USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1883 > Part 18
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IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, FEBRUARY 11, 1884. Received, accepted, and ordered placed on file. Sent down for concurrence.
E. H. TOWNE, Clerk.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, FEBRUARY 11, 1884.
Concurred.
S. HAMILTON COE, Clerk.
REVISED CITY CHARTER
IN RELATION TO
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
SECTION 23. The Board of Overseers of the Poor in the City of Worcester, shall consist of nine members, residents of said city. The Mayor, Superin- tendent of Public Schools and the City Marshal shall be ex-officio members of the Board. The Mayor shall be ex-officio President of the Board. The City Council shall elect, by joint ballot, six persons to be members of said Board of Overseers, two to be elected in the month of December in each year, and to hold their offices for the term of three years from the third Monday of January then next ensuing, and until others shall be elected and qualified in their places. But no more than one of the six members, so to be elected, shall be eligible for any one ward of said city. Vacancies occurring in the Board may be filled by joint ballot of the City Council, at any time, the mem- ber so elected to hold office for only the unexpired term of the member who has ceased to hold office. The City Council shall also have power, at any time, for cause, to remove either of said overseers from office. The Board shall be organized, annually, on the third Monday of January.
Said overseers shall perform the duties of the Overseers of the Poor, of the Directors of the Almshouse, and of the Truant Commissioners in the City of Worcester, as required by the statutes of the Commonwealth, and subject to the ordinances of the City of Worcester, and there shall be elected no other officers for the performance of said duties in said city.
BY-LAWS
OF THE
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR
OF THE CITY OF WORCESTER.
SECTION 1. The Mayor shall be Chairman, and as such shall exercise the rights and perform the duties of the presiding officer of the Board, governed by parliamentary law; and in his absence the Board shall appoint a chairman pro tem. For transaction of business, five members shall constitute a quorum.
SECT. 2. At the first meeting of the Board in January, when the new members take their seats, and before the transaction of any other business, they shall be qualified, according to law, by taking the oath of office, which shall be administered by the Chairman. The Board shall then choose a Clerk, as prescribed by the City Ordinance, who shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by said City Ordinances and the rules of this Board : he shall keep a full and impartial record of all meetings of this Board, and full accounts of all expenditures of the department, and an intelligible record of all persons aided, either temporarily or permanently, recording all facts in connection with each case that may come to his knowledge by reasonable inquiry and investigation, and reporting all new cases at the next succeeding meeting.
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.
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 [as to settlement] they shall examine with the Clerk all new applicants for relief, who, if found entitled thereto, shall then receive temporary aid. The Committee shall examine all bills for aid authorized by the Clerk, and shall audit the same if found correct.
289
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
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.
Adopted by unanimous vote of Board.
GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.
February 8, 1867.
RULES RELATING TO MANAGEMENT OF THE ALMSHOUSE AND FARM.
A book shall be kept by the Superintendent, in which shall be recorded the date and character of all business transactions relating to, or in behalf of, the Institution.
A full record of the products of the Farm shall by kept in detail, and of all purchases and sales, whether made by the Superintendent or others.
Adopted by unanimous vote of the Board.
GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.
WORCESTER, December 7, 1866.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
TO BE OBSERVED AT THE
ALMSHOUSE AND FARM,
. IN THE CITY OF WORCESTER.
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 super- vision of a Superintendent and a 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 deserving 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 information he may be possessed of relating to the interests of the Institution.
6th. No person shall be allowed to visit the Institution on the Sabbath, 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 sentences 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 suitable person shall be obtained by them to take charge of the Institution during their absence.
10th. The Superintendent is expressly directed to prohibit all persons from bringing or drinking Ardent Spirits upon the premises, without direction of the attending physician.
291
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
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 Almshouse 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.
Adopted by unanimous vote of the Board.
GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.
WORCESTER, February 8, 1867.
- ADMISSION OF VISITORS.
" Friends of inmates of the Almshouse, will be allowed to visit them, on a permit from the Clerk of the Board, on Wednesday afternoons, for half an hour, once a month only, except in cases of sickness or special emergency ; and in all cases the Superintendent or Matron may exercise discretionary power as to admitting or excluding visitors even when furnished with a permit from the Clerk, if in their judgment the said admission would prove injurious either to the inmate visited, or to the discipline of the establishment."
Adopted by unanimous vote of the Board.
GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.
WORCESTER, November 22, 1883.
292
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 38. BILL OF FARE AT CITY ALMSHOUSE.
SUNDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread and fried pork or ham.
Dinner .- Baked beans, and brown bread.
Supper .- Tea, sugar, milk, bread, butter and doughnuts, pie or ginger- bread.
MONDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread, and baked beans.
Dinner .- Soup and bread, or fresh meat and potatoes.
