USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1879 > Part 21
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1 cabinet, or cupboard case.
1 avoirdupois balance of 50 lbs.
1 set of avoirdupois weights, 16 divisions, viz .: Drachms-1, 2 dr. Ounces-1-4, 1-2, 1, 2, 4, 8 oz.
Pounds-1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 lbs.
I set liquid measures of 6 divisions, viz .:
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CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
Gill, 1-2 pint, pint, quart, 1-2 gallon, gallon. I set dry measures of 5 divisions, viz .:
Quart, 2 quart, 1-2 peck, peck, 1- bushel.
1 yard measure.
40 fifty pound weights (1 ton).
1 breast or press drill, with two drills.
1 hammer, 1 cold chisel.
1 set figures, 1 set stamps or seals.
1 crane for dry measure, 1 scoop, 3-4 bushel seed.
1 case for seed measuring, 2 glass stricks.
1 set tin liquid measures.
1 steel graduated metric measure.
1 kilogram weight.
On the 16th of October last, the State Sealer of Weights · and Measures (H. A. Davis, of Boston), made an official visit to this city, for the purpose of examining the weights and measures (State standards), and found everything correct ex- cept the deficiency of one 20 lb. weight (this weight has never been in my possession). A weight has since been procured from Boston, which makes the set complete.
In closing my report, permit me to express my thanks to each and all who have favored me with information of irregularities, and while some have been ruffled a trifle upon having their scales stamped C. D. (condemned), it has without fear or favor been done, not only in strict compliance with my oath of office, but for their own benefit.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
R. R. SHEPARD,
Sealer of Weights and Measures of Worcester. JANUARY 1st, 1880.
,
REPORT
OF THE
MILK. INSPECTOR.
To the Honorable Mayor and City Council of the City of Worcester :
GENTLEMEN :- Your Inspector would respectfully submit the following abstract report, for the year ending January 1st, 1880, more for general information than as being required by statute.
The law requires that every inspector of milk shall keep an office and books for the registration of all names and places of business of persons engaged in the sale of milk within their limits. This law has been fully complied with in this depart- ment, together with the publication of the general laws relating thereto, before entering upon the duties of the office.
Notwithstanding this, some have been slow to learn that before engaging in the sale of milk, the law requires them to register their names and places of business in a book at the milk inspector's office ; also, to place their names on all car- riages from which milk is sold, and their cans or measures sealed and duly recorded by the Sealer of Weights and Measures. A penalty or fine is attached to a non-compliance with this law. It has been judicially determined that no bills can be collected for goods or merchandise sold from scales or measures unsealed.
Persons having weights and measures sealed become respon- sible for their correctness afterwards, yet some measures have been found with the seal attached, that have been altered, designedly or otherwise, by raising the bottom by means of
332
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
dents or bruises made by using them as stopple starters. Such can or measures I have seized and confiscated.
There have been about one hundred and twenty-five samples of milk presented for inspection during the year. Most of these were from parties who purchase to sell again. A majority of these samples, so far as I could judge, were good. No prosecu- tions have been instituted, or samples of milk analyzed during the past year. During the last nine years that I have held the office, I have never, excepting once, received complaints of the milk purchased of those who make and sell from their own homestead.
I am confident that there is as little adulterated milk sold in this city as in any other place of the same number of inhabi- tants. Yet, with the utmost vigilance, some may have lived in too close proximity to the pump ; but this quality is more to be expected where it passes through the hands of middlemen, than from producers. This is not necessarily the case, but it gives an opportunity to shirk responsibility.
In 1878, there were about seventy wagons from which milk was sold at the close of the year. At the present time, I have the names of one hundred and nine persons who sell from car- riages. At an estimate of eight cans, or sixty-four quarts each, this would give 6,976 quarts of milk consumed daily. I think that 7,000 quarts, or 1,750 gallons, of daily sales would be a low estimate, as some of the teams drive over a portion of the route twice each day.
There are more than thirty stores where milk is retailed in Worcester. The extremes in price are four and ten cents per quart. The average price throughout the year is not far from five cents per quart. Every can or measure which has been sealed during the year has been registered, with the owner's name, as required by law.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
R. R. SHEPARD,
Milk Inspector of Worcester.
WORCESTER, January 1st, 1880.
