USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Franklin > Town of Franklin annual report 1900 > Part 3
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Wm. Lowell,
12
48 00
Jeremiah McCarthy,
8
32 00
Rosılla Newcomb,
12
66
48 00
Michael O'Sullivan,
7
28 00
Warren C. Parker,
12
66
72 00
Sarah A. Ribero,
3
12 00
George H. Scott,
12
66
48 00
Annie E. Taft,
12
66
48 00
Jas. S. Toothacker,
12
66
72 00
Charles Thompson,
12
66
48 00
Geo. W. Thompson,
12
66
48 00
Jas. W. Wilkinson,
7
66
28 00
Daniel W. Whiting,
3
66
12 00
1,224 00
Total expended,
$1,484 00
57
SUMMARY.
Appropriated,
$500 00
Received from State :
Burial of soldiers,
35 00
Military aid,
120 00
State aid,
1,233 00
Unexpended,
4 04
Totals,
$1,888 00 $1,888 00
SOLDIERS' RELIEF.
MRS. MARGARET CARR.
Paid Hart & O'Donnell, groceries,
$48 00
W. L. Palmer, coal and wood, 31 50
Thomas O'Riley, rent, 60 00
$139 50
JOHN M. BURR.
Paid for aid,
144 00
144 00
BENJAMIN BENNETT.
Paid F. E. Osborne, groceries,
130 00
James F. Ray, house rent,
48 00
Orrin Bugbee, coal,
75
187 75
SETH BLAKE.
Paid James F. Ray, coal,
3 25
Orrin Bugbee, «
7 00
W. A. Pond, wood,
4 50
14 75
P. HOLBROOK. Paid G. A. Martin, med. attendance, 20 25 20 25
58
MRS. BULLARD.
Paid Orrin Bugbee, coal, 3 50
3 50
Total expended,
$509 75
SUMMARY.
Appropriated, $500 00
Received cash, account of Mrs. Carr, 48 00
Unexpended,
38 25
FOR STATE AND COUNTY BANK TAXES.
Paid County tax,
$2,738 10
State tax,
1,725 00
National bank tax,
1,336 20
Total expended,
$5,799 30
Received for Corporation tax, $2,175 21
Bank tax,
236 69
Total received,
$2,411 90
ALMSHOUSE IN ACCOUNT WITH TOWN.
DR.
To personal property approved Jan. 31, 1900, $4,332 32
Interest on farm, etc., 4 per cent.,
176 00
Cash paid from treasury,
4,175 73
$8,684 05
59
ALMSHOUSE IN ACCOUNT WITH TOWN.
CR.
By personal property appraised Jan. 31, 1899,
$4,403 10
Sales from farm, 1,532 05
5,935 15
Net cost at almshouse,
$2,748 90
Net cost of outside poor,
2,511 66
Total net pauper expense,
$5,260 56
AUDITOR'S REPORT.
The accounts of the treasurer and original vouchers on which moneys have been paid from the town treasury for the year ending January 31, 1900, have been examined and found correct, and the foregoing account is a true statement of same.
I wish to thank the various officers for the prompt action in sending in their reports, which has greatly facilitated the matter of printing.
PALMER A. WOODWARD,
Auditor.
60
FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE TOWN
ASSETS.
Cash in treasury February 1,
$3.310 55
Due on 1899 taxes,
11,790 28
" from State-Military aid,
130 00
66
State aid, 1,224 00
66 and towns, pauper act, 552 45
" on sewer assessment, 3,300 00
" cash and bills due at almshouse, 250 00
Total,
$20,557 28
61
OF FRANKLIN, FEBRUARY 1, 1900.
LIABILITIES.
Note to Benjamin Franklin Savings
Bank,
$5,000 00
Note to J. J. McCarthy, 2,500 00
66 " Thos. D. Blake, high school loan, 2,200 00
Note to Thos. D. Blake, high school loan,
2,200 00
Note to King David Lodge, I. O.O. F. 2,000 00
For abatement and collection,
1,000 00
Due town officers, estimated, 825 00
" Joseph G. Ray, on sewer account, 1,402 29
Outstanding bills, estimated, 200 00
Balance in favor of town, 3,229 99
Total, $20,557 28
NELSON E. NEWELL, Treasurer.
62
WARRANT For the Annual Town Meeting, March 5, A. D. 1900.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
NORFOLK, SS.
