USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1880 > Part 22
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J. EVARTS GREENE, SAMUEL D. NYE, L. W. HAMMOND.
Worcester, Dec. 22d, 1880.
CITY APPROPRIATION.
Financial Statement, for the year ending Nov. 30, 1880.
RESOURCES.
City appropriation,
$8,000 00
Dog money,
2,612 81
Fines and miscellaneous receipts at library,
416 19
$11,029 00
EXPENDITURES.
Books, .
$1,643 62
Binding,
801 96
Printing lists of additions,
107 41
Other printing and charging slips,
114 85
Freight, postage, expressage, &c.,
290 65
Stationery and paper for covering books,
62 89
Postal cards, .
60 00
Cards for cataloguing,
15 20
Ordinary repairs, furniture, &c.,
128 14
Coal and wood,
196 83
Gas,
911 75
Water,.
75 34
Salary of Librarian,
2,458 34
Salaries of assistants,
·
·
·
2,779 41
Wages of janitor and messenger,
.
416 67
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
369
Additional library service,
721 19
Insurance,
·
.
25 00
Cataloguing,
217 28
.
$11,026 53
Balance to sinking fund,
2 47
$1,1029 00
J. EVARTS GREENE,
For the Finance Com.
48
STATEMENT
OF THE
GREEN LIBRARY FUND.
The income for the year ending November 30, 1880, is as follows :
Interest on notes secured by mortgage, $1,563 81
Dividends on bank stocks, 507 50
Interest on deposits in savings banks, 68 28
Bank tax of 1879, refunded by Com- missioner,
129 10
Interest on national bank deposits,
22 39
$2,291 08
One-fourth part of the income, $572.77, has been added to the fund. The remaining three-fourths, $1,718.31, are subject to be expended in accordance with the will of Dr. Green.
STATEMENT OF THE FUND.
Nov. 30, 1879.
Nov. 30, 1880.
Notes secured by mortgage,
$26,001 00
$28,601 00
Bank stock (par value)
9,300 00
9,300 00
Deposits in savings banks,
2734 66
707 43
$38,035 66
$38,608 43
371
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
STATEMENT OF BOOK ACCOUNT.
Balance in City Treasury, Dec. 1, 1879, $1,829 66 Three-fourths of income for year ending Nov. 30, 1880, 1,718 31
Interest on deposits for year ending Nov. 30, 1880, 26 77
$3,574 74
Expended for books,
1,853 18
Balance in City Treasury, Nov. 30, 1880, $1,721 56
J. EVARTS GREENE, SAMUEL D. NYE, L. W. HAMMOND,
Finance Committee.
REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE
READING-ROOM FUND.
NATHANIEL PAINE, Treasurer, in account with the READING ROOM FUND OF THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
1879. Dr.
Dec. 17. Balance by last report,
$545 96
1880.
Dec. 1. To interest on City bonds to date, $300 00
Interest on United States bonds, 21 50
Interest on Mortgage notes, 280 62
$602 12
$1,148 08
1880.
Cr
Dec. 1. By subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals to date,
$562 38
Premium on United States bonds bought, 17 25
Postage and incidentals, 3 15
$582 78
1880.
Dec. 1. By balance,
565 30
$1,148 08
The READING ROOM FUND is invested in
$5,000 00
United States bonds, Mortgage notes, Cash,
4,700 00
300 00
-$10,650 00
Respectfully submitted, NATHANIEL PAINE, Treasurer.
WORCESTER, Dec. 17, 1880.
The undersigned have examined the vouchers and securities in the hands of the Treasurer, and find his accounts and state- ments correct.
J. EVARTS GREENE, SAMUEL D. NYE, L. W. HAMMOND, Finance Committee.
City of Worcester bonds,
650 00
REPORT
OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH.
WORCESTER, January, 1881.
