USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1876 > Part 3
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29
CITY MARSHAL.
between the city and village, so that as we now stand the police are practically of no benefit to that place. What remains to be done in this matter is for you to determine. The same remarks apply to other portions of the City, and I hope and trust that some action will be taken whereby this difficulty may be remedied.
In addition to the miscellaneous duties performed, of which mention has been made, I would state that there has been one thousand nine hundred and ninety five days of extra duty done by the police, including the details from the " specials."
From this class, no details for places of amusements, concerts, or escorts can be made, for the reason that they are not dressed in the Police Uniform, which is desirable for officers performing these duties.
The pay of the Police is as small here as in any other city, and smaller than in most of them, so that a better time could not be had to increase the force to a number something near the absolute requirements, and also provide Station Houses for them.
Entire harmony has prevailed in the department, during the year, and each has done what he could for the success of the whole. Our aim has been the public good, and I am happy to say that at no time since I became acquainted with police business, has the department stood so well, in the estimation of the citizens of Worcester and its vicinity, as at the present time.
But very few complaints of any description have been made against any member of the force. The business of a Police Officer is beginning to be respected, and with none but men of character and responsibility to fill those positions, its efficiency would be second to no other department.
In closing this report, I can but kindly remember His Honor Mayor Jillson, who has done so much and so well in everything that pertains to the interests of this department. His wise counsels are always freely given, and the officers have invariably understood that in him they had a steadfast friend, and one who would not be slow to reprove, when reproof was necessary.
My Official Acts have been endorsed by him in every case, and the doings of the department complimented as they deserved.
Our relations with the State Detective for this City, Mr. Patrick O'Day, have been friendly, and we have worked together, each for the other's good ; and here I would say that Mr. O'Day is deserving of great credit for the zeal and fidelity he has shown in his business, and for his success, the records show him to be second to none.
Assistant Marshals Dyson and McFarland, and also Capt. Atkinson, are officers of great experience, and every way valuable to the City. Their faithfulness to every trust confided
30
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 31.
to them, has made their services invaluable to me. This, with their good judgment in a business like this, has materially lightened the duties and responsibilities resting upon the manage- ment of the entire department.
Mr. Dyson has been a regular attendant at every fire during the year, and has taken charge of police matters at those places, and this with the other duties performed by him, place him second to none for this position.
The rank and file of the department, are men that command the respect of the community. Many of them have had the experience of years in the service, and consequently have become familiar with the duties and responsibilities of their stations ; and it is a poor policy that removes good officers for no other cause than political disability.
Hoping and trusting that the City Council will take the interest of the Police Department into careful consideration, and keep it properly furnished with men and conveniences for the prompt and reasonable discharge of their duties in every part of the City (knowing that, in so doing, the tax-payers will heartily .concur), I herewith submit this, the record of our work.
Very Respectfully,
W. ANSEL WASHBURN, City Marshal.
POLICE IN 1876.
CITY MARSHAL, W. ANSEL WASHBURN. ASSISTANT CITY MARSHALS.
JOS. M. DYSON.
E. D. MCFARLAND.
CAPTAIN. AMOS ATKINSON. DETECTIVE. EZRA CHURCHILL. PATROLMEN.
Bleau, Sam'l.
Hannigan, John.
Piper, W. A.
Barker, C. W.
Hagan, P. S.
Ranger, S. W.
Barker, G. V.
Harper, Louis.
Sandner, Henry.
Bliss, G. S.
Harris, F. H. Tyler, Elliott.
Bonn, A. N.
Hennessey, James.
Thomas, Quincy A.
Briggs, C. S.
Hill, John E.
Willard, Geo. A. Williams, Daniel.
Colby, R. M.
Hubbard, M. J.
Deady, Michael.
Johnson, W. H.
Walsh, M. J.
Diggins, Patrick.
Johnson, O. A.
Woodard, James.
Fairbanks, Edson.
Keyes, W. C.
Wheeler, W. A.
Flint, J. H.
March, Addison.
* C. H. Benchley.
Foster, T. R.
Martin, Austin.
* C. A. Ramsdell.
French, Cornelius.
Matthews, D. A.
* C. H. Cleveland.
Garland, C. A.
McDonnell, John.
* F. C. Whitcomb.
Gates, Jaalam.
Mecorney, H. H.
* J. M. Dollen.
Green, M. S.
O'Connor, Patrick.
* A. E. Hardy.
* Special Officers that have been detailed for regular duty, during a portion of the year.
لهـ
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
BOARD OF OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
Gentlemen of the City Council :-
IN accordance with the requirements of the City Ordinance, the Board of Overseers of the Poor present their Annual Report.