To either of the Constables of the Town of Franklin,
GREETING :
You are hereby required, in the name of the Common- wealth of Massachusetts, to notify and warn the qualified voters of the Town of Franklin to assemble in their town hall on Monday, the fifth day of March, A. D. 1900, at seven o'clock in the forenoon, then and there to act on the follow- . ing articles, viz :
ARTICLE 1. To choose by ballot a Moderator to preside over said meeting.
ARTICLE 2. To choose by ballot the following town officers for the year ensuing, viz. : Three Selectmen, a Town Treasurer, a Town Clerk, an Auditor, three Assessors of Taxes, three Overseers of the Poor, a Collector of Taxes, a member of the Board of Health for three years, one School Committee for three years, and three Constables, all to be voted for upon one ballot ; also upon the same ballot to vote upon the question : "Shall license be granted for the sale of intoxicating liquor in this town ?"
ARTICLE 3. To choose a Tree Warden for the ensuing year.
ARTICLE 4. To choose all other necessary town offi- cers for the year ensuing.
ARTICLE 5. To see if the town will hereafter choose its Tree Warden by the use of the official ballot.
ARTICLE 6. To see in what way and manner the town will collect its taxes the current year.
ARTICLE 7. To hear a report of the town officers and act thereon.
63
ARTICLE 8. To see what action the town will take in relation to a pound.
ARTICLE 9. To vote a suitable number of names of persons into the jury box for the year ensuing.
ARTICLE 10. To see if the town will authorize the Treasurer, under the direction of the Selectmen, to borrow such sums of money in anticipation of taxes for the current year as may be necessary to meet the current expenses.
ARTICLE 11. To see if the town will instruct the Se- lectmen to suppress the illegal sale of intoxicating liquors in town for the current year.
ARTICLE 12. To see what sums of money the town will appropriate and raise for the repairs of roads, bridges and sidewalks ; for the support of schools, including the salary of a Superintendent and the transportation of scholars; for re- pairing school-houses, for school books, supplies and miscel- laneous school expenses ; for the support of the poor ; for the support of the Fire Department ; for water supply ; for street lights, for the payment of the town debt and interest ; for the payment of town officers ; for the abatement and collection of taxes ; for printing and stationery ; for the suppression of il- legal liquor traffic; for payment of police; for State and military aid ; for support of the library of the Franklin Li- brary Association ; for the decoration of soldiers' graves ; for soldiers' aid ; and for miscellaneous town expenses.
ARTICLE 13. To see if the town will appropriate any and what sums of money to construct concrete sidewalks in town, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 14. To hear a report from the Selectmen on guideboards, and act thereon.
ARTICLE 15. To see if the town will authorize the School Committee to employ a Secretary at a salary not to exceed $50.
ARTICLE 16. To see what rate of interest the town will fix to be charged on taxes after December 1st next.
ARTICLE 17. To see if the town will vote to require the School Committee to employ a Superintendent of Schools, or do anything relating thereto.
64
ARTICLE 18. To hear the report of any committees chosen at previous town meetings, and act thereon.
ARTICLE 19. To see if the town will vote to sell the engine on Pleasant Street, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 20. To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate $250 for repairing the furnace in the William M. Thayer Schoolhouse, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 21. To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate $100 for lettering the Horace Mann and William M. Thayer Schoolhouses, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 22. To see if the town will vote to sell the South Franklin and Northwest Schoolhouses, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 23. To see if the town will accept the report of the committee appointed last year to draft a by-law relat- ing to the so-called "curfew regulation," and adopt such by- law, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 24. To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate fifty (50) dollars, to be expended under the direction of the Tree Warden in the care and planting of shade trees in the public grounds, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 25. To see if the town will vote to establish and maintain an incandescent or arc light at the corner of Oak and Church streets, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 26. To see if the town will raise and appro- priate $100 for the purchase of a working set of weights and measures, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 27. To see if the town will vote to establish and maintain an electric arc light at or near the cemetery gate on Union street, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 28. To see if the town will vote to exchange lands with George C. Dauphinee in the rear of the school- house at the Four Corners, or do anything relating thereto.
65
ARTICLE 29. To see if the town will vote to consider a proposition to allow the extension of the water supply of the Franklin Water Company to the village of Unionville, or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 30. To see if the town will appropriate any and what sums of money to improve the Common, or act or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 31. To see if the town will appropriate any and what sums of money to repair the guideboards and erect new ones, or act or do anything relating thereto.
ARTICLE 32. To see if the town will vote to appropri- ate any and what sums of money to grade and otherwise improve that part of the Franklin Cemetery owned by the town at or near the corner of Central and Union streets.