To His Honor the Mayor, and Gentlemen of the City Council:
The epidemic of small-pox, which was present in the city at the time of our last report, remained with us five months and a half. Although it was at no time so prevalent as to cause great alarm, its very presence was a source of anxiety and uneasiness, first, from the persistent and fatal character of the disease, sec- ond, from the peculiarly careless and indifferent character of the people among whom it prevailed, and third from the unsanitary and crowded districts of the city where it so obstinately remained. To give the sick proper care, and to prevent at the same time the spread of the disease, requires the most vigorous and watchful efforts. Fifty-one families, including several hun- dred individuals, were placed under quarantine, and in the cold- est season of the year were fed, warmed and guarded at the expense of the city. The sanitary inspectors found in the infected districts five hundred and eighty-three children, and for- ty-one adults, who had never been vaccinated. They also revaccinated ninety-seven who did not show evidence of pro- tection. They also returned full reports of the condition of
·
374
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
every infected house, and these reports have been of great ser- vice to the Board, in its subsequent relation to these districts, since the epidemic ceased. Upon the whole their services have been of the greatest value.
The hospital for contagious diseases, though much too small, has been of great service, twelve of the thirty-one patients affected were sent there, and found better quarters, and better care than they could have received in the places from which they were taken. The chief objection to the Hospital Building, in time of such an epidemic, is its distance from the city, and its proximity to the alms house. In the cold of winter it is a long way to carry a small-pox patient. It exposes him to a tedious and fatiguing ride, and to the too continued influence of cold and, in a measure, exposes also those who may be abroad in the streets through which he passes. If we should again be so unfortunate as to have this fearful scourge to combat, a hos- pital larger and nearer to the city, and a good warm ambulance wagon would be indispensable. In looking over the whole his- tory of the disease as we had it, we think the public ought to be satisfied, that in an epidemic of unusual persistence, we can count only thirty-one cases, in a period of five months and a half. The fatality of the epidemic, we regret to say, was very great. In our last report we explained in full the causes of it, and we judge it quite unnecessary to go over it again; with more experience we might be able to manage the disease bet- ter. We earnestly hope we shall not be obliged to try.
The work of the Board for the year, may be briefly summed up as follows: Examinations upon complaints filed at the office, eleven hundred and forty, nuisances abated, five hundred and seventy, as follows: Barns, twenty-two; Swine, forty- seven ; privies, one hundred and seventy-six; sink-drains, eigh- ty-one ; water in cellars, fourteen ; sewer gas in dwellings, nine- teen ; filthy yards, sixty-seven; foul cess-pools, sixty-seven ; filthy cellars, thirty-five; stagnant water, thirteen ; garbage on streets, four; dead animals, five; fish markets, three; slaughter houses, two ; bad ventilation, fifteen. The number of connec- tions made with the city sewers was fifty-one, at a cost to the
375
BOARD OF HEALTH.
owners of twenty-five hundred dollars. Pools of stagnant water filled up, five, at a cost to the owners of four hundred and twenty-five dollars. Cleaning out and opening the culvert under the yard of the Boston and Albany Railroad, at a cost to the corporation of eighteen hundred and fifty dollars. This last item is the initiative step toward draining and improving the Pine Meadow nuisance. When all the work is done which we have planned in this location, the whole district will be ren- dered more healthy, and the surface of the water will be low- ered two to three feet. The portion of the Pine Meadow Brook, which passes under the premises of the Washburn Iron Com- pany, and of T. K. Earle & Co., has also been cleaned out and opened, at the expense of the owners. The condition of the main sewer, from Franklin Street to Cambridge Street, remains the same as reported last year. It is a great and increasing nuisance. Sooner or later, it must be all put under the arch. It is not right that, year after year, it should be allowed to run foul and dangerous, through so large a portion of the city. The condition of Lincoln Brook on the west side of the city remains unchanged. It is foul, sluggish and dangerous, and, in our opinion, entirely inadequate to serve, as a drain to that large and beautiful portion of our city. Early in March of this year, a petition was sent to the Board, signed by thirty of the tax payers, and influential citizens of that part of the city, praying that the Board would take immediate measures to abate this nuisance. The prayer of this petition your Board were unable to heed, because they had not the power to locate sew- ers in the streets of the city ; all they can do in the premises is to call the attention of the committee on sewers to this matter again, and to declare it a nuisance. On the 22d of March a petition was received, signed by twenty-four respectable citi- zens, praying that the section of the old meadow at the foot of Assonet Street, between Washington and Gold Streets, be put in a better and more healthy condition. This petition, also, your Board were unable to heed, because there is at present no sewer which can be used to drain the foul accumulations which find deposit there. When the Island sewer is completed, it may
376
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
be possible to remedy this evil. The attention of the Commit- tee on Sewers is therefore respectfully called to it.
