USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1923 > Part 8
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In Travel and Description: Boyce, "Australia and New Zealand"; Carpenter, "Alaska"; Cooper, "Understanding Italy"; Niles, "Casual Wanderings in Ecuador"; Puxley, "Wanderings in the Queensland Bush";
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Vaka, "Unveiled Ladies of Stamboul": Verrill, "In the Wake of the Buccaneers"; Wister, "Neighbors Henceforth"; Hallays, "Spell of Provence"; Priestly, "The Mexican Nation"; Franck, "Wandering in Northern China."
In History: Hadley, "Rome and the World Today"; Hayden and Moonan, "Short History of the Irish People"; Milliukov, "Russia"; Walsh, "What Civilization Owes to Italy"; Nitti, "Decadence of Europe"; Harris, "Service with the Fighting Men (Y. M. C. A.)"; "History of the 14th Engineers, U. S. A."; Cook, "Fifty Years on the Old Frontier"; Adams, "Revolutionary. New England"; Chapman, "History of Cali- fornia."'
Miscellaneous: Santayana, "Soliloquies in England"; Sherman, "Genius of America "; Dewey, "Human Nature and Conduct" and "Re- construction in Philosophy"; Kendall and Kochler, "Radio Simplified"; Cardinal O'Connell, "Sermons and Addresses"; Papini, "Life of Christ"; Cotterill, "History of Art"; Fabre, "This Earth of Ours"; Abbot, "What Christianity Means to Me."
These titles indicate, very imperfectly, the range of our purchases. As we have always noted in our annual reports, the librarian offers her services to help borrowers in selecting books for reading, and will list for examination and for possible purchase any book which may be recom- mended by patrons of the library.
BUDGET FOR 1924
Our budget or requirements for the ensuing year, based upon our present scale of expenditure, which includes, as suggested in our report one year ago, a progressive increase in our salary list until an equitable maximum for the salaries of the librarian and assistant librarian is reached, is as follows:
Fuel, light, water, sewerage charge
$ 500.00
Printing and supplies 150.00
Books, periodicals, binding, etc. 1800.00
Repairs, etc. 150.00
Miscellaneous expenditures
100.00
Total maintenance
$2700.00
Salaries
2250.00
Total appropriation required
$4950.00
(As against an appropriation of $5100 in 1923.)
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We estimate the receipts of the department to be turned into the treasury of the Town at $225.00. These receipts, together with the refund on dog tax which under the statute is applicable to the purposes of the library, but under our method of accounting is treated as a treasury receipt, offset an equivalent amount of our direct appropriation.
The net reduction in our estimate for the coming year as compared with the appropriation made for 1923 is $150. The appropriation for 1923 included an unusual amount for repairs. The item for repairs is therefore reduced as compared with that provided for at that time. But the estimated requirement for books and periodicals is increased, owing to the increased demand made upon the library, especially for educational reading in connection with the work of the schools. Slight increases in other items are due to the normal increase in circulation and in the general work thereby falling upon the library. These increases offset part of the reduced requirement for repairs. The result, however, is a reduction of $350 in our estimates for maintenance as a whole (apart from salaries) in comparison with the total appropriation for 1923.
In order that our recommendation as to salaries, made last year and endorsed by the necessary appropriation subsequently made, may not be forgotten, we reproduce its salient points here :
"The use of the library is constantly increasing It is an important educational institution and it ought to be used up to its limit. · The building is now open only two hours less in each week than
are the grade schools The outside time required from the li- brarian, that is, service time beyond the number of hours the library is actually open to the public is probably as great as that required from the teachers, at least from those in the lower grades. . . the teachers have ten weeks' vacation in each year. The librarian and assistant have three only. At present the combined salary list (librarian, assistant li- brarian, minor assistants and janitor taken together) is but little more than the amount paid to one minor grade teacher only. . We recom- mend an enlarged appropriation for salaries, until an adequate maximum is reached. The increase annually may be progressive and adjusted so as not to fall entirely in any one year."
The enlarged appropriation for salaries in 1923 was granted as recom- mended, and our budget recommendation for salaries for the coming year ($200 increase over 1923) covers our immediate progressive salary require- ment now needed.