REPORT
OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH.
WORCESTER, MASS., Jan. 15, 1880.
Gentlemen of the City Government :
The Board of Health most respectfully present their annual report.
We believe it is now an idea, adopted by general consent of the people of most large cities and towns, that there must be some intelligent and authoritative oversight of the public health. That attention should be given in some way to the prevention, abatement, or removal of unsanitary conditions. That knowl- edge of the laws of health should be more generally diffused among the people, and definite instructions given them how to avoid danger; or, when danger is present, how best to deal with it and master it. Cities decimated by fatal epidemics are just beginning to turn their attention to these matters, so vital to their very existence, and to cry out "what shall we do." So little has sanitary science occupied the attention, and so little is it understood, that we have done nothing for fear we should do the wrong thing, preferring "to bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of." Consequently the establish- ment of Boards of Health has become a vital necessity, and no longer a convenience or a sinecure. They have become a work- ing force, and have been endowed by legislative acts with pow- ers almost unlimited, and with a range of action broad and
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CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
comprehensive enough to embrace every individual case, and every contingency. And this is well, arbitrary though it may seem to some, for it must be evident, upon the least reflection, that in times of peril, when the very existence of a community, as it were, depends upon prompt and energetic action, nothing must stay or hinder the perfect working of the plans adopted, or the means devised for carrying them out. This responsibility has also been wisely placed upon the local boards. They, alone, can know the whole necessities of the case, the habits and tem- per of the inhabitants, the type and extent of the prevalent diseases, and the sanitary condition of the districts within the limit of their observation. They also, by the experience which their daily work gives them, can know, and are supposed to know, the best means to be adopted, and the ease or rigor with which these means are to be enforced.
The action of the State Board of Health is, and should be, mainly advisory. They can best receive and tabulate statistics, look after the workings of the local boards, and grapple with questions too large, or too complicated for them to undertake.
The real sanitary conditions of a community, however, must be in the hands of men who make part of that community ; whose interests are common with all the rest, and whose acts and official standing can be seen and known of all. If they are sustained, encouraged and trusted, they can be an im- mense power for good; if they are opposed, criticised, and looked upon with distrust and suspicion, their acts must of course be weak, vacillating and inefficient. A city or a town has its own well being in its own hands. It can be clean, healthy and prosperous, or filthy, diseased and unthrifty, just as it chooses. Its own action alone can determine the result. But when the trial comes-and come it may to all-when fatal disease sweeps through its borders, then how does the case stand ? A glance at the fatal ravages of yellow fever in our southern cities will answer this question with fearful emphasis. New Orleans, the historical port of entry for this terrible scourge, was once clean and free from its attacks,-thanks to the energy, decision and practical good sense of a New England
335
BOARD OF HEALTH.
commander ;- and, free from prejudice, had this lesson been well studied and appreciated, this beautiful city would probably have remained clean and exempt to this day.
The present Board of Health in our city was organized on the 25th of March, 1879. It has therefore been in existence but nine months. In so short a time it is evident that it could only be engaged in what I may call surface work; the examina- tion and abatement of those numerous causes of disease and uncleanness which everywhere are to be found, patent to the eye, offensive to the smell, and annoying to limited neighbor- hoods. The hidden, deeper, and more dangerous causes of an unsanitary condition, are yet to be explored and attacked. To show you that we have not been idle, we give you a summary of the work that has, up to this time, been done. The whole ' number of complaints which have been received at the office is four hundred and eighty-four, viz: Filthy cellars, thirty-three; swine, fifty-two; foul cess-pools, seventy-two; horse barns, twenty-three ; filthy yards, twenty-eight; foul privies, two hun- dred and nine; burning leather, one; hen coops, seven ; meat market, one ; sewer gas in houses, twenty-nine; garbage on the sides of streets, eight; ponds of stagnant water, fourteen ; cow barns, two; slaughter houses, one; dead animals buried, four. Every one of these complaints has received one visit from the Board, most of them two, and many of them more than two. The amount of work ordered by the Board, and executed under their supervision, is as follows: Cement drain pipe laid, seven- teen hundred and ninety five feet ; connections of sewer-pipes, sink-drains and water-closets, to the main drains, twenty-nine ; eaves water from buildings, two; ponds of stagnant water filled up, five. The whole expense of this work, amounting to one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-nine dollars and seventy cents, has been paid by the owners of the property benefitted.