Your Board are satisfied that a large amount of sickness has been caused within the year, by the escape of sewer gas into houses and tenements. Numerous cases of diphtheria, typhoid fever and erysipelas, have been directly traced to this most dan- gerous cause. This is an evil that can be remedied, but the slow process of hunting up infected houses, one by one, and abating the nuisance, is tedious and inadequate. If a city ordi- nance could be passed, making it imperative upon every one, entering the public sewers, to have his drain pipes thoroughly trapped, this most dangerous peril to the public health could sooner be reached. The question of ventilating the public sew- ers of the city, is one that has not yet been brought forward in any prominent way. It is a sanitary measure that has engaged the attention of the city authorities, at home and abroad, and one that commends itself to the common sense of every think- ing man. The system most generally adopted, is to raise large conductors, attached to tall chimnies, or buildings, high into the air, capped to keep out the rain and snow. Probably but little current would pass through them on ordinary occasions. But when a sudden and large volume of water is forced into the sew- ers, it compresses the gas contained in them into certain por- tions most favorable for its collection, and then to find vent, it is pressed through the drains and traps into the houses. When this occurs, the stand pipes give it an easy and safe means of exit. The cost of this plan is on the whole but small, for the tall pipes may be of wood or tin, or any inexpensive material. Although the powers conferred upon this Board are large, in fact almost unlimited, we have chosen to exercise them with a mild, rather than a severe hand. Some opposition has of course been encountered, but in all cases hitherto, we have been able to enforce our requirements without recourse to the authority of the courts. But the requirements have been in all cases enforced nevertheless, for we consider the work so important that, in our opinion, nothing must stand in the way of the per- fect working of the plans desired, otherwise the authority and
377
BOARD OF HEALTH.
force of the Board, at the critical moment when everything might depend upon it, would be weakened, or hopelessly lost. To make it popular is one thing, but to make it a part of the government of the city, to which every one can come for safety, for protection, or for advice, is quite another. Every complaint is courteously received, and recorded at the office of the clerk. It is then referred to the Inspector for examination, or to the medical officer, if it is a question of health, and then the best plan we can devise is put in operation for its abatement or relief. Nothing is neglected or passed over slightingly, and action is taken with as great a degree of promptness as the circumstances of the case will admit. Every one can see that his complaint is heeded and acted upon with despatch, and this will give him confidence in the Board, as a working power, and make him learn its importance and usefulness.
The income of the Board, for the year, has been as follows : Appropriation,
Transferred from liquor licenses,
$2,000 00 800 00
$2,800 00
EXPENDED.
For balance of salary to F. C. Bigelow,
25 00
Salary of Thos. Harrington, part of 1879
and 1880,
780 54
Horse hire,
402 50
Police in small-pox cases,
69 75
Sanitary inspection in small-pox cases,
276 00
Nurses in small-pox cases,
41 00
Vaccine virus,
68 90
Burials of small-pox patients,
323 00
Bedding and clothing destroyed,
94 05
Disenfecting material,
4 75
Advertising,
21 63
Printing,
36 25
Stationery,
4 40
Medicine,
5 45
49
378
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
Coal,
15 60
Clothing, Groceries,
12 00
83 48
Rent,
6 00
$2,270 30
Balance transferred to sinking fund, $529 70
The number of deaths in the city during the year has been twelve hundred eighty-eight. This large increase over the sta- tistics of last year, is due to the fact that small-pox prevailed for nearly half the year, and that disease of a non-epidemic char- acter has been very fatal to young children, and to persons extremely old, and it also includes all the still born.
