including the cost of the clothing and the board of the boys, and the salary and board of the teacher.


ART. 2. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to aid the teacher to secure prompt attendance in the school, ready obedience, good deportment and faithfulness to study.


SECTION III.


ARTICLE 1. It shall be the duty of the teacher of the Truant School to keep a register of attendance, in which shall be noted the date, cause and length of, and authority for, every case of tardiness or absence from the school. The teacher shall also keep a faithful record of the deportment of each scholar, with the reason for, nature and ex- tent of, every punishment inflicted, either personally or by the Superin- tendent.


158


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


ART. 2. The Teacher shall make a quarterly report of the above and other matters pertaining to the interests of the School, to the Board of Overseers of the Poor, at their meeting next succeeding the close of the quarter.


ART. 3. The Teacher shall labor to inspire the pupils with self-re- spect, and, to this end, shall insist on cleanliness of person ; and shall strive to inculcate principles of morality and justice.


ART. 4. The teacher shall assemble them every Sunday forenoon, and spend an hour with them in the reading and study of the New Testament, but shall strictly abstain from all sectarian comment.


ART. 5. Vacations of two weeks each, in the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, may be allowed at a time fixed by the Commit- tee. And the regular exercises of the school may be omitted on Sat- urdays.


ART. 6. It shall be the duty of the teacher to assemble and meet the pupils at other times than the hours of School, and especially on Saturdays and Sundays, that she may acquaint herself with their char- acter and needs, in order thereby the better to effect their reform.


ART. 7. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to see that all regulations of the school are faithfully enforcetl.


GENERAL REGULATIONS.


-


ARTICLE 1. From the 1st of April to the 1st of October there shall be only one session of the Truant School each day, which shall invariably begin at 8 A. M., and close at 12 M. No boy shall be kept out of the school for any purpose whatever, except in cases of emer gency in the busy farming season, and every such case shall be recorded as provided in Sec. 3, Article 1, and reported by the Superintendent at the next meeting of the Board of Overseers of the Poor. It shall also enter into the next quarterly report of the teacher. From the 1st of October to the 1st of April, there shall be two daily sessions of the school, from 9 A. M. to 12 M., and from 2 to 4 P. M., and on no account shall a boy be taken from the school during this season, except by per- mission previously obtained from the Mayor or some member of the Committee on the Truant School.


ART. 2. The use of tobacco, in any form, by the boys, is prohibited, and both the Superintendent and teacher are held responsible for the enforcement of this prohibition.


ART. 3. The teacher shall be employed and the salary fixed by the Committee on the School, subject to the approval of the Board, but no teacher shall be engaged without previously passing a satisfactory ex- amination according to the laws of the Commonwealth and the rules of the School Committee of the City of Worcester.


ART. 4. Each pupil, whose deportment and scholarship have been satisfactory for one month, shall be entitled to some privilege or reward not otherwise granted ; and continuous good conduct shall be rewarded by a recommendation for pardon one month or more before the expira- tion of the sentence.


These regulations shall be made known to each boy when he enters the school.


ART. 5. The rate of board per week to be charged by the Superin- tendent against the teacher and pupils of the Truant School shall be fixed annually by the Overseers of the Poor at their regular meeting in January, but they may change it at any time they deem it necessary by a vote of a majority of the members of the Board. The price per hour of the services of the boys shall also be fixed at the same time and in the same manner, subject likewise to the same conditions of change.


GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.


REPORT


OF THE


COMMITTEE ON THE TRUANT SCHOOL.


Gentlemen of the City Council :


The committee on the Truant School respectfully submit the following report for the year ending Nov. 30, 1873.


The last Legislature enacted that "Each city and town' shall make all needful provisions and arrangements concerning habitual truants and children between the ages of seven and fifteen years, who may be found wandering about in the streets or public places of such city or town, having no lawful occupation or business, not attending school, and growing up in ignorance." This is a modi- fication of the old law, which fixed the age at from seven to six- teen years.


Another section of this same chapter of the laws enjoins that "The school committee of the several cities and towns shall appoint and fix the compensation of two or more suitable per- sons, to be designated as truant officers, who shall, under the direction of said committee, inquire into all cases arising under such By-Laws, and shall alone be authorized in case of violation thereof, to make complaint and carry into execution the judgment thereon."


In accordance with this statute the following ordinance passed the City Council Nov. 24, 1873. It is introduced here for the information of any into whose hands this report may fall :-


161


TRUANT SCHOOL.


AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING TRUANT CHILDREN.