Supper .- Indian hasty pudding, or bread and milk.
TUESDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread and hashed meat.
Dinner .- Boiled beef with pork, vegetables and bread.
Supper .- Chocolate or tea, with sugar, milk and bread.
WEDNESDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread and fried pork or ham.
Dinner .- Fresh or salt fish, potatoes and bread.
Supper .- Bean porridge, or bread and butter.
THURSDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread and hashed fish.
Dinner .- Boiled beef and pork, with potatoes and bread.
Supper .- Chocolate or tea, with sugar, milk, and bread.
FRIDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread, hashed meat or fish.
Dinner .- Salt fish, potatoes and bread.
Supper .- Chocolate or tea, with sugar, milk, bread and butter.
SATURDAY.
Breakfast .- Coffee, sugar, milk, bread and hashed fish. Dinner .- Soup and bread.
Supper .- Bread and butter, tea, with sugar and milk.
At a regular meeting of the Board of Overseers of the Poor of the City of Worcester, held at the City Almshouse, January 12th, 1862, the above bill of fare was adopted by unanimous vote.
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 Com- mittee 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 Almshouse shall keep a separate book of accounts for the Truant School, in which he shall credit all appro- priations 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 extent of every punishment inflicted, either personally or by the Superintendent.
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-respect, and to this end, shall insist on cleanliness of person; and shall strive to inculcate principles of morality and justice.
294
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 38.
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 Committee. And the regular exercises of the school may be omitted on Saturdays.
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 Sun- days, that she may acquaint herself with their character 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 regula- tions of the school are faithfully enforced.
GENERAL REGULATIONS.
ARTICLE 1. From the 1st of April to the first 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 emergency in the busy farming season, and every such case shall be recorded as provided in Sec. 3, Article 1, and re- ported 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 permission 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 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 examination 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 satis- factory 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 expiration 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 Superintendent 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
.
295
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
change it at any time they deem it necessary, by a vote of a majority of the members of lhe 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.
CHAPTER 190-ACTS OF 1878.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SETTLEMENT OF PAUPERS.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows :-
SECTION 1. Legal settlements may be acquired in any city or town, so as to oblige such place to relieve and support the persons acquiring the same, in case they are poor, and stand in need of relief, in the manner following, and not otherwise, namely :
First. A married woman shall follow and have the settlement of her hus- band, if he has any within the State; otherwise her own at the time of the marriage, if she then had any, shall not be lost or suspended by the marriage.
Second. Legitimate children shall follow and have the settlement of their father, if he has any within the State, until they gain a settlement of their own; but if he has none, they shall in like manner follow and have the settle- ment of their mother, if she has any.
Third. Illegitimate children shall follow and have the settlement of their mother at the time of their birth, if she then has any within the State; but neither legitimate nor illegitimate children shall gain a settlement by birth in the place where they may be born, if neither of their parents then has a settle- ment therein.
Fourth. Any person of the age of twenty-one years, having an estate of inheritance or freehold in any place within the State, and living on the same three years successively, shall thereby gain a settlement in such place.
Fifth. 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.
Sixth. Any woman of the age of twenty-one years, who resides in any place within this State for five years together, shall thereby gain a settlement in such place.
Provided, however, that nothing in this section contained shall be construed to give to any person the right to acquire a settlement, or be in process of acquiring a settlement while receiving relief as a pauper, unless within five years from the time of receiving such relief he shall reimburse the cost there- of to the city or town furnishing the same.
19
296
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 38.
Seventh. Any person being chosen, and actually serving one whole year in the office of clerk, treasurer, selectman, overseer of the poor, assessor, con- stable, or collector of taxes, in any place, shall thereby gain a settlement therein. For this purpose, a year shall be considered as including the time between the choice of such officers at one annual meeting and the choice at the next annual meeting, whether more or less than a calendar year.
Eighth. Every settled ordained minister of the gospel shall be deemed to have acquired a settlement in the place wherein he is or may be settled as a minister.
Ninth. A minor who serves an apprenticeship to a lawful trade for the space of four years in any place, and actually sets up such trade therein witliin one year after the expiration of said term, being then twenty-one years old, and continues there to carry on the same for five years, shall thereby gain a settle- tlement in such place; but being hired as a journeyman shall not be consid- ered as setting up a trade.