The thanks of the Board are gratefully tendered to his Honor the Mayor, for his assistance and valuable counsel. To Mr. Gale, for his courtesy and advice, and to the Police Depart- ment for their prompt and willing response to every duty we have called upon them to perform. With increased experience, and with stronger confidence in the value of the work, your Board enters upon a new year of service.
All of which is respectfully submitted,
THOMAS HARRINGTON, HENRY GRIFFIN, RUFUS WOODWARD.
-
REPORT
OF THE
COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS.
WORCESTER, Dec. 27, 1880.
To His Honor the Mayor,
and Gentlemen of the City Council:
In compliance with the requirements of the City Ordinances I hereby submit the annual report of the Highway Department for the financial year ending November 30th, 1880, with a state- ment in detail of the expenditures and earnings. Also a sched- ule of the property belonging to the department, and other information so as to give a plain statement of the money expended.
BLOCK PAVING.
Appropriation, Expended,
$10,000 00 8,476 28
Balance unexpended,
$1,523 72
The order for paving Park street from the church of Notre Dame to Main street has been executed, and the cost of the ma- terial and labor is as follows. Also the order for paving Main street on the west side of the street railway track, from near
380
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
Jackson street to May street, and the cost of the same.
Park street, $2,358 90 6,117 38
Main street, Cost per square yard, $195.46.
CURB STONE, GUTTER AND CROSSWALKS.
The following amount of work has been done at the expense of the City :
Amount of new curb set,
curb reset,
new circle curb set,
.. circle curb reset,
23.2 "
Total number of feet set, 7,260.6
Amount of new gutter paving, 3,033.9 sq. yds.
gutter paving relaid,
542.7 « «
new crosswalk paving,
" crosswalk paving relaid,
66 new brick paving, .
brick paving relaid,
Total amount of paving laid,
1,441.1 lineal ft.
flagstone relaid,
4,259.7 "
Total amount of flagstone laid, . 5,700.8
Number of street corners, new,
28
reset, 4
Total number of corners set, 32
The location and cost of the above work are as follows, to wit :
CAMBRIDGE STREET.
At the Church of Sacred Heart, $219 34 EXCHANGE STREET.
North side, from Union street westerly to the estate of N. T. Bemis, 387 00
ELM STREET.
In front of J. S. Clark estate, 75 55
GOULDING STREET-EAST SIDE.
From Highland street to Dix street,
596 23
6,164 lineal ft.
1,037.4 « « 36
1,882.7 “ " 646.9 " 51.8 " 74.5 "
6,232.5 Amount of flagstone, new, ·
381
REPORT OF COMMISSIONER ON HIGHWAYS.
GRAFTON STREET-SOUTH SIDE. From a point opposite the easterly terminus of the walk, on the north side of the street, to Houghton street, HARVARD STREET-WEST SIDE.
2,498 36
From the south line of the estate of L. G. White to Highland street, . 343 33
HAMMOND STREET-NORTH SIDE.
From the east line of the estate of S. Mawhinney to Beacon street, 348 86
HIGH STREET-EAST SIDE.
From Austin street to Chatham street, 601 82
HIGH STREET-EAST SIDE.
From Pleasant street to Barton court, 139 54
HOME STREET-NORTH SIDE.
In front of school house, 200 89
MECHANIC AND FOSTER STREETS-SOUTH SIDE.
From Bridge to Summer street,
746 52
PIEDMONT STREET-NORTH SIDE.
From Main street westerly 153 feet, 213 57
WASHINGTON SQUARE-WEST SIDE.
From the southerly terminus of the present walk to the northerly side
of the Boston & Albany railroad track, 178 34
WASHINGTON STREET-WEST SIDE.
From Belknap street, northerly,
122 90
WARD STREET-WEST SIDE.