Be it Ordained by the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the City of Worcester in City Council assembled, as follows :-


Sec. 1. Any child between the ages of seven and fifteen years, who is an habitual truant, or is found wandering about in the streets or public places of the city of Worcester, having no lawful occupation or business, not attending school, and grow- ing up in ignorance, shall, upon conviction thereof, be committed to the Truant School in said city for a term not exceeding two years.


Sec. 2. Truant officers, duly appointed, are authorized and empowered to take into custody any such child and place him in the school to which he shall have been assigned by authority of the school committee of said city of Worcester.


Sec. 3. A Truant School is hereby established at the Alms- House in said city, and assigned and provided as the place of confinement, discipline and instruction of all persons committed thereto according to law.


Sec. 4. Chapter fifty-one of the laws and ordinances of said city, passed on the sixteenth day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, is hereby repealed : but such repeal shall not affect any act done, or any forfeiture or penalty hereto- fore incurred.


Sec. 5. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its passage.


Chapter 279 of the Laws of 1873 contains the following :-


"Every person having under his control a child between the ages of eight and twelve years, shall annually cause such child to attend some public day school in the city or town in which he resides, at least twenty weeks ; and for every neglect of such duty, the party offending shall forfeit to the use of the public schools of such city or town, a sum not exceeding twenty dol- lars."


Several good causes will exempt any one from the penalty : Among them the fact that the child has attended some private day school, approved by the school committee, the required time.


162


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


This law differs from the one previously in force, in that it ex- tends the time for compulsory attendance from twelve to twenty weeks, the age being limited in this case to twelve years.


During the first part of the year a single truant officer acted under the old ordinance. Notorious truants there were, and they were brought to light by the officer, and the facts made patent ; but owing to some defects in the ordinance, it seemed impossible to convict them if a case were defended, and advantage taken of all the technicalities. This difficulty was well understood by truant boys, and the recruits to their ranks were numerous. Latterly two officers have acted ; and in proportion as the work was thoroughly done the cases of truancy have decreased.


From these causes the number of truants sent to this school the past year is less than formerly. At present, only four are there.


In former reports, the original purpose of this school, which is its purpose still, to reform boys tending to a vicious life ; and its reflex influence upon boys "of like passions" in the city schools, have been set forth at length. These important purposes should not be lost sight of.


The course by which a boy is brought here should also be kept in mind, in judging both of the need and the utility of such a school, the repeated admonitions of his teacher, the active inter- est of his parents when that can by any means be secured, the personal warnings of the Superintendent of schools, and the ser- vices of the truant officer to bring him back to school. Where all these influences have failed it is obvious that the restraint of the Truant School is indispensable, if the boy is to be reformed.


From the small number at present in the school, it may be in- ferred that the institution is no longer needed. But it is the very existence of this school, and the growing certainty of being sent there, which restrains boys from persistent truancy. If there were no such school the truants would multiply.


In former years the expenses of the school have been larger than they were the present year. Only $1,659.61 have been ex- pended of the appropriation of $3,000. It is possible that the whole sum may be needed another year. The committee would therefore recommend that the usual amount be appropriated.


TRUANT SCHOOL. 163


The following statistics exhibit the attendance, cost per scholar, etc., for the year 1873 :-


Whole number sentenced to this school since its origin, December,


1863,


1 167


· Number sentenced in 1873,


9


Different pupils during the year,


12


Average number in the school,


8.25


Cases of absence,


27


Cases of tardiness,


0


Cases of corporal punishment,


13


Average deportment,


.857


Per cent. of attendance,


.976


Cost of board, teacher and pupils, at $2.50 per week,


$959 75


Cost of clothing, bedding, books, etc.,


269 86


Tuition and supervision,


475 00


Total cost,


$1,704 61


Value of boys' labor,


45 00


Net expense, .


$1,659 61


Appropriation,


3,000 00


Unexpended balance,


$1,340 39


Value of school property,


332 50


Cost per week for each pupil,


3 87


Same in 1872,


3 02


Total yearly cost per pupil,


201 16


Same in 1871,


156 87


All which is respectfully submitted.


A. P. MARBLE, W. ANSEL WASHBURN, O. L. HATCH,


Committee on the Truant School.


CITY HALL, Worcester, Dec. 22, 1873.


22


ANNUAL REPORT


OF THE COMMISSION OF


PUBLIC GROUNDS.