The expenses of the Board have been as follows: Printing, five dollars ; stationery, five dollars and sixty-one cents ; salary of Mr. F. C. Bigelow, eighty-three dollars and thirty-three cents. The chairman has been paid nothing for his services, nor for office rent, nor for the use of his horse and carriage, during the year.
336
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
DISEASES.
Up to within a few weeks of the present time, the Board con- gratulate your honorable body, and our citizens generally, that no epidemic, or any unusual amount of sickness, has visited our borders. In many instances the outbreak of dangerous diseases has been at once traced to sewer gas, foul premises, filthy hab- its, or unhealthy wells; the cause at once abated, and the sick- ness stopped. We could mention them in detail, but the limits of this report would not warrant it. And here, we would state, that our thanks, and the thanks of the community are due to our excellent corps of physicians, who have promptly called our attention to these focī of disease, and materially assisted us in the abatement of these unsanitary conditions. A nuisance of a dangerous character which contaminated the source of the drinking water of one of our large public institutions, was thus discovered and effectually stopped. The health of five hundred sick and afflicted people, in our very midst, would have received serious detriment from this case alone, unless, fortunately, our attention had been called to it.
Within the last few weeks your Board regret to report that the small-pox-that loathsome, unmanageable and dreaded disease-has broken out in our city. The most active steps were at once taken to arrest its progress, and to protect the cit- izens in the vicinity of infected districts from its spread. These measures have been, in a good degree, successful, but up to the time of this present writing have not succeeded in eradicating the disease. The culpable neglect by one or two of our physi- cians to report cases under their care, gave an opportunity for wide-spread infection before its presence was known to us. The singular apathy shown by that class of our citizens, who before they emigrated here, had been familiar with its presence, to take the least precaution to avoid it, and the neglect, and even unwillingness shown by them to have their children vaccinated, have operated with great force against our measures of protec- tion. Spite of all these discouragements, however, we have succeeded in reducing the number of cases to three or four at a time, and in keeping the disease within a small limit of space.
337
BOARD OF HEALTH.
This has been done by immediate personal inspection of every case reported, the placing of a warning flag upon every house, and the complete quarantine of the premises, enforced by the presence of a competent officer, specially detailed for the pur- pose. Careful sanitary inspection, by experienced medical men, has also been instituted, who, by personal visits from house to house, by compulsory vaccination of all those not protected, and by thorough examination of the sanitary condition of every dwelling, materially assist us in our efforts to combat the spread of the disease. The death-rate, in comparison to the number of cases reported, has been alarmingly large. This is due mainly to the fact that after the cases were reported, no competent medical care was given to the sick. The services of the family physician were in most cases dispensed with, or he voluntarily abandoned the case. This evil we have tried in all cases to remedy, by instructing all concerned, that the action of the Board in establishing quarantine and thorough inspection, in no way was to affect the relation of the attending physician to his care.
It must be evident to any one, upon a moment's reflection, that the medical officer of your Board could not have the gen- eral care and supervision of the infected districts, and at the same time give his personal medical attention to all the sick, and provide for the wants of all those, sick or well, who were shut in by the quarantine.
Again, many of the cases that proved fatal, were not seen by any physician, or reported to the Board until the eighth or ninth day of the disease. They had already gone on to a fatal stage before their presence was known. To these causes must be added the notoriously poor nursing and care which is so common among these people, and the general state of alarm and panic which pervaded the district.
The whole number of cases from December 10, 1879, to the present time, January 22, 1880, a period of seven weeks, has been seventeen, of which seven have died, and ten have recov- ered. There are at present but four cases-one in the city and three at the city farm hospital.
The disease was introduced from Canada, in the person of an
338
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
unvaccinated infant. This case proved fatal, and was buried with public funeral ceremonies. The children in the same house contracted the disease from it, and then, more than two weeks after it was actually here, was it first reported to this Board.