From Vernon street to Endicott street, .
1,608 85
CROSSWALKS.
Cedar street at West street, .
$36 62
Chandler street at Queen street,
98 27
Chandler street at Oxford street, Elm street at West street,
39 83
Edward street,
11 74
Foster street at Norwich street,
195 12
Foster street at Waldo street,
184 40
Grafton street at Franklin street,
109 31
Green street at Temple street,
189 82
Home street at Wachusett street, Highland street at Harvard street, King street at Queen street,
92 73
83 59
Lincoln square,
85 70
Ledge street at Harrison street,
27 50
Laurel street at Edward street,
14 17
34 90
56 08
382
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
Main street at Jackson and Hammond streets,
181 76
Mechanic street at Bridge street, .
84 93
Millbury street at Worth street,
96 06
Millbury street at Foyle street,
126 11
Newbury street at Chatham street,
60 69
Norwich street at Foster street,
163 46
North street at Milton street,
77 08
Pearl street at P. O. block,
45 20
Prescott street at Lexington street,
26 35
Providence street at Winthrop street,
93 45
Providence street at Grafton,
89 71
Pleasant street at Sever street,
106 19
Salem square at Front street,
8 87
Sudbury street at Harvard street,
93 39
Thomas street near Main street,
69 30
Union street at Exchange,
13 06
Vernon street at Fox estate, .
106 85
Washington street at Crompton's foundry,
13 15
West street at Elm street, ·
39 83
Washington street at Belknap street,
42 58
Engineering, patching and repairing sundry walks,
896 81
Total expense, .
$12,005 71
Appropriation for curb stone, gutters and crosswalks,
. $10,000 00
Excess of expenditures,
$2,005 71
383
REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS.
MAINTENANCE.
The ordinary expenses for repairing streets, bridges, etc., are as follows :
Ashland
Street,
$ 16 75
Coral
Street,
7 00
Austin
74 50
Downing
26 25
Agricultural
22 50
Dewey
21 50
Assonet
66
30 50
Davis
9 15
Barclay
66
15 50
Elm
174 20
Beaver
66
134 90
Elizabeth
66
12 50
Bigelow
95 50
Exchange
37 05
Bloomingdale
66
288 25
Endicott
66
46 50
Blossom
32 50
East Worcester
30 25
Boylston
615 50
Eastern
Avenue
28 00
Bluff
21 50
Eaton
Court
31 00
Burncoat
43 50
Foster
Street
58 00
Beacon
66
39 00
Front
26 50
Benefit
86 50
Franklin
66
41 35
Brattle
66
90 00
Freeland
21 10
Belmont
66
201 75
Fruit
18 75
Bellevue
66
50 45
Forest
8 45
Blithewood
31 00
Fowler
92 75
Carroll
12 00
Green
66
96 25
Cambridge
133 40
Grafton
852 35
Chandler
74 25
Garden
22 00
Crescent
55 15
Gates
66
25 00
Channing
60
101 25
Granite
73 40
Catherine
28 50
Grove
198 00
Church
66
29 25
Green
Lane
27 50
Clinton
Lane
17 00
Gold
Street
64 00
Chatham
Street
58 75
Grand
15 50
Crown
18 25
Gardner
17 75
Congress
28 00
George
8 75
Charlton
8 75
Hermon
60 25
College
21 40
Hollywood
21 00
Chester
66
88 50
Holden
66
154 75
Chestnut
66
56 25
Heywood
66
15 50
Chelsea
23 60
Heard
34 00
Cedar
50 50
Highland
66
255 75
Columbia
49 60
Hamilton
24 00
Canterbury
66 75
Harrison
66
55 75
Cliff
66
15 50
Hawthorn
10 85
Cherry
66
19 00
Harrington
Court
31 00
66
384
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
Harrington
Avenue
25 00
Piedmont
Street.