To The Honorable City Council :


The "REPORT of all their acts and doings, and of the condition of the PUBLIC GROUNDS and shade trees and ornamental trees thereon, and on said streets and highways, and an account of re- ceipts and expenditures for the same" for the financial year end- . ing November 30th, A. D. 1873, which the COMMISSION OF PUBLIC


GROUNDS is required by the City Charter to render, in the month of January, is herein submitted :


City of Worcester in account with Commission of Public Grounds,


Dr .:


Cash balance on hand 12 o'clock, p. m., Nov. 30, 1872, $832 82


Per contra, Cr. :


By amount "sunk" by the Auditor, a. m., Dec. 1, 1872, 832 82


A. D. 1873, Dr. :


Appropriation,


$4,000 00


Rent of Elm Park, sale of grass, etc. etc.,


578 00


$4,578 00


166


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


Per contra, Cr .:


Bills left over from 1872 (not presented, $57 35


Account of urinals.


Kinnicutt & Co., castings and labor,


$300 00


D. M. Woodward, bed stones, etc.,


19 25


Water Department (setting, &c.),


62 00


$381 25


Account of trees, guards, etc. etc.


James Draper, (for John Foley) trees and planting,


$4 50


O. B. Hadwen, trees and planting, 108 00


Cornelius Collins, trees and planting,


204 00


Sumner Bridges, 66 66


5 00


Benjamin C. Jaques (labor and stock for guards of new and old trees, 418 76


Technical Institute (castings and stock for guards,)


300 00


$1,040 26


In account of grading the Common, manure, etc .:


Geo. T. Sutton, new pump on Common, repairs at Elm Park,


$23 00


J. D. Lovell, seeds, tools, &c., 51 86


C. Hamilton, Report of 1872, 25 46


8 50


In re Lincoln, Chairman, vs. Dean,


122 97


Riley & Smith, 2,910 yds. earth at 25 cts., . 66 66 labor at grading,


89 99


Highway Department, street scrapings,


145 30


James Downey, manure,


25 67


W. F. Pond,


23 50


C. F. Henry, 66


37 69


J. B. Brooks,


30 65


$1,312 09


Account of Public Grounds, trimming trees, etc .:


$67 20


Samuel F. Shattuck, pruning, 66 Charles H. Perry,


43 25


David Rowe and others, labor,


473 10


John Barnes and team, labor and hire of,


61 85


Michael McGrath, Elm Park,


335 77


John Barnes, labor and team, Elm Park,


35 95


Benj. C. Jaques, one-half cost of repairs to west fence of Elm Park, 4 60


$1,021 72


Repairs of lawn mower, tools, sharpening, etc.,


727 50


167


· PUBLIC GROUNDS.


Summary :


Old bills from 1872,


$57 35


Account of urinals, 381 25


" trees, guards, etc.,


1,040 26


" grading Common, etc.,


1,312 00


" Public Grounds, trees, care of, etc.,


1,021 72


Total expenditure,


$3,812 67


Appropriation and revenue,


$4,578 00


Less


3,812 67


Leaving on hand, Nov. 30, 1873,


$765 33


The property on hand belonging to the COMMISSION consists of:


1 Wheelbarrow. 27 Tree Guards of 3 to 7 pickets each.


20 Settees.


1 Iron Bar.


43 Signs.


1 Mowing Machine (worn out).


1 Roller.


1 Dung Fork.


2 Iron Rakes.


1 Grass Hook.


2 Wooden Rakes.


1 Hoe.


1 Scythe.


1 Pick-axe.


45 Tree Guards of 12 pickets each.


Together with a good supply of affirmative ballots upon the ques- tion of accepting the Act providing for the removal from the Common of the Meeting House of the First Parish.


Ever since the work of grading that portion of the Common lying east of the railways was completed, curiosity has been rife as to the intentions of the COMMISSION relative to the part which remained untouched. This curiosity manifested its friendliness by frequent proffers of gratuitous advice, and occasionally its chagrin by sneers at those who were charitably supposed to have grown weary in well doing. That ubiquitous committee which bestrides the fences or snores upon the settees ; to whose mem- bers the dumping of a car-load of paving stones is an individual concern, and without immediate explanation a personal insult ; who "toil not, neither do they spin," but have ever tobacco for their pipes ; who are too lazy to dig, and if to beg ashamed, are yet without visible means of support ; that precious class of our fellow citizens was vociferous in denouncing the inertia of the COMMISSION, and in assurances of what its brazen professors could and would accomplish, were only their arms deep enough in the City Treasury.