CONCLUSION
We repeat our acknowledgment of the faithful and loyal services of Miss Bertha L Brown, librarian; Miss Grace Abbott, assistant, and those of Mr. Charles H. Stinchfield, janitor. The minor assistants, employ- ed from time to time, have been uniformly helpful.
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Two vacancies are to be filled at the town meeting, the terms of Mr. Arthur N. Mansfield and of Miss Edith Bancroft, expiring.
Respectfully submitted,
HORACE G. WADLIN, Chairman ARTHUR N. MANSFIELD, Secretary RALPH S. KENEELY CHARLES F. DOUGHTY FANNIE C. WHITTEMORE EDITH BANCROFT
Adopted as the Report of the Trustees: January 25, 1924.
Trustees.
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REPORT OF BOARD OF SELECTMEN
To the Citizens of Reading :
The several departments under our direct supervision have been for the past year and are now functioning in a manner which we believe warrants little if any criticism. We feel that the town is to be congratu- lated upon the high standard of ability and integrity which is daily mani- fested in the conduct of the affairs of the town by its employees. We know from our own observation that this is true, individually and collectively, of the personnel composing the various departments, and particularly so of the Police and Fire Departments which have often been put to severe tests and not found wanting, and we hope the townspeople appreciate this and will assist us in keeping up the present high standard by voting the sums recommended by us to permit the raises in pay which are necessary to the accomplishment of this purpose.
This Board realizes that large expenditures are involved, but after careful and conscientious consideration, and believing that the tax-payers will not approve a "penny wise and pound foolish" policy which will allow the town property and its good name to suffer immediately thereby, we make the following recommendations :-
A new Police Station.
Increased pay for the Police and Fire Departments.
Motorcycle and side care for Police Department.
Combination B repainted and new tires.
Repairs Central Fire Station.
Motor Truck for Moth and Tree Warden Departments.
Payment of doctors' bills and lost time for two of our firemen (Charles E. Tasney and Capt. Owen McKenney) who were severely injured in per- formance of duty.
Porch over rear entrance to Municipal Building.
Construction of sidewalk on Lowell Street side of Municipal Building.
Two flashing beacon lights have been temporarily installed on trial, one at Main and Washington Streets and the other on Haven Street opposite the Railroad Station; also a cross-roads overhead light suspended at Woburn Street and Summer Avenue. Should they prove helpful in the elimination of accidents, we feel that they could be used advanteously in several other dangerous places in town where warning signals should be placed, and in this manner be an inexpensive way to assist our small Police Department in the handling of motor traffic.
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In conclusion, we wish to express our appreciation for the hearty co-operation given us by all other Town Departments. Special mention should be made of the gift by the Board of Public Works to the Selectmen, of a large and complete map of the Town, made by Mr. John W. Owen, a member of the Reading Board of Public Works. This map fills a long felt want and now hangs in the Selectmen's Office for the convenience of all desiring to use it.
The burdens of our office have been greatly lightened by the efficiency and helpfulness of our immediate assistants, the Town Accountant, Mr. Bent, and the Poor Visitor, Miss Brown, to whom we extend our thanks, as well as to all others who have assisted us in any way.
FREDERICK L. SPRINGFORD H. RAYMOND JOHNSON JOSEPH D. KNIGHT
Selectmen of Reading. Dec. 31, 1923.
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REPORT OF BOARD OF OVERSEERS OF THE POOR
The problems of the Board of Overseers are so closely related to the work of our Visitor that we submit the Visitor's report, which follows, as the report for this board. The financial statement of the Poor Department is found in the report of the Town Accountant, to which we refer you for that information.
FREDERICK L. SPRINGFORD H. RAYMOND JOHNSON JOSEPH D. KNIGHT
Overseers of the Poor.
REPORT OF VISITOR
To the Overseers of the Poor:
I herewith submit my annual report for the year 1923.
The work of the Visitor has increased during the past year, there being more applications for aid than during 1922. In the majority of cases the aid rendered was made necessary through serious illness on the part of the wage-earner. There have been fewer cases needing aid on account of lack of employment than the previous year. Poor housing facilities and high rents have caused hardship in some instances. Considering that the aid given through this department is paid for by all the taxpayers, we have tried to give adequate aid without maintaining the family better than the average working man can maintain his family, and in almost every case the aid has been only partial. We have urged people to be as thrifty as pos- sible, and as the needs of every family are different there is never a stated amount given, but each case is considered individually and a great effort is made to deal justly with all.