26 50
Hope
26 50
Pattison
4 00
Jackson
Street
82 00
Pearl
66
47 15
Jefferson
66
17 00
Plantation
66
176 50
June
66
28 00
Paxton
66
473 80
James
66
35 50
Prospect
66
36 50
King
66
29 50
Pleasant
66
497 00
Kilby
29 50
Pond
66
14 00
Kendall
66
15 00
Portland
66
44 50
Leicester
66
472 30
Providence
66
30 00
Lincoln
66
593 90
Park
43 25
Lancaster
23 50
Park
Avenue
369 75
Lamartine
90 00
Queen
Street
41 90
Lafayette
66
106 25
Richards
66
42 85
Langdon
66
21 50
Rice
Court
17 00
Lagrange
7 60
Southbridge
Street
1,309 30
Loudon
66
13 25
Shrewsbury
66
1,139 10
Ledge
66
48 00
Stafford
66
73 75
Lovell
65
59 00
Spring
4 00
Lodi
66
4 35
Salisbury
66
302 25
May
111 S5
Summer
66
229 05
Main
66
665 71
Sycamore
8 75
Madison
27 50
Sever
39 50
Millbury
new
514. 05
Shepard
66
6 10
Millbury
old
491 80
Southgate
06
6 85
Mechanic
14 00
Tirrell
06
5 70
Mill
.6
140 25
Townsend
66
17 00
Mason
66
21 50
Taylor
66
31 50
Manchester
66
26 50
Trumbull
66
45 60
Millbrook
66
10 00
Union
66
231 65
Millbury
Avenue
110 50
Union
Avenue
28 00
Mower
Street
38 00
Upland
Street
29 50
Mooreland
82 50
Vernon
60
205 30
Milton
66
26 00
Vine
66
16 25
Maywood
6 50
Ward
66
48 50
Mulberry
66
63 50
Wade
66
26 00
Mountain
49 50
Washington
66
90 35
North
66
38 30
Woodland
149 60
Norwich
66
14 00
West
48 25
Newbury
66
54 00
West Boylston
295 20
North Russell
68 50
Webster
73 84
Nelson
Court
17 60
Wall
..
63 00
Oxford
Street
8 00
Wyman
66
41 50
Orchard
20 75
Walnut
25 50
Oread
15 50
William
66
18 75
Putnam
66
95 40
Wellington
66
19 80
Prescott
66
301 75
Whipple
06
57 00
REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS. 385
Washington Street,
20 85
Sundry Streets, 523 69
Washington Square
26 00
$17,502 19
Repairs on bridges,
$233 72
Street cleaning,
3,887 45
Snow and ice,
615 25
Total maintenance,
$22,238 61
EXPENDITURES.
Salary of commissioner,
$1,600 00
Labor as per pay roll,
24,656 74
hired teams,
1,099 05
66 " " breaking roads,
3 95
sundry persons,
45 08
Lumber,
449 09
Hay and grain,
3,197 45
6,146 feet curb stone,
2,178 44
2,090 feet flagstone, including freight,
1,255 50
328,000 bricks, .
3,721 16
281¿ tons cobbles,
251 52
Paving,
4,219 88
Paving blocks, .
5,908 77
Tools and repairs,
1,020 52
Shoeing,
413 28
Stone and gravel,
617 95
Street corners,
327 00
Live stock,
358 00
Engineering,
585 84
Advertising, writing, printing, etc.,
239 35
Powder and fuse,
4 50
Drain pipe and cement,
32 32
Horse blankets and robe,
16 00
Horse medicines,
5 53
Fuel and lights at stable,
48 65
Oil, soap, grease, 66
27 60
Water for one year, "
32 00
Maintaining water troughs,
21 78
Hacking for county commissioners and committee,
17 00
Rent of land for storage, . 100 00
Legal expenses in Tourtellott case vs. City, 1,353 74
Damages allowed for injury to persons and property, .
12 50
Total expenditures, .
$53,820 19
50
386
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
RECEIPTS AND EARNINGS.
APPROPRIATIONS.
Highways, .
$25,000 00
Curb stone, gutter and crosswalks,
10,000 00
Block paving, .
