USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Rochester > Annual report of the city of Rochester, New Hampshire : for the year ending 1915 > Part 1
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OGY 2
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01883 2995
GENEALOGY 974.202 R58, 1915
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ROBERT V. SWEET, MAYOR
Twenty-fourth Annual Report
OF THE
CITY OF ROCHESTER
NEW HAMPSHIRE
ROCHESTER
ED
AD
For the Year Ending December Thirty-first Nineteen hundred and fifteen
Rochester Printing Company
Inaugural Address
BY MAYOR ROBERT V. SWEET
Gentlemen of the City Council :
My first obligation is to the public spirited men of this city who have so many times, however mistaken in their judgment, urged me to be a candidate for the office of Mayor.
I have lived in Rochester long enough and have been sufficiently active in my efforts with our people, to know who of our citizens are most unselfishly interested in its welfare. Therefore I first want to thank those men from the bottom of my heart for their confidence in me and assure them that it will be my unstinted endeavor to show my deep appreciation of their good will and to justify their expectation so far as in me lies.
We shall not be immune from criticism ; in fact, honest criticism from people whose judgment we res- pect, we invite, for, in this way we shall be helped to give better and more efficient service. Chronic criticism from people whose chief employment it is should disturb or distress none of us. It is so much easier to criticise than it is to construct.
To me the idea of an inaugural address is a farce if it deals only in generalities and does not really give something tangible in the way of specific recommenda- tions. I shall, however, not presume to advise you who are in a much better position than I to know the present
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ANNUAL REPORT
needs of the various departments, but I do hope by active consultation and cooperation with you to be able to make from time to time suggestions that may be helpful to us in arriving at correct conclusions in our work.
Before we take up for consideration the different phases of the city's needs I am sure you will join with me in more than an invitation ; in fact, in an urgent request to the members of that active and very impor- tant organization in our city, viz., the Chamber of Com- merce to cooperate and counsel with us in any way that may inure to the benefit of the general public.
FINANCES
FINANCIAL STATEMENT, DECEMCER 31, 1915
Debit
Outstanding notes
$188,067 25
Accrued interest on notes
3,264 99
Sewer bonds
6,500 00
Interest on sewer bonds
113 75
City Hall bonds
50,000 00
Checks unpaid
1,844 35
Amt. due Water Works on acct.
13,857 52
. Due on Gonic sewerage
1,028 36
Due on Isinglass bridge
545 20
$265,221 41
Credit
Boston & Maine R. R. stock $ 800 00
Amt. due on sundry accounts 516 57
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
Amt. due on Collector's list, 1911
$ 136 74
1912
517 81
1913
530 01 Y
1914
3,791 42
1915
27,532 66
Cash in hands of treasurer
5,401 93
$39,217 14
Indebtedness, exclusive of water bonds $225,994 27
160,000 00 Water bonds
We recall, with some pride, that twenty-one years ago when we were paying four and five per cent on the city's notes aggregating nearly one hundred thousand dollars, Rochester was one of the very first cities in the United States to issue bonds in very small amounts and sell them over the counter, thereby serving the double purpose of. making them available as safe investments to our own town people of small means and saving con- siderable amounts to the city. Today this is a very general practice. In eighteen ninety-five the city's indebtedness exclusive of water bonds was one hundred and two thousand, ninety-six dollars and thirty-two cents. Now it is two hundred and twenty-five thousand nine hundred and ninety-four dollars and twenty-seven cents. The amount in floating notes is one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, sixty-seven dollars and twenty- five cents. It has been the custom of the council to vote to refund notes, so that the original purpose of the loans is lost of track and therefore it is not always possi- ble to tell just when a certain debt is cancelled. I hope in some way we may classify these notes in a manner that such uncertainty will be no longer possible.
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ANNUAL REPORT
The "pay as you go" policy should be adhered to as closely as possible.