The Visitor recorded 414 calls made. Thirteen families are now being aided in their homes, beside five receiving Mother's Aid, and four receiving Temporary Aid from the State. Three children are being boarded under the Division of Child Guardianship and five adults are boarded in homes. Nine cases were discontinued during the year, including two who had Mother's Aid.
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The Visitor wishes to express her gratitude for the help received from Mr. Bent, the Clerk of the Board. His unfailing interest and aid given in cases where social problems were difficult to handle, and the amount of time given in this work, are much appreciated.
The co-operation of the Visiting Nurse and School Nurse in cases of illness and child welfare work has been a great assistance.
Thanks are extended to the many individuals and organizations who gave freely at Thanksgiving and Christmas, thus making many children and homes happier on those days. The Visitor was pleased to be able, through gifts from several sources, to distribute toys and useful Christmas gifts to fifty children.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the members of the Board of Over- seers for their courtesy and consideration, without which it would be difficult to carry on the work.
Respectfully submitted, HELEN A. BROWN, Visitor.
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REPORT OF PLANNING BOARD
The Planning Board hereby submits to the Town its Annual Report covering the year 1923.
In order that the townspeople may know the duties of the Planning Board we hereby quote Section 70, 71 and 72 of Chapter 41 of the General Laws of Massachusetts authorizing the establishment of Planning Boards in cities and towns.
"Section 70. Every city and every town having a population of more than ten thousand at the last preceding national or state census shall, and towns having a population of less than ten thousand may, create a planning board, which shall make careful studies of the resources, possibilities and needs of the town, particularly with respect to conditions injurious to the public health or otherwise in and about rented dwellings, and make plans for the development of the municipality, with special reference to proper housing of its inhabitants. In cities the said board shall be appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the council, and in towns shall be elected at the annual town meeting.
"Section 71. Every planning board shall make a report annually to the city council or to the annual town meeting giving information regarding the condition of the town and any plans or proposals for its development and estimates of the cost thereof. Every such planning board shall file with the department of public welfare a copy of each report made by it.
"Section 72. Cities and towns may make ordinances and by-laws for carrying out the purposes of section seventy, and they may appropriate money therefor. The planning board of a town may be authorized by vote of the town to act as park commissioners therein, and may be vested with all the powers and duties of park commissioners in towns."
Mr. Willard P. Adden and Mr. Robert E. Parker were appointed to fill the vacancies on the Board caused by the resignations of Amos M. McLean, Esq., and Mr. Leone F. Quimby.
During the year various matters affecting the welfare of the Town have been brought to the attention of this Board by interested citizens and the following are some of the problems that are being studied:
(a) The advisability of establishing a Town Forest.
(b) The improvement of the safety and appearance of Reading Square by establishing a building line therein.
(c) The improvement of the Common by reseeding and planting addi- tional shrubbery and trees.
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(d) The benefit to be derived by the citizens and public by moving the bandstand to Memorial Park.
(e) The establishment of building lines on certain Town highways.
(f) Health conditions in certain localities.
With the assistance of Mr. E. T. Hartman, State Consultant of Housing and Planning, and others experienced in this line of work, this Board is making a careful study of the question of zoning. Zoning cannot be done without expense to the Town but the benefit derived by the Town and the taxpayers will, in our opinion, far exceed the cost.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLARD P. ADDEN, Chairman HELEN R. GRIMES, Secretary JOHN L. DODGE ROBERT E. PARKER MARY F. DANIEL
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF READING
For the Year Ending December 31 1923
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Walter S. Parker, Ch., 55 Walnut St.
Term expires 1926
Leone F. Quimby, 25 Howard St.
Term expires 1926
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Brown, 83 Prospect St.
Term expires 1924
Henry Q. Millett, 59 Linden St.
Term expires 1924
Mrs. Ida A. Young, 86 Woburn St.
Term expires 1925
Jesse W. Morton, 114 Woburn St.
