USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Brookline > Town records of Brookline, Massachusetts, 1872-1884, v. 3 > Part 50
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Article VIII. - Public Ways.
SEC. 28. All persons intending to erect, repair, or take down any building on land abutting on any way which this town is obliged to keep in repair, and who desire to make use of any portion of said way for the purpose of placing thereon building materials or rubbish, shall, ten days at least before so placing any building materials or rubbish, give notice in writing to the Selectmen of such wish. And thereupon the Selectmen may grant a permit to occupy such a portion of said way to be used for such purpose as in their judgment the necessity of the case demands and the security of the public allows ; such permit in no case to be in force longer than ninety days, and to be on such conditions as the Selectmen may require; and especially, in every case, upon condition that during the whole of every night, from twilight in the evening until sunrise in the morning, lighted lanterns shall be so placed as effectually to secure all
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travellers from liability to come in contact with such building materials or rubbish.
SEC. 29. Whoever shall use any portion of any way which the town of Brookline is obliged to keep in repair, without the permit, in writing, of the Selectmen, as above provided, or having obtained such permit, shall fail to comply with the conditions thereof, shall forfeit and pay into the town treasury ten dollars for each offence, and shall also reimburse the town for. all expenses by way of damages or otherwise which the town may be compelled to pay by reason of the way being encumbered.
SEC. 30. Whoever shall move, or assist in moving, any building more than ten feet high, over any way in this town which this town is obliged to keep in repair, without the written permit of the Selectmen being first obtained, or, having obtained such permit, shall not comply with the re- strictions and provisions thereof, shall forfeit and pay into the town treas- ury for every such offence twenty dollars.
SEC. 31. In case any building shall be moved contrary to the pro- visions of the thirtieth section, the owner of the building shall reimburse the town for all expenses by way of damages or otherwise which the town may be compelled to pay by reason of the way being encumbered.
SEC. 32. Whoever shall coast upon a sled in any of the streets or upon any of the sidewalks in this town, shall forfeit and pay into the town treasury for each offence a sum not less than one dollar, and not more than five dollars.
SEC. 33. Whoever shall drive, or take charge of at the same time, in any of the public ways of the town, two or more vehicles drawn by horses or other beasts, or shall allow any vehicle belonging to him to be driven in the public ways of the town, without some competent person in charge thereof, shall forfeit and pay for each offence the sum of five dollars.
SEC. 34. No person shall drive cattle in droves of more than six through any of the streets of the town without first obtaining a license from the Selectmen so to do .*
SEC. 35. Whoever having charge of any beast shall suffer or permit any such beast to run, gallop, trot, pace, or go at any rate exceeding eight miles to the hour, through any way, avenue, or street in this town, shall forfeit and pay not less than five dollars nor more than twenty dol- lars for each offence, to be paid into the treasury of the town.
SEC. 36. Whoever shall suffer horses, or grazing beasts, or swine, to run at large in this town, or to feed by the roadside, either with or with- out a keeper, shall forfeit and pay into the town treasury five dollars for every such offence.
SEC. 37. Whoever shall drive, wheel, or draw any coach, cart, wheel- barrows, handcarts, velocipedes, bicycles, or any carriages of burden or pleasure (except children's carriages, drawn by hand), upon any side- walk in the town, or permit any horse, cattle, swine, or sheep under his or her care to go upon any sidewalk in the town, so as to interfere with the convenient use of the same by all passengers, or behave himself in a rude or disorderly manner, or use any indecent, profane, or insulting lan-
* Section thirty-four not approved by the Superior Court.
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Adjourned Annual Meeting, April 4, 1881.
guage in any public place in the town, or near any dwelling house or other building therein, or be or remain upon any sidewalk, or upon any doorstep, portico, or other projection of any house or other building not his own, to the annoyance or disturbance of any person, or by any noise, ges- tures, or other means, wantonly and designedly frighten any horse in any street or other public place in the town, or shall throw stones, snowballs, sticks, or other missiles, or kick at football, or play at any game in which a ball is used, or fly any kites or balloons in any of the public ways in the town, shall forfeit and pay for each offence not less than five dollars, and not more than twenty dollars.