The annual budget should be so prepared that it may cover all the annual expenditures of the year and in case of some unusual and unforeseen requirement pre- senting itself the council should arrange for this need in specific, serial, time notes, covering only a very short period. In the matter of appropriations, it seems to me, we must increase them in some departments and decrease them in others, exercising great care in the aggregate recommended that our tax rate may not be increased.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Our City Hall and Library are a source of pride to us all. The schoolhouses in the main are in splendid condition and reflect great credit upon those who gave the subject of their construction so much time and thought, and through whose foresight we are now in possession of such commodious buildings. I especially speak of foresight for two reasons, -first, to have you recall that when plans were being formulated for the Gonic schoolhouse there was much opposition to its pro- posed dimensions-in fact some of the men from Ward Three were severely criticised for their desire to have a building so unreasonably large that "it could never be filled." How fortunate for us now that wise counsel prevailed. Visit this school and you will find that we for some time have been obliged to use the small library for one of the grades. Secondly, that you may realise we shall very soon be called upon, on account of the rapid growth of our city, to remodel, enlarge or rebuild the Maple street school. When that time comes we shall be much less likely to err on the side of "penny wise aud pound foolish" if we recall that not so long ago that
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
very building did duty as Rochester's high school and was adequate to its needs. Since then we have built four large schools, all but one of which are already overcrowded, and we make a great mistake, when the change is made, if we do not plan for at least twenty- five years in the future.
I beg to digress at this point just enough to com- mend most heartily the public spirit which has been manifested recently on the part of many of our citizens in improving their premises, -in making possible the various attractive little parks, in many substantial im- provements to business blocks on and near our square, and to appeal to some of our most respected citizens who own property in and about the center of our city to emulate this spirit. May we not hope to see some of these blots on our landscape take on a semblance of respectability during the coming year?
Only by cooperation can we beautify the city, for one man, by thoughtlessness or indifference, can mar the appearance of an entire locality in spite of the efforts of all his neighbors.
SCHOOLS
This department is indisputably the most important which any city has to consider, and merits our keenest interest and most honest efforts. To our youth of today must we look for our citizens of tomorrow. Since the atmosphere of a community depends wholly upon the character of its people it behooves us to look well to the development physically, mentally, and morally of the vast number whose future we can so largely mould. The school supplements the home in the matter of character building and in too many cases is the only source of training for life which the child has. Clearly
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ANNUAL REPORT
then the school must be more than a place in which to learn the three R's, essential though these may be. It must be a source of associations and inspirations which shall deepen and broaden their natures. The atmos- phere must be kept clean; the influence wholesome. During school days we pass through the most impres- sionable period of our lives and we all know how vastly our whole life has been affected by the all-powerful influence of that certain teacher whose image never forsakes us. A statesman's definition of a college, - "Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and James A. Gar- field on the other," was a wise one. We are proud of our teaching force and I am sure there is not a man here who, if he gives the subject any thought, believes we have one who is overpaid.
It should be our constant aim to improve in every way possible our public school system. This is the one department of our city government where we can least afford to be parsimonious.
Everything else can await a full treasury for its accomplishment, but children are of school age but once, and we must mould these citizens of tomorrow or our opportunity is gone forever. I therefore bespeak for this department a broad-minded and generous con- sideration.
POLICE
It seems to me the record in this department has been exceptionally creditable during the past year and merits our commendation. No council has a right to reject a faithful police official, or to reelect an unfaithful or inefficient one. An honest officer of the law is com- pelled to face hazards at any and all times for our protection ; the hazard of a reelection he should not be required to meet. The force of public opinion is the
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
greatest power in any government. Sometimes we think it sleeps, but not so. It was never more awake than now. Any public official who has been faithless to his trust does not dare to face it. To be more concrete -we all know of the very few infected spots in our town whose proprietors have generally successfully defied the men whose sworn duty it was to clean them out. Is the police officer to blame? No sir! We are the guilty ones unless we see to it that no man dare be a candidate for this position whose past record, public or private, does not warrant us in the assumption that he will make good. All subordinates in this department are accountable to the Chief and if there are any delin- quincies among the former the latter should and must be held responsible.
The protection of the travelling public must be safe- guarded, and in this age of auto-speeding, a more rigid scrutiny and severe treatment must be exercised to remove this menace from our streets. A police official need not make himself offensive, or take himself too seriously, to be successful; in fact, quite the reverse obtains. He should be always courteous, but not coward- ly ; forceful, but not facetious. He should be the ever- ready helper of every innocent in trouble, and the fear of every oft-repeated guilty culprit who too many times has found him easy.