Term-expires 1925
School Committee Office, High School
Clerk, Margaret Hunt Res. 30 Hill Crest Road Office Hours, 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 m.
Superintendent of Schools
Adelbert L. Safford, Office, High School. Res. 8 Middlesex Avenue Office Hours, 8.30 to 9.30 a.m. on school days.
Attendance Officer
Abigal H. Mingo
Office-High School
School Physician
Charles R. Henderson, M. D. 126 Woburn Street
School Nurse Mabel M. Brown, R. N., Office, High School Res. 53 Fourth St., Medford
Janitors
Salaries
High School, Clement Gleason, 64 Orange St.
$1,300.00
High School Matron, Ara A. Pratt, 29 Orange St.
1,040.00
Highland School, Jesse N. Hutchinson, 79 Bancroft Ave.
1,300.00
Grouard House, Wm. Killam, 15 Locust St.
127.50
Grouard House, Olive S. Kelley, North Reading 100.00
Center School, Waldo Reid, 20 Ash St. 1,300.00
Union St. School, Waldo Reid, 20 Ash St.
Lowell St. School, Sylvanus L. Thompson, Intervale Terrace
650.00
Prospect St. School, Walter F. Cook, 6 Ash St. 650 00
Chestnut Hill School, Harry S. Lovejoy, 47 Hopkins St.
520.00
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ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Walter S. Parker, Chairman
Adelbert L. Safford, Secretary
SUB-COMMITTEES W. S. Parker, Chairman, is member ex-officio of each sub-committee
L. F. Quimby
Finance and Accounts H. Q. Millett J. W. Morton
Books and Supplies
Mrs. Ida A. Young
J. W. Morton
School Houses and Property J. W. Morton L. F. Quimby
H. Q. Millett
Rules and Regulations
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Brown L. F. Quimby
H. Q. Millett
Teachers and Salaries
L. F. Quimby
J. W. Morton
Music and Drawing
Mrs, Ida A. Young J. W. Morton Mrs. Elizabeth H. Brown
L. F. Quimby
Course of Study
Mrs. Ida A. Young
J. W. Morton
132
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE, 1923
To the Citizens of Reading :
The Reading School Committee submits the annual report of 1923. Attention is especially called to the report of the Superintendent and other school officers.
Renewed interest in Education was clearly shown in Education Week in November, 1923.
President Coolidge in his proclamation calling the American people to observe Education Week, said "Despotism finds its chief support in ignor- ance. Knowledge and freedom go hand in hand." Thomas Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." James Madison once said, "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. "'
When we realize the number of republics that are being formed or established in many parts of the world we are in grave doubt whether the people are ready to successfully carry on constitutional republics. It has been said by a recent writer that, "there never was a time in the history of the world when sound education was so much needed as now. Some of the peoples of the earth have recently achieved democracy, while others have had it thrust upon them, and they have recognized, one and all, that in every democracy, old or new, the one outstanding obligation and chief con- cern is the education of the rank and file of its people."
Daily, America is being pressed for the solution of problems about which her people know little, and in the final analysis it is the people who must pass judgment upon them. From the hour of our Declaration of In- dependence America has been a beacon star in the firmament of the nations, and the peoples of the earth have constantly looked to her for inspiration and guidance in moulding their own destinies.
If America is to hold her place as leader in the world for universal Education among all the people, more efficient work must be done in the direction of reducing the alarming illiteracy in the United States and more care must be taken in securing a higher quality of immigrant coming to our shores, our doors must still be opened, but closed forever to the criminal and outcasts of other countries. We have too many illiterates among our native born to rest and be content with the results. Is it possible that there are 5,000,000 confessed illiterates in this country, over 3,000,000 of whom are native Born Americans? That constitutes at once a national liability and a national menace. One writer states that one man in every four who
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was drafted and sent across the seas "to make the world safe for democracy" could neither read a newspaper in English nor write a letter home. "'
These facts and figures pertain to the Nation as a whole. How do they apply to us? We have a few illiterates, but should we have a single one? We present the opportunity for every child in our midst to attend school. The teachers and attendance officer are doing all that can be expected of them, yet the results are sometimes poor indeed. It seems at times that our answer to the question "What is Education?" or "What is it to be Educated?" is likely to be narrow and apply to one part of our being.