168


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


But the opportunity, when it actually presented itself, was not suffered to pass unimproved. The excavation of a cellar upon the old homestead of Hon. Isaac Davis, enabled the COMMISSION to procure all the earth necessary to bring the whole tract up to grade ; although, by a singular coincidence, in this as in the similar work of A. D. 1871, there was not found a load deficient or to spare. The capacity of that piece of ground to absorb ma- terial was something astonishing. Twenty-nine hundred and ten yards of dirt were required before the correct grade could be achieved. Procured so handy, the COMMISSION deemed itself for- tunate in obtaining it at any rate, but felicitated itself doubly upon getting it on such reasonable terms. For a very large quan- tity of the surface soil consisted of garden loam, rich enough to be applied as top dressing, and which was therefore kept sepa- rate to be used for that especial purpose. When executing their initial task, in A. D. 1871, extreme diffculty was experienced in procuring material enough of sufficiently good quality to employ as a covering for the forbidding acres of hardpan. By scraping streets and raking stables, however, something was accomplished. How much, combined with the additional stimulus and protection of manure and snow during the winter of A. D. 1871-2, let the very satisfactory appearance of the several detached lawns throughout the past summer bear witness. Nevertheless those lawns are less sloping than could be wished and, from the nature of their constituents, would well repay under-drainage ; a work, however, that this COMMISSION does not propose to itself, now or hereafter.


The tract between Main street and the Railways was filled up to grade, sown thickly, and judiciously studded with polite re- quests to all, citizens or strangers, to keep off the grass. The citizen, with the deference that he has always paid to the reason- able rules of this COMMISSION, rules established in his own in- terest as coparcener, has cheerfully refrained from trampling upon the nascent herbage. Strangers have not been seen for many a weary month and are, it is greatly to be feared, suffering from acute grammatical inflammation. Perhaps it may be well enough to state, for general information, that it has not been the inten- tion of this COMMISSION to make the grass upon the Common an


169


PUBLIC GROUNDS.


object of adoration, but to preserve the freshness of the lawns for the enjoyment of their fellow citizens; expecting that their ver- dure would be appreciated upon Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and other holidays, when the people have a habit of disre- garding all restraint, except only that imposed by their own good sense.


Little could be done towards the construction of paths during the past season, but fortunately not much was required. No sat- isfactory arrangement of the grounds can be executed so long as the City Hall and Meeting House of the First Parish disfigure them. It must needs be but a short time before the requirements of the public business can no longer be met without a new City Hall. Already the swarm which fed delighted upon the honey as it fell from the lips of the modern Chrysostom ! has winged its flight to


"Fresh fields and pastures new."


Had the Act of the General Court, which allowed the City to resume possession of that Meeting House, been accepted, as it would have been but for the malign influence of a Christian (?) Saturnalia, a great public improvement might be consummated, the First Parish materially benefited, and the sacred cause of Religion relieved from a chronic scandal. That Act has not spent its force, but may be voted upon at any time hereafter des- ignated by the City Council. The men who think that an in- terest account, "running to the millennium" would be less than a payment out of hand, will doubtless continue to resist an accept, ance of the Act. Yet the necessity is inexorable, and the ulti- mate removal or demolition of that Meeting House is as certain as anything within the compass of human ability. Meanwhile let the people, familiarizing themselves with the idea that a new City Hall will have to be erected before many years have elapsed, nerve themselves also to the determination that the scant territory of their little Common shall not be wrested from its proper uses while there are so many other suitable sites for such an edifice.


The Fences around the Common are, as any one may see, in their usual dilapidated condition. Worthless for exclusion of the runaway horse or the Texan wild steer, they have not the merit of beauty to suggest their longer toleration. It has been


%


170


CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 28.


the intention of this COMMISSION to remove them by sections, em- ploying the rails thus gained for repairs upon the decaying en- closure of Elm Park. Sufficient material can be secured in this way to keep the fences about that Park in a comparatively decent state for years. But the Common should not be neglected. Fences of themselves are neither the essence of beauty nor its suggestion. One can possess more grace in structure than another, as can a gaol. But there is never wanting to them a sense of constraint from which any possible relief should be welcome. Early in the spring of A. D. 1873, this COMMISSION, desiring that improvements in this respect should keep pace with the reclama- tion of the territory, petitioned the Honorable Council to set a substantial kerbstone along the line of Park Street, where there is none at present, said kerb being dressed to an acute edge atop, and rising six inches above the crown of the path inside. This kerb could be placed upon the existing stone posts, if thought ad- visable, they being broken off short for the purpose. If desired, an independent base might be used, rings being let into those posts to fasten animals thereto, so as to insure a more rigid blockade of the street. This request for a trial of what can scarcely be regarded as an experiment, is respectfully renewed. A commencement might well be made upon the north side of Park Street.




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