SEC. 38. Whoever shall stand in any public way in such a manner as to obstruct a free passage for passengers, or shall make any bonfire in any public way or public place in the town, shall forfeit and pay for each offence not less than five dollars, and not more than twenty dollars.
SEC. 39. Whoever shall shoot with or use a bow and arrow in any of the public ways of the town, or shall place or cause to be placed upon any public way, footpath, or sidewalk within the town any lumber, iron, coal, trunks, bales, boxes, crates, casks, barrels, packages, or other things, or shall otherwise obstruct such way by placing things therein, for more than one hour, or more than ten minutes after being notified by a constable, police officer, or the Selectmen, or shall lay, throw, or place, or cause to be laid, thrown, or placed, any ice or snow into any street within the town, unless the same be broken into small pieces and spread evenly on the surface of such street, shall forfeit and pay not less than two nor more than five dollars for every offence.
Article IX. - Hay Scales.
SEC. 40. The Selectmen shall appoint, for a term not exceeding one year, a Superintendent of the hay scales belonging to the town, who may at any time be removed from office by the Selectmen.
SEC. 41. In case of temporary absence, or inability properly to per- form the duties of his office, the Superintendent shall, at his own expense, procure a substitute to perform such duties, who shall be approved by the Selectmen, and be removed at their pleasure.
SEC. 42. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to weigh all the hay and other articles which may be offered to be weighed, subject to such rules and regulations as shall be established by the Selectmen con- cerning the scales and the fees for weighing.
Article X. - Fire Department.
SEC. 43. Until otherwise provided, there shall be one engine com- pany, and one hose company, and one hook-and-ladder company. No person shall be appointed a member of either of said companies except he is eighteen years of age and a resident in the town; nor shall any one be appointed for a less term than three months.
SEC. 44. Each company shall have a foreman, an assistant foreman, and a clerk, who shall be chosen by each company annually at a meeting to be held in May, subject to the approval of the Board of Engineers.
SEC. 45. It shall be the duty of the foreman to see that the engines and apparatus and engine houses are all kept neat, clean, and in order
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for immediate use, and to preserve order and discipline at all times in the companies.
SEC. 46. It shall be the duty of the clerk to keep a record (in a book to be provided by the engineers) of the names of all the officers and members of the companies, specifying the times of appointment, discharge, and age of each member, and the absence of each from all fires in this town, and from the monthly meetings provided for in the forty-eighth section; and also a full account of the town property in charge of the companies. This book to be always subject to the control and inspection of the engineers, and to be'actually submitted to their inspection some time in the months of January and July in each year. In the course of the same months the clerk is to deliver to the Town Treasurer a certified list of the officers and members of the companies, specifying the number of times (if any) each officer or member has absented himself as aforesaid.
SEC. 47. Each company shall perform all duties by law required to be performed by enginemen, and shall use their endeavors, in as orderly and quiet a manner as possible, to extinguish all fires which may break out in this town. And in no instance shall the engines or apparatus leave the town without the consent of one or more of the engineers of the town.
SEC. 48. On the return of the apparatus from the fire, the same shall be well and securely taken care of, and once a month the companies shall meet for the purpose of examining the state of the engines and apparatus, and see that the same are in good repair and ready for use.
SEC. 49. The officers and members shall quarterly receive from the. Town Treasurer, in full for their services, such compensation as the Se- lectmen may, from time to time, by vote determine. Provided, that no member not appointed as provided in the forty-third section, and no offi- cer not appointed as provided in the forty-fourth section, shall receive any portion of such compensation.
SEC. 50. No claims whatever on account of said company, its mem- bers or officers, shall be paid by the Town Treasurer, except the com- pensation provided for in the forty-ninth section.
SEC. 51. The members of the companies are not to meet in their re- spective houses for any purpose except those properly and reasonably connected with their duty as firemen, unless by permission of the Board of Engineers ; and no distilled or fermented liquors shall be used at any meeting whatever which shall be held in the engine houses. At any time when, in the judgment of the Selectmen, the public good will be advanced thereby, they may dismiss from the service all or any portion of the com- panies, their officers, or members.