The same causes for so large an increase in the number of applicants for relief, that were mentioned in our report one year since, still continue, and to a much greater extent; and the general complaint among those applying for aid is that they have never before experienced such hard times, as they are unable to find work at any wages.
To the vice of intemperance must be charged a large amount of the destitution and suffering of many of those families who are continually calling upon us for aid. In many instances, the husband gets drunk and is sent to the County House for the Winter months, while the family eke out a scanty subsistence on the temporary aid to food and fuel obtained from the City; and we have serious doubts as to the propriety of punishing to such an extent, not the drunkard, but his wife and children, instead of the person who made him drunk, and profits by the sale of his liquors, while the public have to bear the burden of his support ; and we hope to see some movement made by which those who sell the liquor shall be made responsible, in some manner, for the damage and suffering sustained by the public in consequence of their traffic.
The difficulties in the administration of the Pauper Law of
32
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 31.
1874, mentioned last year, have not been to any great extent diminished, as, during the present year, a decision of the Supreme Court has been given on the interpretation of Sec. II., which curtails its action to a very considerable extent, and is in direct opposition to the interpretation given by the Attorney General in September, 1874. As the study of the same may be of some interest, they are appended to this report.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
HOUSE DOCUMENT, NO. 310.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
April 30, 1874.
THE Committee on Public Charitable Institutions, to whom was recom- mitted the bill for the more efficient relief of the poor, have carefully reviewed the whole subject, and sought such additional information as seemed desirable.
They find that any scheme for the relief of the poor, or any radical change in the laws of settlement, is beset with great difficulties, and is likely to be productive of more harm than good to those whom it is sought to benefit. They believe that it is safest to make haste slowly, and to test by experience the effect of moderate changes. If these prove successful, further legislation can readily be had in the direction they indicate.
We therefore report a bill, in a new draft, which we explain as follows, premising that the main object thereof, in accordance with the prayer of the petitioners, is to make better provision for the unsettled poor :-
First. It does not change existing settlements. Every settled person is to remain where he now belongs, until that settlement is defeated and a new one gained in the ordinary course of law.
Second. It does not interrupt or defeat any settlement in process of acqui- sition. This is to be completed, as before, under existing laws.
Third. It does not change the principles underlying the present laws, but merely adapts them to the exigencies of the present day, by shortening the time and lessening the number of taxes required for settlement.
Fourth. It gives all settled persons a fair and equal start by allowing them to commence now to gain a new settlement under its provisions.
Fifth. It provides liberally for the unsettled by giving all a settlement who can show a continuous residence of five years and the payment of three taxes within that time, whether the residence and taxation be wholly before, or wholly after, or partly before and partly after its enactment.
Sixth. It relieves the most pressing claim brought to the attention of the legislature, by giving women a settlement by five years' residence, providing within that time they have been neither paupers nor criminals.
33
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
And finally, it exempts from its benefits the present State pauper inmates of the public institutions-to the end that no injustice may be done to any city or town.
It will be seen that the bill bears alike upon all the municipalities, by main- taining, as nearly as possible, the same proportion of residence and taxation as at present, and that the provisions of its third section obviate the danger of confusion, and the objections that would arise as between the towns on account of any sudden change.
The Committee deem it proper to add that the Bill as reported has the unanimous sanction of the Board of State Charities, who agree that no further change is at present desirable.
For the Committee,
L. J. COLE.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
IN THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR.
AN ACT
For the more efficient Relief of the Poor.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :-
SECT. 1. Any person of the age of twenty-one years, who resides in any place within this State for five years together, and pays all state, county, city or town taxes, duly assessed on his poll or estate for any three years within that time, shall thereby gain a settlement in such place.
SECT. 2. Any woman of the age of twenty-one years, who resides in any place within this State for five years together, without receiving relief as a pauper, shall thereby gain a settlement in such place. The first section of the three hundred and ninety-second chapter of the Acts of eighteen hundred and seventy is hereby repealed.
SECT. 3. No existing settlement shall be changed by any provision of this act, unless the entire residence and taxation herein required shall have accrued after its passage; but any unsettled person shall gain a settlement upon the completion of the residence and taxation herein required, though the whole or a part of the same may have accrued before the passage of this act.
SECT. 4. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to any person who at the date of its passage shall be an inmate of either of the State Lunatic hospitals, the asylum for insane and the State Almshouse at Tewksbury, the State Workhouse, or the State Primary School, until such person shall have been duly discharged from said institution. [Approved May 28, 1874.]
34
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 31.
The Board of State Charities asked the Attorney General of the Commonwealth for an interpretation of the first clause of the second section of this law. His response was as follows :-
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Boston, September 19, 1874.