ARTICLE 33. To see if the town will ratify the sale of the Williams gravel pit as made by the Selectmen.
The polls may be opened at 7 o'clock A. M., and may be closed at 11 o'clock A. M.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk on or before hour of said meeting.
Given under our hands this twenty-second day of Feb- ruary, A. D. 1900.
J. CUSHING GALLISON, HORACE W. HOSIE, ALFRED CLARK, JR.,
Selectmen of the Town of Franklin.
66
HONORABLE JOSEPH G. RAY.
DIED FEBRUARY 24, 1900.
The lamented death of our distinguished townsman removes the last of the remarkable trio of Ray brothers from our midst.
Their far-reaching influence and that of their immediate descendants is an integral part of the history of our town. To their unflagging energy, business capacity and unfailing liber- ality are largely due its prosperity and growth.
Public enterprises, schools, churches and private opera- tions alike felt the power of their sagacity, foresight and won- derful financial ability. No public enterprise or institution today exists in our vicinity in which their capital is not largely invested.
The entire inhabitants of the town-without regard to political, religious or social distinctions-join in one common sorrow over the departure of these honored citizens of the town.
Their example is a beacon light and their fame per- petual.
J. C. GALLISON, H. W. HOSIE, ALFRED CLARK, JR., Selectmen of Franklin.
67
FRANKLIN MEN IN SPANISH WAR.
Following is 'a record of the men in this vicinity who served in the Spanish war or subsequently in the United States service :
CHARLES HENRY BASSETT. .
Enlisted in Company L, Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, at Natick, as wagoner, May 10, 1898 ; sworn into regular service at Camp Alger May 31, 1898; sailed for Cuba June 24, 1898 ; landed at Siboney June 26 ; reached the front by forced marches the evening of the same day and was in the assault on San Juan hill. Discharged with regiment July 15, 1898.
CHARLES E. GREEN.
Enlisted May 8, 1898, in Light Battery A, Rhode Island Volunteers ; was acting sergeant. Discharged October 26, 1898. Re-enlisted October 28, 1898, in regular army-Bat- tery F, Second Light Artillery.
PAUL HEYWOOD.
Enlisted June 14, 1898, in United States Navy, on the Wabash. Discharged at Charlestown navy-yard October 3, 1898.
WILLIAM H. MCMASTERS.
Sergeant in Tenth Company, United States Signal Corps, Captain Thomas F. Clark, Tampa, Florida.
JAMES M. MORRISSEY.
Enlisted June 17, 1898, in Company M., Sixth Regi- ment Massachusetts Volunteers; served in Porto Rico. Discharged January 21, 1899.
JACOB SCHAEFER.
Enlisted May 13, 1898, in Eighteenth Regiment, infantry, United States regular army ; served at Manilla. Discharged August 23, 1899.
68
VALENTINE SCHAEFER. Brother of the above, also served in the navy.
RALPH TAFT.
Enlisted June 14, 1898, in United States Navy ; served on the Wabash. Discharged October 3, 1898.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE,
OF THE .
Town of Franklin,
MASSACHUSETTS,
FOR
THE YEAR ENDING JANUARY 31,
1900.
COMMITTEE:
WILLIAM A. WYCKOFF,
Term Expires March, 1900
1901
FRED P. CHAPMAN,
AMBROSE J. GALLISON,
1902
E. D. DANIELS, Superintendent.
3
Report of School Committee.
GENTLEMEN OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE :
In accordance with a time honored custom, and at the behest of the State Laws of Massachusetts, I submit to you, and through you to the citizens of Franklin, the ninth annual report of your Superintendent of Schools. In the first place I wish to thank you for your loyal support of the schools, and for the sacrifice of time and leisure for which the majority of you receive no compensation whatever, except the consciousness of a duty well done. The report is both a history of the past year and a program for the future. It deals primarily with the schools, and its scope is the limit of the schools' influence. The jurisdiction of the public schools is approximately thirteen years. The influence of the school ends not with the life of the individual. The school is not a preparation for life. It is life, and enters in different degrees into all life's relations. Hence the sphere of such a report is the limits of life. The public school is not separate from, but a resultant of, and ought to stand in intimate relation with, the family, the church, so- ciety and the state. The duty and privileges of the latter two end not with appropriating taxes for the public schools. Neither can the former two be in any sense opposed to the schools without serious harm and loss to both themselves and the schools. Indeed the time is coming when the schools, public, private, sectarian, the church and all forces that tend to lift man above a brute existence must work in perfect harmony. Because of the local conditions and the presence in our midst of other schools, offering together all grades of instruction, the public schools must enter into relation with
4
them. The relation desirable is the friendly rivalry to excel. To attain that excellence the public schools must receive more liberally in the future the public the money, and inspira- tion of your visits and criticisms.