SEC. 52. Whoever shall take away, or cause to be removed, from any engine-house or other buildings in this town. or in any way interfere with any fire-engine, hose carriage, ladder carriage, or any hooks, ladders, hose, or other apparatus for extinguishing fires, or connected with any engine company (said property belonging to this town), without the con- sent of the engineers or officers of any engine company, or members thereof duly authorized, or one of the Selectmen of the town, shall for- feit and pay not less than five dollars, nor more than twenty dollars, for each offence, to be paid into the treasury of the town.
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Adjourned Annual Meeting, April 4, 1881.
SEC. 53. Whoever shall maliciously enter into any of the buildings belonging to this town which are used for engine-houses, or the storage of apparatus connected with extinguishing fires, without the consent of the engineers or officers of any engine company, shall forfeit and pay not less than five dollars, nor more than twenty dollars, for each offence, to be paid into the treasury of the town.
Article XI. - Public Schools.
SEC. 54. Habitual truants, and children between the ages of seven and fifteen years wandering about in the streets and public places of this town, having no lawful occupation or business, not attending school, and grow- ing up in ignorance, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding twenty dollars, or by commitment to any institution of instruction, house of reformation, or suitable situation, provided for the purpose under the authority of the first section of Chapter 262 of the Acts of the year 1873.
SEC. 55. The School Committee shall annually appoint two or more truant officers, whose duty it shall be to report all cases coming to their knowledge of habitual truancy, and of children found wandering in the streets as aforesaid, to the parents or guardians of the children found offending ; and, in case such children so reported are again found violating this by-law, to make complaint thereof before a court or magistrate having jurisdiction of the offence. They shall also inquire diligently con- cerning all persons between the ages aforesaid who seem to be idle or vagrant, or who, whether employed or unemployed, appear to be grow- ing up in ignorance, and enter a complaint against any one violating section fifty-four of these by-laws. Before making complaint against any child, the truant officer shall notify the child and its parents or guardian of the penalty of the offence.
SEC. 56. Every child before being admitted into any public school in this town shall present to the teacher a certificate from some physician, or from its parents or guardians, that he or she has been properly vac- cinated. No child shall be allowed to attend school who has not been properly vaccinated.
Article XII. - Public Health.
SEC. 57. It shall be the duty of the Board of Health to be vigilant and active in protecting the public health; to see that the laws and ordi- nances in relation to the same are enforced; to communicate their views to the Board of Selectmen from time to time as they may deem expe- dient; and they shall have power to call upon the police and various town officers to aid them in the performance of these duties.
SEC. 58. The Board of Health shall make all contracts and regula- tions for the cleaning of cesspools, vaults, and privies, and the collection of house offal, and the employment of laborers required therefor; pro- vided, however, that the expenditure for the purposes herein enumerated shall not exceed the amount previously appropriated therefor by the town ; and all contracts for such work shall contain the condition that they shall be performed to the satisfaction of the Board of Health.
SEC. 59. The Board of Health shall organize annually by choice of one of their members as chairman. The said board shall also appoint a
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secretary, whose duty it shall be to have charge of the records of the board.
SEC. 60. The board shall annually, on or before the seventh day of February, send to the Selectmen an estimate in detail of the appropria- tions required by the Health Department during the next financial year. All bills for expenditures from the appropriations for the Health Depart- ment shall be drawn for by the chairman of the board, and examined by the Selectmen, before they are paid by the Town Treasurer.
SEC. 61. The Board of Health shall annually, in the month of Feb- ruary, present to the town a report made up to and including the last day of the preceding January, containing a full and comprehensive state- ment of the acts of the board during the year, and a review of the sani- tary condition of the town.
SEC. 62. Whenever the board sells any article or materials belonging to the town, or does, or causes to be done, work for any individual, they shall enter, in books to be kept for that purpose, all such sales and work done, with the price thereof, and shall forthwith make out bills for the same and deliver them to the Town Treasurer for collection, and the Treasurer shall forthwith demand payment of the said bills; and in case any bills or dues under this by-law remain unpaid at the expiration of thirty days after demand for payment as aforesaid, the Treasurer shall deliver the same to the Board of Selectmen for legal proceedings; but if the Selectmen are satisfied that the interests of the town require it, they may cause legal proceedings to be had at any time.