To the Board of State Charities :-
Prior to Acts of 1870, chapter 392, an unmarried woman could obtain a settlement only under the provisions of the General Statutes, chapter 69. By the Act of 1870, " any unmarried woman " obtained a settlement by a resi- dence of ten years together, in any place, under certain conditions. By chapter 274, section 2, of the Acts of 1874, section 1 of chapter 392, Acts of 1870, is repealed, and a new provision substituted. The substitute changes the law of 1870 in three particulars; the effect of one only is material for me to consider under the question submitted by your Board for my opinion. In the Act of 1874, the word " unmarried " is omitted. The plain and obvious intention of the Legislature by this change of the law, is to so arrange the law of settlement as that women shall have the same rights irrespective of any condition of marriage. The language of the Act, taken in connection with the Act repealed, does not allow of any other construction, and the intention of the Legislature if it can be ascertained, is to govern. In the present instance, the omission of the word " unmarried," and the use of the word " woman " only, makes it appear manifestly to have been the intention of the Legislature to use the word "woman" in the Act, so as not to be affected or modified by the condition of marriage; and in my opinion, no other construction can be given the Act. The intention of the Legislature being manifest, no consideration of presumption can arise.
Yours very respectfully,
CHARLES R. TRAIN.
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
Sept. 12th, 1876.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE US. THE CITY OF BOSTON.
The plaintiff in this suit sought to recover for relief furnished under the pauper laws to a married woman. It was claimed by the plaintiff that Mary McCloskey, who before her marriage had no settlement in this Common- wealth, acquired one in Boston, under Stat. 1874, chap. 274, sec. 2, by marriage, and five years' continuous residence in that city with her husband, who had himself no settlement there or elsewhere in this ¿State, and who acquired none by such residence. The statute relied on declares that any woman of the age of twenty-one years who resides in any place within this
35
OVERSEERS OF TIIE POOR.
State for five years together, without receiving relief as a pauper, shall thereby gain a settlement in such place; and it expressly repeals the first section of chap. 392 of the Acts of 1870, by which any unmarried woman of the age of twenty-one years was permitted to gain a settlement by ten years' residence. By the first clause of sect. 1 of chapter 69 of the General Statutes, the settlement of a married woman is made to follow the settlement of her husband, if he has any, otherwise her own, at the time of marriage, if she then had any, is not lost or suspended by the marriage. The question to be decided was whether section 2 of chapter 274 of the Laws of 1874 so far repeals the first clause of section 1 of chapter 69 that a married woman shall thereby acquire a settlement in a city or town where her husband has none.
The case was heard on agreed facts, and judgment has now been reached for the defendant. The rescript is as follows :-
" The statute of 1874 was intended to diminish the time from ten to five years, required to give to an unmarried woman a settlement, and not to extend the class of persons to whom the law as it then stood was applicable."
C. ROBINSON, JR., for the Plaintiff; and J. L. STACKPOLE, for the Defendant.
Previous to July, 1876, all persons who were committed to the Reform School for Boys, at Westboro, or the Industrial School for Girls, at Lancaster, were chargeable under the General Statutes, to the city or town from wherever they were committed, and the sum of fifty cents per week was recovered from the Overseers of the Poor of the place of commitment, whether the parties had a settlement there or not, State Paupers included ; but a law was passed in April, 1876, by which the amount was doubled and the numbers reduced to those having a legal settlement in the place ; but as the Law of 1874 was so sweeping in its extent, most of them were continued on the towns, nearly doubling the amount they were called on to contribute to the maintenance of these institutions. A copy of this Law, also, is added :-
AN ACT
Relating to the support of Persons committed to the State Reform and Industrial Schools.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows :-
Whenever a person having a settlement in this Commonwealth, is com- mitted to the State Industrial School or to the State Reform School, the trustees of the school to which such commitment is made shall give written
36
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 31.
notice of such commitment to the overseers of the poor of the place of settlement, and the town or city in which such person has a settlement, if notified as above stated, shall pay one dollar per week, from the date of such notice, for the support of such person in said school, which sum shall be paid to the Treasurer of the Commonwealth, or be recovered by him through the General Agent of State Charities. Any sum so paid may be recovered by such city or town of any parent, kindred or guardian liable by law to maintain such person."
This Act shall take effect on the first day of July, 1876. [Approved April 26, 1876.]
In order that it may be seen that there has been no lack of vigilance on the part of the executive officer in this department, and that the duties of the board have been faithfully performed, we here append a list prepared by an agent of the board of state charities for his own use in an investigation of the pauper expenditures in another city, by which it is shown that although Worcester has been satisfactorily served, it has been done at much less expense than in other places :-
Population.