It is said that "we are fearfully and wonderfully made." How true that is when we think of our three-fold nature-moral, mental and physical- and how closely they are inter-related. We conceive too often, of Education as knowing something, while Education to be complete must result in doing something and the moral nature exhibits itself by the way and manner or the motive with which the work is done. A fountain does not rise above its source. As a practical matter we cannot communicate what we have not got. It is well understood that one cannot impart Knowledge which one does not possess.
It is less completely understood that neither can one communicate character or goodness or spirituality, unless, indeed, one has gained these great possessions for one's self, we would put self-control as one of the desirable attainments in a teacher of youth.
The question often comes to us as parents, "Are our boys and girls getting the full benefit they should receive from the school? If not, why not?" The old adage, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Remember the emphasis is upon the first word, "Train," which means the child must do, must work. Training is the production of habit. "The end of Education is the develop- ment of character. The test of character is the capacity for service."
The appropriation for 1924 requested of the Town is printed in some detail in the table entitled "Budget of School Department, Town of Read- ing, 1924" and comparative accounts of expenditures for 1921-2-3 are shown in the same table. The terms of Henry Q. Millett and Elizabeth H. Brown expire in February, 1924. These two positions as members of the Reading School Committee are to be filled by election at the annual town meeting in March.
For the School Committee:
WALTER S. PARKER, Chairman ELIZABETH H. BROWN HENRY Q. MILLETT JESSE W. MORTON LEONE F. QUIMBY IDA A. YOUNG
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REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, 1923
To the Honorable, The School Committee:
My eleventh annual report of the progress of the Reading Public Schools is respectfully submitted herewith. This is the thirtieth report of the series rendered by the Superintendents of Reading Schools.
The year nineteen hundred twenty-three has been characterized by a good degree of success obtained in all departments of school work and by the continuation of systematic efforts on the part of the teachers to improve the quality of our product along lines (outlined in some detail in last year's report) of making what goes on inside of schools an adequate approach to what goes on outside of school and inculcating through the discipline of school activities "those habits and attitudes essential to successful living." Judge W. B. Swaney of Chattanooga, Tenn., published recently "a very thoughtful communication in which he points out that the world is out of joint as the result of the war and. that the best author- ities are unanimous in their opinion that the burden to save America rests upon the public schools." Judge Swaney in his article also calls attention to "the splendid report of Judge Martin J. Wade as chairman of a special committee of the American Bar Association on American Citizenship in which Judge Wade describes briefly and concisely the many dangerous and insidious attacks that are being waged against our government." Judge Swaney says, "This report by Judge Wade ranks in importance as a state paper with Jefferson's immortal Declaration of Independence and the messages of our greatest presidents. Two sentences stand out prom- inently and will linger in the memory of all who read it. 'There is but one remedy for our national ills, education, and the schools of America must save America'." Such a view of present conditions fixes a very grave responsibility upon all officials and citizens concerned with maintaining the integrity of the public schools. Standardized tests are now in use that measure with scientific precision the pupil's attainments in the three R's and concomitant branches, but evidences of the results obtained by teachers in their efforts to inculcate the practice of moral idealism by their pupils are often somewhat intangible and not susceptible to accurate measurement. Yet on no other basis than moral responsibility can we estimate with reliability the progress of the schools in the Herculean task of "Saving America." Judge Swaney says further, "An effort has been made to get first-hand information from leading writers and edu- cators. There is substantial agreement with Judge Wade's conclusion that education is the chief dependence for a solution of the political maladies now afflicting the nation." Mr. Sisley Huddleston, now Paris
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correspondent of the London Times, a position which many regard as first in the newspaper world, writes in a current magazine: "What for me i's the saddest feature of the European upheaval is the menace to edu- cation. There has been an undoubted perversion not only of the masses but of the classes in Europe,-and I am not sure that the perversion has not reached America,-since we engaged in the dreadful business of killing each other, followed by the more dreadful business of completing the economic ruin of each other. That our own generation has been spoiled by the hideous events of the last decade is of compara- tively little importance. It would be, however, an entirely different matter if we saw that the generations to come after us were becoming rotten at the root."
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