HIGHWAYS
This department requires much constant study and careful thought. Today we do not build roads as we once did with little consideration as to the manner and material and only to be sure we had no unexpended balance at the end of the year ; rather, we must find that street or highway most travelled and most in need
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ANNUAL REPORT
of repair and when that is determined we must all join our efforts to see that it is done in the best possible manner at the lowest possible cost. It seems to me that in some instances the expense has been out of ratio to the amount of territory covered, and therefore we must use different material in order to complete the work which is so sadly needed. Summer street to the railroad crossing, North Main street from the post office to the stone bridge greatly need attention. These, together with that part of Wakefield street not already improved should be repaired during this year. About one-sixth of Wakefield street has been cemented at a cost of eight hundred and seven dollars, not including the cost of curbing, which for one thousand, nine hun- dred and thirty-four linear feet is seven hundred and twenty-eight dollars. This work has been done well and at a very low cost considering the material used, but, before this is carried further, we must decide if a less expensive material will not meet our needs.
The purchase of a cement mixer was a wise move and the city saves much by its use and in the fact that our efficient street commissioner supervises and operates it with his regular crew.
Our improvements must not be confined to our city streets alone, but a proper amount is due to the chief throughfares leading in various directions. In any proper road construction drainage is of prime impor- tance and if this feature is neglected however much time and money we may spend, and flatter ourselves that we have reached the acme of success, we are early doomed to disappointment. How much money has been expended on Horse hill during the past twenty years, and not till very recently did we make any lasting im- provement. There are three or four spots, only a few rods in length, where repairs have many times been
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
made and drainage ignored, that, in the spring of the year nearly cut us off from Meaderboro and Barrington. These few bottomless pits have been known to our ancestors and to all of us, who use the highways at all, and still they exist. Why? Because every year some money is expended on them to absolutely no advantage because it has not been done right. Let us see to it that these shall be forever removed at the earliest possi- ble moment, if feasible before the last of March when they are quite impassable.
My first request of this department is to make an exhaustive investigation of the relative cost of crushed stone. This is so essential a factor in all our road building that we must know our cheapest source of sup- ply, -- whether we purchase a ledge, do our own crush- ing and hauling, or buy it delivered by rail close to its place of use. If it should be decided that we can crush stone cheaper than we can buy it already crushed and delivered, why is it not a good business proposition to procure the best available ledge and keep our men em- ployed during the winter crushing stone to be used in the following summer months?
SHADE TREES, PARKS AND COMMONS
Through the foresight of our worthy ancestors Rochester's main streets are the cynosure of all eyes on account of the noble elms that adorn their borders. Do we show ourselves worthy of this invaluable fore- thought; an asset incalcuable in worth to us when we sit quietly by and do not lift a finger to preserve them to ourselves and our children? They are dying by scores every year and whether by gas, electricity or neglect, is it not possible to determine the cause and compel its removal? Expert advice may be needed in this depart- ment, if so, let us have it.
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ANNUAL REPORT
We note and appreciate the fact that various women's organizations have appropriately celebrated Arbor Day.
Through the generosity and most praiseworthy public spirit of Mr. C. A. C. Hanson we are, for all time to come, in possession of a fine public park along our river bank. May we not see to it that steps soon be taken to secure to ourselves a continuation of this park system along the banks of the Cocheco in our wonderful Inter- vale? There are few cities with such beauty spots so near its heart, and do we not owe it to ourselves to secure them before they are ruined by the woodman's axe? The Boston and Maine railroad has evinced a commendable spirit by expressing a desire to cooperate with us in the way of beautifying its idle areas ; let us encourage this project by meeting them half way.
WATER AND FIRE
These departments are under capable and efficient management. There are some changes, however, which might be advantageous to the city. For some reason the annual cost of new hose has been excessive. This expense can be considerably reduced by some plan to better preserve the hose.
In this department the ordinance has been so revised that the expenditure of its funds rests entirely with this committee. So far as I am aware this is the only department so empowered, and meets with my disap- proval. In this connection would it not be well for the Council to limit any and all departments in their pur- chases to a specific amount? You have provided for a a purchasing committee, which is well. In all purchases above a limited figure this committee should be held responsible and do this work. All purchases. made
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
below this limit should be made through the regular order blanks procured from the city clerk. This facili- tates filing and bookkeeping and makes all small pur- chases easily accessible and open to any member of the council or to the public.