Expenses.
Per Capita.
Cambridge
47,838
$ 49,610
$ 1.03
Lynn . .
32,600
40,855
1.25
Newburyport
13,323
16,767
1.25
Springfield .
31,053
30,900
.99
Lawrence .
34,916
9,475
.27
Boston
341,919
260,730
.76
Worcester
49,317
12,783
.25
Holyoke
16,260
7,064
.44
Northampton
11,108
6,031
.54
Pittsfield
12,267
6,201
.50
Adams .
15,760
4,691
.30
Fitchburg .
12,289
9,788
.79
.
The whole number of families who have applied for and re- ceived temporary aid during the year is five hundred and eighty- eight, comprising one thousand and one males, and eleven hun- dred and fifty-one females, or two thousand and fifty-two per- sons. Of these, two hundred and fifty-seven families, consisting of five hundred and fifty-six males and five hundred and ninety- three females, or eleven hundred and forty-nine persons, have legal pauper settlements in this city, and three hundred and thirty-one families, consisting of four hundred forty-five males,
37
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
and four hundred and fifty-eight females, or nine hundred and three persons, were State paupers, or have no known settlement.
The whole number having a legal pauper settlement, who have received full support for the whole or a part of the year, is one hundred and thirty-eight -eighty males and fifty-eight females.
The number provided for at the Insane Hospital during the year has been twenty-three; twelve males and eleven females ; being an increase of one-fifth upon the number of last year, and a burden which is constantly growing greater under the work- ing of the law of 1874.
Forty-four persons brought into the State by the various lines of communication with other States, have been returned on the several roads by which they came, in accordance with Chap. LXXI., Sec. 25, of the General Statutes.
Thirty-nine State paupers have been sent to the Sate Alms- house, at Tewksbury, after having been aided here to a greater or less extent.
Ninety-five heads of families, having a legal settlement in other cities and towns, but residing here, have been aided during the year, in accordance with the wishes or instructions of the Overseers of the Poor of the several places where they have their settlements.
In providing for the cases above mentioned, by the Depart- ment for Temporary Aid, at the office of the Clerk of the Board, there have been drawn two thousand seven hundred and thirty orders, on various persons, for the following necessa- ries : -
.
In Cash allowances $265 67
" Fuel . 1,981 15
" Groceries 2,777 34
" Furniture and clothing 28 65
" Burial expenses .
" Medical attendance and medicine 576 82
507 00
" Transportation of paupers 278 30
" Insane Hospital bills 3,822 25
" Aid to Worcester poor in other towns 900 76
" Reform School bills . 986 16
" Books, stationery, stamps, 238 86
" Miscellaneous expenses . 409 20
Total .
$12,772 26
6
38
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 31.
For the Monthly Expenditures of the same, you are referred to the table attached to this section of the report.
The salary of the City Physician and that of the Clerk of the Board are also charged to the expense of the City Relief De- partment, and are as follows :-
City Physician . $702 35
Clerk of the Board . 1,363 75
Disbursements . 12,772 26
$14,838 36
The Resources have been as follows :-
Appropriation by City Council . .
$12,000 00
Received from State, and other cities and towns 3,260 99
Total receipts . $15,260 99
Total expenditures .
14,838 36
Unexpended balance
$422 63
.
CITY RELIEF DEPARTMENT.
Monthly Accounts of 1876.
No. of Orders Drawn.
Paid in Cash Allow-
ances.
Cost of Fuel.
Cost of Groceries.
Furniture and Cloth-
Medicine, Attendance
Cost of Burials.
Transportation of
Insane Hospital
Reform and Nautical
Paid other Towns.
Books, Stationery,
Postage and Printing.
Miscellaneous Ex-
penses.
Total.
1875.
334 $ 42 75 $ 364 65 $ 380 58 $ 8 50 $ 63 50$ 33 00 $
$ 43 70 8 36 00 8 1723 51
December, 1876.