10,000 00
- $45,010 00
EARNINGS.
There have been laid 62 brick sidewalks and drives for pri-
vate parties amounting to
5,161 65
For labor and material furnished City hall,.
24 10
School department,
180 65
Water department,
150 01
Sewer department,
28 70
Fire department,
4 00
Armory building,
2 25
Hope cemetery,
251 20
Public grounds,
536 00
Sundry persons,
4,056 15
$5,233 06
STREET CONSTRUCTION.
Millbury street,
$544 24
Spruce street,
368 00
Water and Vernon streets,
166 60
Quinsigamond avenue,
201 39
Sundry streets, .
62 51
$1,342 74
$56,737 45
RECAPITULATION.
SUMMARY OF EXPENSES.
Block paving, .
.
$8,476 28
Curb stone, gutter and crosswalks,
12,005 71
Sidewalk assessments,
5,161 65
Street construction,
1,342 74
Labor and material furnished,
5,233 06
Maintenance,
22,238 61
- $54,458 05
SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS.
Appropriations, .
$45,000 00
387
REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS.
Sidewalks assessed, .
5,161 65
Street construction,
1,342 74
Labor and material, .
5,233 06
$56,737 45
REVENUE.
COLLECTIONS, 1880.
Sidewalk assessment,
$3,741 62
Street construction,
1,342 74
Labor and material, .
4,913 47
. $9,997 83
There are bills rendered which are uncollected December 1, 1880 :
Sidewalk assessments,
$2,041 08
Sundry bills,
567 67
.
$2,608 75
Schedule of real and personal property in charge of the Highway Department, November 30, 1880 :
Real estate,
$26,865 00
Personal property, live stock,
3,125 00
Hay and grain,
1,010 00
Rolling stock, tools, etc.,
2,369 25
Lumber,
357 00
Stone and brick,
1,075 50
Total of personal property, .
$7,936 75
Total of real estate,
26,865 00
Amount in department,
$34,801 75
In writing my annual report of the doings of the Highway Department I feel it a duty to make some suggestions, as well as to give in detail what has been accomplished the past year. In a growing city like our own the streets should be kept in a neat and good condition. Nothing gives character to a place more than good streets. Experience in this department, as well as in any business, is necessary for the economical accomplishment of
388
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 35.
the end we have in view, namely :- to have good streets at the lowest possible cost. The material which we have in the central portion of the City for the construction and maintenance of streets is getting very scarce and of poor quality ; in fact, with the exception of occasional cellars to be dug, we are entirely out. There is plenty of gravel in the outskirts, but the cost of moving it is in excess of the value when so removed. I re- fer particularly to the largely traveled streets of the City. The question then comes, how are we to keep our streets in such condition as the public convenience and necessity require where so much heavy teaming is done on Union, Grove and Trumbull streets. The best of gravel is ground to a fine powder in less than three months' time, and in wet weather the streets are al- most impassable on account of mud, and in dry and windy weather dust fills the air with every passing breeze. I believe it economy to make a liberal appropriation for paving on some of our principal streets ; although the first cost is great, in the long run it will be cheaper, and give far better satisfaction, in a city which is growing in wealth and general prosperity, as I believe this City is. The main roads from the centre of the City to the sur- rounding towns should be in a far better condition than they are at the present time, not only by having a smooth traveled way but also in its surroundings. A walk should be laid out on one side or both, trees should properly be set out and well cared for. At the intersection of streets where there is a little waste land it should be graded and ornamented by laying down to grass, and trees in suitable numbers set out. All this, of course, can not be done in one or two years; but the work can be com- menced and something done in this line every season, and in a very short time our City would present a very different aspect. I have said the traveled way from the City to the surrounding towns should be greatly improved, and I believe the true way to accomplish it is to macadamize them in certain localities; in no other way can we keep a first-class road. This, of course, will necessitate a stone crusher and power to run it. I think a por- table engine is what we need, located in a certain section of the City for a length of time, where gravel stones are plenty and in-
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