The city's horses, if it can be arranged, should all be cared for by one man and this person a member of the fire department, taking care of the fire station, that he may be available as a member of the regular fire squad in all emergencies. The janitors of the city building should also be members of the fire department and, if feasible, one of them sleep in the fire station. This arrangement would save considerable expense to the city and secure to the department four permanent men through the day and three by night.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Supplementary to our public school system and one of the most valuable institutions in the city, both in the training of the rising generation and in the cultivation and education of the entire community is our Public Library. Few realize, perhaps, the extent of the work which the library does as an aid to the schools both for teachers and pupils. Its reference department often resembles a schoolroom in the attendance of boys and girls. It is to the library also that our various literary clubs look for their reading matter in pursuing their studies. In the twenty years since the library was founded as a free public institution, its number of vol- umes and circulation have more than trebled. This necessitates a great increase in administration expenses, while the beautiful library building compels a consider- able annual expenditure for its maintenance. Of course, such fixed charges must first be met out of the appro-
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ANNUAL REPORT
priation and it is only the surplus which can be expended for new books and for the growth and development of the library. From the beginning its trustees have been among our most prominent and honored citizens. They have, without exception, taken a vital interest in the institution and have managed it with great economy and efficiency. The librarian is one of the most competent in the state. Therefore, the larger the appropriation for this department, the more can be spent in increasing its usefulness, resulting in direct benefit to a very large proportion of our citizens. I feel that it should be treated as liberally as the condition of the city's finances will permit.
IN CONCLUSION
Automobile hire in the recent past has been excess- ive. In the fire department the past year, one hundred and five dollars. In the water department, thirty-six dollars. In the police department, one hundred and eighty-eight dollars. Highway department, twenty- nine dollars.
In those departments where the salary contemplates and includes the furnishing of one's own conveyance it means just what it says. And this must be adhered to.
The city ordinances are explicit in their require- ments of all its officials and they shall he held strictly accountable each for the work in his own department. It is the earnest desire of the council and myself that the man at the head of each department shall take a personal pride and interest in his work ; that he shall be honest, aggressive, and efficient, thereby reflecting credit upon himself, the council who elected him, and the people whose servants we all are.
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
Gentlemen, this first meeting is the most important one we shall hold during the year and let us not put ourselves under a cloud at its inception. Few men are or can be efficient Street Commissioners, City Marshals, or City Solicitors. When these have given evidence of their remarkable and praiseworthy service you or I have no right to turn them down. Politics, partisanship or pledges shall not prevent this city from that which it justly deserves and demands. Pledges made that shall deprive the city of the very best service obtainable, proven by experience, better be broken that kept. We are not acting in a private capacity and those of us who have taken the trouble to ascertain what the public expect and demand cannot have any doubt as to our duty in this matter. Am I transcending my rights when I make this earnest appeal for our community when, at this time, it is only through me, their representative, that they can speak? If so, I misinterpret my duty. May this council honor itself, honor me, and honor our beloved city, by a unanimous support of every faithful official, and thereby make him even more zealous to continue his good work.