426
10 00
384 80
400 21
43 45
47 00
64 50
218 00 $ 268 99 $ 246 24
8 30
1691 49
February,
465
14 00
465 05
447 00
11 05
38 02
5 00
20 15
20 00
129 21
18 00
1167 48
March,
420
20 26
366 60
400 00
4 85
48 14
58 00
10 60
714 63
41 40
11 50
18 00
1693 98
April,
277
23 60
167 65
290 80
52 31
28 00
2 00
124 70
222 20
5 00
18 00
934 26
May,
110
16 43
12 90
142 50
38 25
30 00
7 05
5 00
252 13
June,
88
22 50
18 00
144 00
59 12
58 00
28 95
796 80
139 25
11 00
250 00
1527 62
July,
81
10 00
76 00
37 70
57 00
27 00
232 89
36 00
5 15
481 74
August,
94
28 13
13 00
106 00
45 35
57 00
26 00
20 80
296 28
September,
130
26 25
46 30
135 25
50 55
59 00
11 50
1352 14
106 25
74 37
10 00
1871 61
October,
125
18 75
56 00
115 00
4 25
55 98
25 00
4 00
8 00
183 25
100 50
5 00
44 45
620 18
November,
180
33 00
86 20
140 00
44 45
50 00
58 50
70 08
5 00
24 75
511 98
2730 $265 67 $1981 15 $2777 34 $ 28 65 $ 576 82 $ 507 00 $ 278 30 $3822 35 $ 986 16 $ 900 76 $238 86 8409 20 $12772 26
39
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
ing.
and Nursing.
Paupers.
Bills.
School Bills.
18 05 $ 732 78
January,
40
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 31.
List of Paupers aided in Worcester, but settled in other Towns :
NAMES OF APPLICANTS.
PLACE OF SETTLEMENT.
NAMES OF APPLICANTS.
PLACE OF SETTLEMENT.
Thomas Millett .
Middlefield.
Tyler Wedge
Peter Rivers . . Patrick H. Kelley .
Westboro'. 66
Andrew P. Clark
Mary A. Putney
Mary Crowe .
West Boylston. 66
Edward Tyrrell . Mary J. Kenney . John Minnock
Millbury. Marlboro'.
Lydia Bowen .
Brookfield.
Theophil Goodreau Michael Larvin
Theodore Bowen
Northboro'. Brockton.
Mary Brady
Lawrence Boyle
Mary Falvey
Blackstone. 66
Helen Osborne .
No. Brookfield.
Patrick Bowler .
Leicester.
Rose Eagan
Ann Kelley
Auburn.
Grafton.
Cath'ine McLaughlin Mary Brock
Hudson.
Horace Day .
Margaret Martin . George M. Young . Lynn. John W. Carney . . Stoughton.
Thomas Marsden
Thomas Sherry
Taunton.
Rufus Davenport
Patrick Behan .
Lowell.
Call C. Turner .. Sumner R. Bixby
Millbury.
Thomas Wood John Stackpole Anthony Jordan Mary Burns
Clinton. 66
Edward Tyrell
Peter Mina
Prescott.
Danvers.
So. Braintree.
Edward Scott
Sterling.
Kate K. Dailey
Hardwick.
Ann Doyle
Frank Keenan
Gardner.
Rose McFarland John McIntire
Boston. 66
Hugh Cronin
Weymouth.
Asa A. Walker
Shrewsbury.
Mary Allen
Spencer.
Antonio Leonard . John F. Dailey
Chas. H. Nutting James Carey
Fitchburg.
Peter R. Laws . Lewis O'Rieley
Webster.
Geo. F. Sylvester Win. H. Strong
Ashland.
Petersham.
Sutton.
W. Brookfield.
Amherst.
Westboro'.
Edward Irwin Holden.
Alice F. Tidd . New Braintree.
Margaret Dillon
Sturbridge.
Bridget Curtain . Elizabeth E. Brown Johanna Malony,
66
Springfield.
Leverett. Cambridge.
John Leary
Emma Dubey
66
Almira Glazier .
Noel Dougas
Douglas. Hopkinton. 66
Francis M. Sylvester Thomas Curran
New Bedford.
Mary Edwards
Jas. J. Callaghan . Catharine Callaghan William E. Snow .. Elizabeth Jennings . Nora Kempton .
Natick.
Margaret Martin
William Taft
Nathan M. Thayer . John L. Edwards · Jane K. Dyer
Josiah P. Bitner . Wm. H. Burnham . Patrick Owens .
Malden. Uxbridge. Palmer.
Augusta Colburn . Geo. D. Whitcomb . Carrie Malhoit . . Mary A. Halligham Amnos F. Jackson
Alex. Senasac
Mary Sheehe
Milford.
Patrick Flynn Simon McTague Catharine Hynes Thomas Murphy Sarah Tiernon . John Rice .
Ganzey Ballou .
41
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
List of Insane persons who have a legal pauper settlement in this city, and who have received full support at the Insane Hos- pital during the year 1876 :
REGISTERED PAUPER NO.
NAMES.
AGE.
PLACE OF BIRTH.
PLACE OF SUPPORT.
1324
Chas. B. Ayres .
30
Worcester.
Wor. Lun. Hospital.
860
Samuel S. Barnes .
57
Westminster.
66
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