SEC. 63. The Board of Health may give licenses for burials, and for the removal of dead bodies from the town, and point out the place, depth, width, and range of all graves in the several burying grounds, and shall forbid graves to be dug within those limits in such grounds in which, in its judgment, it would be dangerous to the public health to allow graves.
SEC. 64. No person shall bury or inter, or cause to be buried or in- terred, any dead body in violation of any direction or order of the board, given in accordance with the preceding section, or without having first obtained a license so to do.
SEC. 65. No person shall inter, or cause to be interred, any dead body in a grave less than three feet deep from the surface of the ground sur- rounding the grave to the top of the coffin.
SEC. 66. On the first Monday of February annually, or within ten days thereafter, the Board of Health shall appoint for a period of one year from the first Monday of April in the year in which they may be appointed, such a number of funeral undertakers as may be deemed ex- pedient, and they shall be responsible for the decent, orderly, and faith- ful management of the funerals undertaken by them, and for a strict compliance with the ordinances of the town in this behalf. Each under- taker may employ porters, of a discreet and sober character, to assist him, and he shall be accountable for their conduct ; said undertakers and porters may be removed at the pleasure of the board. No person not ap- pointed as aforesaid shall open any tomb or grave for the purpose of de- positing or removing any dead body without the permission of the Board of Health.
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Adjourned Annual Meeting, April 4, 1881.
SEC. 67. No person shall bury or inter, or cause to be buried or in- terred, any dead body at any other time of the day than between sunris- ing and sunsetting, except when otherwise permitted by the Board of Health.
SEC. 68. The Board of Health is authorized to make and adopt any regulations in relation to the interment of the dead which they may deem expedient.
SEC. 69. In order to abate a nuisance the Board of Selectmen, with the approval of the Board of Health, is authorized to permit, under such restrictions, not inconsistent with existing by-laws of the town in relation thereto, and on payment of such sum as they may deem expedient, the construction of sufficient passageways or conduits under ground for the purpose of conveying the contents of any vault, privy, or wet lands into any common sewer or drain.
SEC. 70. If the Board of Health shall at any time be satisfied that any tenement used as a dwelling-house is not provided with a suitable privy, vault, and drain, or either of them, as aforesaid, they shall give notice in writing to the owner, agent, occupant, or other person having the care thereof ; and in case of neglect or refusal to obey such notice, the Board of Health shall cause such privy, vault, and drain to be made for such tenement or other building, at the expense of such owner, agent, occu- pant, or other person ; and in case any such drain, vault, or privy is con- structed as aforesaid for the use of more than one house, then the owner, agent, occupant, or other person having the charge of each of such houses shall be liable to pay a proportional part of such expense.
SEC. 71. Whenever any vault, privy, or drain becomes offensive or obstructed, the same shall be cleansed and made free, and the owner, agent, occupant, or other person having charge of the land in which any vault, privy, or drain is situated, the state or condition of which is in violation of the provisions of this ordinance, shall remove, cleanse, alter, amend, or repair the same within such reasonable time, after notice in writing to that effect given by the Board of Health, as shall be expressed in such notice. In case of neglect or refusal so to do, the Board of Health may cause the same to be removed, altered, amended, or repaired as they may deem expedient, at the expense of the owner, agent, occupant, or other person as aforesaid.
SEC. 72. No cesspool, vault, or privy situated within one hundred feet of any town way or public building shall be emptied in any other mode or at any other time than the Board of Health may direct and appoint, subject to such regulations as the board from time to time shall make on the subject, and always at the expense of the owner, agent, occupant, or other person having charge of the tenement in which such vault is situ- ated.
SEC. 73. Books, in which shall be entered all applications for opening and cleansing vaults, shall be kept in convenient places under the charge of the Chief of Police; such applications shall specify the number of loads, if less than the whole contents of the vault, to be removed; and they shall receive attention in the order in which they are made, so far as practicable.
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SEC. 74. All house offal, whether consisting of animal or vegetable substances, shall be placed in suitable vessels, and no ashes or other refuse matter shall be mingled therewith ; and the same shall be kept in some convenient place, to be taken away by the town scavengers, which shall be done as often as once in each week.