In recording the history of last year's progress, few con- ditions below the Horace Mann are in themselves worthy of note. No experimenting with untried methods has been done. All the schools are in as good or better condition than that of last year, with the exception of the City Mills school. The condition here arises from the lack of technical training on part of the teacher, and not from the want of devotion or interest in her work. During the winter term the resigna- tion of Miss Emily F. Morse, for many years a most helpful teacher at the Arlington school, was received. Miss Mabel Gilmore was appointed for the remainder of the year. In spite of one or two serious mistakes arising wholly from in- experience, her work was excellent. Nevertheless it did not seem wise to the school officials to appoint to a permanent position in so important a school one with no professional training. Miss Margaret M. Sullivan, a graduate with honor from the Horace Mann and from Bridgewater Normal, was elected to this position. The election has not given satisfac- tion to all. Nevertheless it was both merited and just ; meri- ted because of the higher scholarship of the appointed ; just, because of the two years of scientific preparation at Bridgewater Normal and one year of successful service at the City Mills school. Teaching is much more than imitating. In view of the diversified foreign elements in the room, the school is in good condition, which alone justifies the vote.
In June one of the teachers in the Wm. M. Thayer School was not re-elected. Her successor, Alice H. Fer- nald, a graduate of the Worcester High and Normal, is hav- ing excellent success in thorough, honest service. It is not the show-exercises that count in a true education, but daily faithfulness and truth-living.
Education, even in the lowest grade, is far more than entertainment, however pleasant that. may be. The first years are critical, not only to lay the foundations for all sub-
5
sequent growth, but what is more important, to give the right bent to the pupil's mind. In all our grades there are pupils from destitute homes, pupils both dirty and vicious. It is not a part of a true teacher to endeavor to force them from the school, but by her own excellence and conduct raise such pupils to higher living. In September, owing to the crowded condition in Miss Connor's room, it seemed best to assign some ten of her pupils to Miss Fernald. In one room there were fifty-two and the other twenty-two. This was not an even division of labor. Later this same term the numbers in Miss Fernald's room had so increased by the addition of pupils newly arrived in Franklin that the class assigned to her from Miss Connor's room was again returned to Miss Connor. This changing during the year is very unsatisfactory to teachers, superintendent and parents. There is but one satisfactory remedy-another teacher. This of course means additional. expense for the taxpayers, but as the town, and especially Unionville, grows we shall have to face the question of one or two additional teachers for next year. Better results can be attained in classes of not over thirty pupils. Many super- intendents plan to assign but twenty to a teacher. Many of our rooms enroll over forty-five and a few over fifty pupils.
Last June one other teacher had not given perfect satis- faction, but after a long delay it seemed best to continue her services.
It is an oft-repeated truism that the future of Franklin is in her schools today. If the town is to attain greater pros- perity in the future, if the sons are to maintain that which the fathers so well began, great is the obligation resting on the teachers. Teaching is at best thankless service, and the salary is in no sense an adequate compensation for the faithful teacher. The salaries paid to the Horace Mann teachers compare very favorably with the average salary in the State ; that of the lower grade teacher does not, and while I plead for an increase in their pay I would also urge the encouragement of more frequent visits and of uttered approvals on your part.
The Monday evening teachers' meetings have been con- tinued with increased attendance and interest. The subject this last year has been Herbart.
6
At the fall meeting of the New England Superintendents' Association, Superintendent Balliet of Springfield, speaking of the enrichment of the grammar schools, indorsed the plan followed in the Horace Mann for the last two years in sub- stantially such words : "Where the local conditions of dis- tance and number of pupils per room are right the best inter- est can be conserved by the elimination of the eighth and ninth grammar grades as such, and by the consolidation of these pupils in one building as an integral part of the High School." It is gratifying to know that our plan, opposed by a few unthinking ones, is advocated by this, the ablest superin- tendent in Massachusetts.