Among the causes of disease, during the period covered by this report, sewer gas has been the most active and the most obvious. Strange as it may seem, in an intelligent community like ours, the Board find on all sides families living in houses constructed without a single trap to sink, water-closet or drain, to prevent the free entrance of this poison into their midst. The amount of disease thus generated cannot be easily ascer- tained, but from the effect of this cause upon individual fami- lies, and certain districts, we have no doubt it has been quite. large, and of a character malignant and fatal.
In view of these facts, the Board would most earnestly sug- gest that an ordinance be passed by your honorable body re- quiring that all drains, sink-spouts or water-closets that enter the public sewers, be thoroughly and effectually trapped. The main sewer of the city, from Front street south, is open and uncovered. During the day time, when considerable amount of water is sent through it, its offensiveness is not perceived, except one takes occasion to examine it critically, but after the hours of labor are over, and the water is shut off from above, it gives out an effluvia which is foul, pungent, loaded with dan- gerous gases and putrefactive germs, which are highly detri- mental to health. Sooner or later the question of putting it all under the arch must come up, for along its borders factories are rapidly springing up, in which are carried on those industries which are the pride and life of our city. It is therefore to be hoped that this question will soon be brought before the proper authorities, in such a form, that effectual action can be taken to stop this source of offense and disease. Your Board recommend its early consideration.
During the past summer numerous complaints have been pre- sented to us touching the condition of Lincoln Brook, which serves as a channel for the sewage of the western part of the city. The Board have examined it again and again, but have
339
BOARD OF HEALTH.
not been able to determine what shall be done with it. It is small, shallow, and entirely inadequate to carry off the amount of water which has been forced into it. Its current is sluggish, its fall very slight, and a vast amount of matter, of bad odor and dangerous to health, will necessarily accumulate there. Then, when heavy rains swell its current, this matter is carried by the overflow of the water on to the flats in the vicinity of the Western Avenue, and left on the surface of the ground, by the subsidence of the water, to ferment and putrify under the heat of the sun. We would therefore recommend that an early conference be held between the Committee on Sewers and this Board to determine how this nuisance shall be abated. We desire, also, to call the attention of the Committee on Sewers to the condition of the houses on the upper end of Oread street. These houses are drained into cess-pools, but owing to the re- tentive nature of the ground, the sewage does not leach away into the soil, but accumulates and runs over on to the surface. The City Engineer, by the request of the Board of Health, has recently made a careful survey of this locality. He reports that if the sewer in Oread street was carried higher up the hill, all this district could be drained into the Beacon street sewer. We invite your early attention to this matter, for its present condition is dangerous to health.
The condition of that part of Pond street which borders the basin of the old Fox mill pond, has frequently occupied the attention of your Board. This place has been used for several years as a public dump, and waste material of every sort has been deposited there. These accumulations have encroached upon the street; they are unsightly and unsanitary, and the demands of the people in the vicinity that they should be re- moved, in the opinion of this Board ought to be heeded. If they were leveled down they would serve their legitimate pur- pose as filling material and greatly improve the sanitary condi- tion of the neighborhood. If once put in good condition, there would be no difficulty in keeping this locality clean and healthy. The attention of the Committee on Streets is respectfully asked to this subject.
2
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CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
The number of deaths which have occurred in the city fo 1879 was 983, while for 1878 it was 1,001; for 1877, 1,131; and for 1876, 1,125. These figures are very flattering, as they show that the death-rate has steadily decreased within the last three years and now stands the lowest, or among the lowest of the cities of New England of about the same population. But once before since 1850 has it fallen below two per cent. This was in 1855. The per cent. this year is about 1 9-10 per cent. of the whole population.
All which is respectfully submitted.
THOMAS HARRINGTON, Chairman. FRANCIS C. BIGELOW. RUFUS WOODWARD, Clerk.
REPORT
OF THE
·
Commissioner of Highways.
WORCESTER, December 22, 1879.
To the Honorable City Council :
I have the honor to submit the following report of the con- dition and doings of the Highway Department for the year end- ing November 30th, 1879, which includes receipts and disburse- ments, and a schedule of all property in charge of the Department.
At the request of the Commissioner, the late Mr. David F. Parker, who was in delicate health, I assumed charge of the Department, May 8th, 1879. The death of Mr. Parker occurred September 20th, 1879, and I received from the Com- mittee on Highways the appointment of acting Highway Com- missioner, October 21st, 1879, from which date I have served in that capacity.