SEC. 75. No person shall remove or carry in or through any of the streets, squares, courts, lanes. avenues, places, or alleys within the town of Brookline any house dirt or house offal, either animal or vegetable, or any grease or bones, or any refuse substances from any of the dwelling- houses or other places in the town, unless such person so removing or carrying the same, and the mode in which the same may be removed or carried, shall have been expressly licensed by the Board of Health, upon such terms and conditions as they may deem the health and interest of the town require. But all the ashes and cinders made from steam en- gines or steam boilers, forges or furnaces, used for mechanical purposes, shall be removed at the expense of the parties occupying the building, or the owner thereof, and at such times and in such manner as the Board of Health may direct.
SEC. 76. No person shall drive, or cause to be driven, any cart or wagon containing night-soil, or any cart or wagon used for that purpose, through any public way in the town, between the hours of four A.M. and nine P.M., nor permit any such wagon or cart to stand between said hours in any street, lane, or alley in said town.
SEC. 77. No person shall keep any swine within a distance of fifty feet of any public way or place, or within a distance of one hundred feet of any dwelling-house not his own, or within a distance of twenty-five feet of his own dwelling-house, without a permit from the Selectmen previ- ously obtained.
SEC. 78. No person shall put or suffer to accumulate on his premises any refuse animal or vegetable matter, rubbish or filth, whereby any offensive or noxious stench or effluvia shall be created, and the health or comfort or the citizens be injuriously affected, or shall throw any such substances into the streams or brooks of the town, not laid out by the town as common sewers, or shall allow the contents of any vault or house-drain, or the refuse of manufacturing or slaughtering process, to drain into such streams or brooks.
SEC. 79. No person shall throw or suffer to fall into any common sewer in the town, or into any inlet of the same, any dead animals, stones, bricks, sticks, or other substances likely to obstruct the flow of water in the same, and no person shall allow his vault or house-drain to drain into any sewer, without first obtaining from the proper authorities the per- mission so to do.
SEC. 80. No person, without the license of the Board of Health, shall throw into or leave in or upon any street, court, square, lane, alley, public square, public enclosure, vacant lot, or any pond or body of water within the limits of the town, any dead animal, dirt, sawdust, soot, ashes, cinders, shavings, hair, shreds, manure, oyster, clam, or lobster shells, waste water, rubbish, or filth of any kind, or any refuse animal or vegetable matter whatsoever. Nor shall any person throw into or leave
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Adjourned Annual Meeting, April 4, 1881.
in or upon flats or tide water within the jurisdiction of the town, any dead animal, or other foul or offensive matter.
SEC. S1. If any of the substances mentioned in the preceding section shall be thrown or carried from any house, warehouse, shop, cellar, yard, or other place, or left in any of the places specified in the preceding sec- tion, the owner and occupant of such house, warehouse, shop, cellar, yard, or other place as aforesaid, and the person who actually threw, carried, or left the same, or who caused the same to be thrown, carried, or left, shall severally be held liable for such violation of this ordinance ; and all such substances shall be removed from the place where they have been so thrown or left as aforesaid by such owner or occupant or other person, within two hours after personal notice, in writing, to that effect, given by the Board of Health or any police officer; or such removal shall be made under the direction of said board or its officers, and the expense thereof borne by such owner or occupant.
SEC. 82. All dirt, sawdust, soot, ashes, cinders, shavings, hair, shreds, manure, oyster, clam, or lobster shells, waste water, or any animal or veg- etable substance, rubbish, or filth, of any kind, in any house, warehouse, or other building, cellar, yard, unaccepted street, alley-way, or other place, which the Board of Health may deem injurious to the health of the town, shall be removed by the owner or occupant of such house, ware- house, other building, cellar, yard, unaccepted street, alley-way, or other place where the same may be found, within twenty-four hours, or such other time as the Board of Health may deem reasonable, after notice in writing to that effect, or such removal shall be made under the direction of the Board of Health, and the expense thereof borne by such owner or occupant, who shall also be liable to a penalty.
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