In the first and second forms of the Horace Mann the work this year has been similar in scope to that of last year. In the first, Mr. Wilkins' room, the foreign language study is elective. At the beginning of the year all the pupils volun- tarily chose either Latin or German. To avoid repetition and delay the new arrivals have been denied this choice. The only serious opposition to the plan arose from those who un- derstood neither the plan, the educational value of the differ- ent subjects nor the possibilities of child life. The use of any language, even the mother tongue, is artificial and imitative. It is very difficult to attain habitually correct usage. The mastery of English, composed as it is of so many foreign ele- ments, is aided by the study of another language. A study of the child's mind has recently revealed that the two epochs in life best adapted for acquiring speech are in infancy and pubes- cence. If at the latter age the demand of the child's mind is not satisfied by suitable courses of study, children invent for themselves a secret language. Such a condition existed in the room three years ago and infected the minds of nearly all the children. Without discussing the question from a moral standpoint, it did reveal a craving on the part of the chil- dren's minds not satisfied by the course. The principal argu- ments, however, for foreign language study are its discipli- nary value, if rightly taught, and its aid in the mastery of perfect English. The habit, also, of looking intently at words and sentences is of great value.
7
In view of the above it is instructive to witness in a larger way what is being done elsewhere, to compare the relative importance of the studies that are standing the test of experi- ence, not merely in Franklin or Massachusetts, but in the whole of the United States.
In the Educational Review for October, 1899, Professor West compiles from authentic statistics the following for the period from 1889-1898 :
STUDIES.
PER CENT. OF INCREASE.
ENROLLMENT IN
SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
Latin
174
1989-90,
History (except in the United States).
152
Geometry.
147
297,894 pupils enrolled.
Algebra
141
German
131
1896-98,
French
107
Greek.
94
554,814 pupils enrolled.
Physics.
79
Chemistry
65
Gain, 86 per cent.
By secondary schools is meant Iligh Schools and Acade- inies of corresponding grades. The number of pupils have increased 86 per cent. ; the number studying Latin 174 per cent. The so-called practical studies-physics and chemis- try-have not even held their own, but have fallen behind 7 and 13 per cent.
( Again, you admit that foreign language is good, but do not wish your child to study it. We follow in questions of health the expert physician's advice, in things spiritual the pastor's, but in things educational, where vital interests also are at stake, we are slow, very slow to yield our own whims to the judgment of experts in matters of education.
In the higher forms of the Horace Mann we were very fortunate to secure the services of Ruth E. Hubbard, a gradu- ate of Boston University, who had also taught two years. Her success is most gratifying. She is progressive and thor- ough in her work and very loyal to all that is best. The work in her departments-mathematics and commerce-is of a very high standard. Miss Anne L. Judd, a graduate of Wellesley College '99, was also secured. Her specialty is the German department and also as instructor in history. Her success and
8
loyalty to the school is most commendable, especially when you realize that for months she received no salary whatever from the town. By means of her services we were enabled to divide the lower class, numbering thirty, into two divisions. This division is eminently wise. Pupils differ not so much in their choices as in their power of thinking quickly and deeply. It is unjust to retard the bright ones because of the slower, or to crowd the slower ones and permit them to skim over the work, mastering none. It also permitted more systematic work in English and the extension of this course to all classes. This department is in charge of Miss Whiting, and, though it is still experimental, it is in parts very fine. The work in his- tory is closely allied with English, and is now taught in four years instead of two.
Stunted and dwarfed are the minds of our boys and girls when they leave school at the end of the grammar grade with a knowledge, insufficient at best, of only American history. " It must be said that he who knows only American history does not at all know that history," much less teach it. "The profounder our study of ourselves," says Professor Sloane, " the stronger will grow our conviction of the organic relation between our own history and that of the world." "American history is in the air-a balloon sailing in mid-heaven-unless it is anchored fast to European history. It is no more true to say that American history began in 1492 than it is to say that a man's life begins when he goes into business for himself. A new stage of development in each country is marked by these events, and the development of Europe on the New World soil is but a corresponding one. America, like Europe, is an heir to all the ages, and the American boy has a right to enter into his inheritance. A man with this lack of preparation may enter Congress and legislate on financial matters in abso- lute ignorance of the history of finance ; he legislates on labor questions with no knowledge of the agrarian difficulties at Rome, the peasants' rebellions of the Middle Ages, or the national workshops of Louis Blanc. He legislates gold stand- ard educators out of office in the West and silver advocates in the East, not knowing that for four hundred years Luther and
9
Warburg have stood for the independence of judgment and the search for truth. Not only is he lacking in the actual knowledge that history affords, but he lacks still more that mental training that history gives in analysis, comparison, classification, and in holding the judgment in suspense until all sides of a question have been presented."
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