The condition of the highways, streets and bridges is as fav- orable as usual at this season of the year. Parts of Main street have been greatly improved by re-paving, and I would recommend a continued appropriation for this purpose. Fol- lowing is a statement of the cost of re-paving portions of Main street :
BLOCK PAVING.
The orders for paving a portion of Main street, from Central street to School street, also from Front street to Park street,
26
342
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
have been executed, and the cost of the material and labor appears in the following account :
MAIN STREET, FROM CENTRAL to SCHOOL STREETS.
3,949 square yards blocks,
$5,579 09
20 66 66 relaid,
4 00
123.7 “ cobble, 24 74
Labor, carting, blocks, gravel, &c.,
1,834 76
Engineering,
2 78
Cost per square yard, $1.88 1-2.
$7,445 37
MAIN STREET, FROM FRONT STREET TO PARK STREET.
1,943.4 square yards blocks,
$2,817 93
Labor, grading, carting, gravel, blocks, sand, &c.,
623 75
Engineering,
4 18
$3,445 86
Cost per square yard, $1.77 1-2. Total cost for block paving,
$10,891 23
Appropriation for block paving, .
$10,000 00 .
Excess of expenditure,
891 23
$10,891 23
SIDEWALKS.
The following amount of work has been done at the expense of the city :
Amount of new curb set,
Amount of curb reset,
Amount of circle curb reset,
49.5 66 66
Total number of feet set,
. 5,019.7
Amount of gutter paving, new,
1,743.9 square yards.
Amount of gutter paving, relaid,
885.2 66
Amount of crosswalk paving, new,
613.2 66 66
Amount of crosswalk paving, relaid,
95
66 66
Amount of cobble paving, new,
245.2 66 60
Amount of cobble paving, relaid,
790.8
66
Total amount of paving laid,
4,373.3
Amount of flagstone, new,
2,030.1 lineal feet. 6,151.3
Total amount of flagstone laid,
·
.
.
8,181.4
Amount of block paving, new,
5,892.4 square yards. 415 60
relaid,
Total amount of block paving laid,
· 6,307.4
.
relaid,
3,895.7 lineal feet. 1,074.5 66
343
REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS.
Amount of brick paving, new, 66 66 relaid, 97.8
133.3 square yards.
Total amount of brick paving laid,
· 231.1
Number of corners, new,
23
66
reset,
3
Total number of corners set,
26
The location, and cost of the above work, are as follows, to wit :
AUSTIN STREET SIDEWALK.
North Side, from Merrick Street to South Russell Street.
314 lineal feet curbstone, new,
$157 00
15 66
reset,
1 50
139.6 square yards gutter paving, new,
69 80
3.6
relaid,
72
1 long corner, .
3.50
Carting, sand, gravel, &c.,
26 50
Grading,
76 85
Engineering,
5 87
$341 74
FRUIT STREET SIDEWALK.
West Side, from the Estate of Wm. E. Warren to the north side of Cedar Street.
146.5 lineal feet curbstone, new,
$73 25
84.6
" flagstone, new, .
42 30
56 66 relaid,
5 60
66.1 square yards gutter paving, new,
33 05
40.3
crosswalk paving, new, .
20 15
33.3 66 cobble paving, relaid,
6 66
1 long corner, .
3 50
Grading, carting, sand and gravel,
39 89
$224 40
FRUIT STREET SIDEWALK.
East side, from the end of the present walk, north of Cedar Street to a point 70 feet north of William Street.
396,7 lineal feet curbstone, new,
$198 35
4.8
reset,
48
172.2 " " flagstone, new,
86 10
87.4 square yards crosswalk paving, new,
43 70
161 66 gutter paving, new,
80 50
7
66
relaid,
1 40
Grading, carting, stone, sand and gravel, .
102 96
Engineering,
4 81
.
$518 30
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CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
HAMMOND STREET SIDEWALK.
South west side, from Main Street to the easterly line of W.
G. Strong estate.
482 lineal feet curbstone, new,
. $241 00
223.3 square yards gutter paving, new,.
111 65
51.5
relaid,
10 10
3.5
brick paving, relaid,
35
1 long corner,
3 50
Labor, grading, carting, stone, sand and gravel,
260 85
Engineering,
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