Tenth. Any person who shall have been duly enlisted and mustered into the military or naval service of the United States, as a part of the quota of any city or town in this Commonwealth, under any call of the President of the United States during the late civil war, or duly assigned as a part of the quota thereof, after having been enlisted and mustered into said service, and shall have duly served for not less than one year, or shall have died, or become disabled from wounds or disease received or contracted while engaged in such service, or while a prisoner in the hands of the enemy, and the wife or widow and minor children of such person, shall be deemed thereby to have acquired a settle- ment in such place; and any person who would otherwise be entitled to a settlement under this clause, but who was not a part of the quota of any city or town, shall, if he served as a part of the quota of this Commonwealth, be deemed to have acquired a settlement in the place where he actually resi- ded at the time of his enlistment. But these provisions shall not apply to any person who shall have enlisted and received a bounty for such enlistment in more than one place, unless the second enlistment was made after an hon- orable discharge from the first term of service, nor to any person who shall have been proved guilty of wilful desertion, or to have left the service other- wise than by reason of disability or an honorable discharge.
Eleventh. Upon the division of a city or town, every person having a legal settlement therein, but being absent at the time of such division, and not hav- ing acquired a legal settlement elsewhere, shall have his legal settlement in that place wherein his last dwelling-place or home happens to fall upon such divisions; and when a new city or town is incorporated, composed of a part of one or more incorporated places, every person legally settled in the places of which such new city or town is so composed, and who actually dwells and has his home within the bounds of such new city or town at the time of its incorporation, and any person duly qualified as provided in the tenth clause of this section, who, at the time of his enlistment, dwelt and had his home within such bounds, shall thereby acquire a legal settlement in such new place : provided, that no persons residing in that part of a place, which, upon
297
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
such division, shall be incorporated into a new city or town, having then no legal settlement therein, shall acquire any by force of such incorporation only ; nor shall such incorporation prevent his acquiring a settlement therein within the time and by the means by which he would have gained it there if no such division had been made.
SECT. 2. No person who has begun to acquire a settlement by the laws in force at and before the time when this act takes effect, in any of the ways in which any time is prescribed for a residence, or for the continuance or succes- sion of any other act, shall be prevented or delayed by the provisions of this act : but he shall acquire a settlement by a continuance or succession of the same residence or other act, in the same time and manner as if the former laws had continued in force.
SECT. 3. Except as hereinafter provided, every legal settlement shall con- tinue till it is lost or defeated by acquiring a new one within this State; and upon acquiring such new settlement all former settlements shall be defeated and lost.
SECT. 4. All settlements acquired by virtue of any provision of law in force prior to the eleventh day of February in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, are hereby defeated and lost: provided, this shall not apply where the existence of such settlement prevented a subsequent ac- quisition of settlement in the same place under the provisions of clauses fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh of the first section of this act, or under the same provisions in other statutes existing prior to the passage of this act; and provided, further, that, whenever a settlement ac- quired by marriage has been thus defeated, the former settlement of the wife, if not defeated by the same provision, shall be deemed to have been thereby revived.
SECT. 5. Chapter sixty-nine of the General Statutes, chapter two hundred and eighty-eight of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- six, section one of chapter three hundred and twenty-eight of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, chapter three hundred and ninety-two of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and seven- ty, chapter three hundred and seventy-nine of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, chapter two hundred and eighty of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and chapter two hun- dred and seventy-four of the acts of the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, are hereby repealed, saving all acts done, or rights accruing, accrued, or established, or proceedings, doings, or acts ratified or confirmed, or suits, or proceedings had or commenced, before the repeal takes effect. [ Approved April 26, 1878.
298
CITY DOCUMENT -No. 38.
CHAPTER 242.
AN ACT TO AMEND " AN ACT CONCERNING THE SETTLEMENT OF PAUPERS."
Be it enacted, &c., as follows :-
SECTION 1. Section one of chapter one hundred and ninety of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-eight is hereby amended by striking out, in the sixth clause thereof, the words " without receiving relief as a pauper," and by adding at the end of said section the words following :- " Provided, however, that nothing in this section contained shall be construed to give to any person the right to acquire a settlement, or be in process of acquiring a settlement while receiving relief as a pauper, unless within five years from the time of receiving such relief he shall reimburse the cost thereof to the city or town furnishing the same."
SECT. 2. The provisions of said sixth clause shall be held to apply to mar- ried women who have not a settlement derived by marriage under the pro- visions of the first clause and to widows ; and a settlement thereunder shall be deemed to have been gained by any unsettled· woman upon the completion of the term of residence therein mentioned, although the whole or a part of the same accrues before the passage of this act. [Approved April 22, 1879.
REPORT OF THE CITY PHYSICIAN.
To his Honor the Mayor,
And Gentlemen of the City Council :
The year that has passed brought us no epidemic, or any preva- lent sickness of an alarming character. The diseases which have come under my notice, were mainly due to weather changes and exposures, or to those causes-which are always found in a city like ours-and depend upon some departure from the right way of living. These last are now generally called filth diseases. By this term, it is not to be understood that actual filth and dirt are always present where they prevail-but that crowded tene- ments, bad air, poor food, and defective drainage, together with the habitual use of miserable stimulants, have their full share in producing them.
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