City Government
As Organized January 5, 1916
MAYOR Robert V. Sweet COUNCILMEN
Ward One
LLOYD J. STEWART MOSES H. JACOBS ORRIN Q. HOYT
Ward Two
JAMES CRANNON HENRY L. OSBORNE EUGENE C. HOWARD
Ward Three
SUMNER W. WATSON LEOPOLD LAROSE ERNEST W. BICKFORD
Ward Four
FREDERIC E. SMALL AURELLE BEAUDOIN EDWARD P. MAXFIELD
Ward Five
SAMUEL E. SHAPLEIGH CHAS. W. WENTWORTH GEORGE T. MCDUFFEE
Ward Six
EUGENE C. Foss LEANDER P. PICKERING FRED F. SEAVEY
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
City Clerk, -Frank E. Hussey City Treasurer, -John L. Copp City Solicitor, -Elmer J. Smart Collector of Taxes, -Gilbert F. Shaw Street Commissioner, -George D. Dame Superintendent of Water Works and Sewers, -J. Frank Ellis
Marshal, -Charles M. Cook Assistant Marshal, -Isaac D. Piercy Night Watch, -Ferdinand G. Sylvain Police at Gonic, - Warren W. Daggett Police at East Rochester, -Thomas H. Gotts Chief Engineer Fire Department, -John F. Nute First Assistant Engineer, - Wilbur E. Horne
Second Assistant Engineer, -Peter McShane
Third Assistant Engineer. - Charles S. Clark Fourth Assistant Engineer, -Louis M. Richardson Sanitary Officer, - Martin E. Jones
Overseer of the Poor, -Forrest L. Keay City Physician, -Dudley L. Stokes
Board of Health, -Martin E. Jones, Forrest L. Keay, Dudley L. Stokes
Assessors,-Chas. W. Evans, Chas. H. Henderson, A. Gaspard Gelinas
Plumbers' Examining Board, - Dudley L. Stokes, Martin E. Jones, Albert P. Covey
Trustees of Public Library, -Mayor Robert V. Sweet, H. L. Worcester, Willis McDuffee, Frank B. Preston, Cora B. Hayes, J. Levi Meader, John Young
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ANNUAL REPORT
Assistant City Clerk, -Sarah M. Roberts
Manager City Opera House, -Frank E. Hussey
Special Police, -George D. Dame, B. Ford Parsons, Eugene Dennett, H. M. Goodwin, James Walker, W. J. Hartford, Cyrille Vachon, John Foss, Nelson S. Hatch, Eugene M. Foss, Ozro Berry, William N. Bell, Frank Wiggin, Willis Pennell, Edward Josse- lyn, Walter J. Seavey, Eugene Dame, Leroy H. Laskey, Arthur H. Bickford, Edward J. Crotty, Miles H. Dustin, Edward L. Tebbetts, Robert Reid, Noe Carignan, Geo. W. Preston, Louis Grassee, John Lowe, Donald McKay, Elmer Watson, Everett Chad- bourne, Fred L. Chesley, T. J. Cullinan, Venant Perrault, Peter Gagne, Marcellus Marison, Patrick Callaghan, George M. Rankin, Charles A. Emerson, Alphonse Potvin, Jos. N. Norris, I. Belmont Allen, Ernest R. Masse, Fred Roux, James B. Young, Horace H. Mills
Janitor,-William A. Hanscom
Sealer of Weights and Measures,-H. Walter Hislop
Surveyors of Wood and Lumber,-Napoleon Masse, Na- hum Woodman, Sidney B. Hayes, Louis Cartier, J. Trafton Whipple, Harry H. Meader, Robert Fownes, Harry N. Lenfest, Arthur Holstein, Orra Goodale, Isaac Barrett, Arthur Davis, Arthur Barber, David Shields, John Higgins, Charles Tebbetts, H. C. Goodwin, Harry I. Howard, W. Eugene Springfield Weighers of Hay, Straw and Coal, -George E. Green- field, John Colt, William Blair, Arthur Sylvain, A. F. Bradley, Roland Joy, Chester Rines, Fred Rodier, Daniel F. Jenness, Joseph O. Hayes, Newell B. Foss, H. Walter Hislop, George H. Torr, A. P. Little
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CITY OF ROCHESTER
Frank L. Wing, Chester H. Smith, Walter J. Sea- vey, Frank Glidden, Isaac C. Evans, James Foley, Winslow W. Otis, Thomas Gilbert, Harry D. Cham- pion, Joseph Woodes, George R. Ricker, Albert E. Holmes, E. M. Hawkes
Fence Viewers,-James Corson, David H. Tufts, Mar- vin T. Blaisdell
STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance, -Mayor, Small, and Seavey
Shade Trees, Parks, and Commons, -Mayor, Hoyt, and Shapleigh
Public Instruction, -Mayor, Larose, and Watson Claims and Accounts, -Pickering, Osborne, and Bickford Public Buildings, -- Foss, Wentworth, and McDuffee Fire Department,-Shapleigh, Hoyt, and Howard. Roads, Bridges, and Drains, -Bickford, Foss, and Pickering
Water Works and Sewers, -Pickering, Howard, and Jacobs
Street Lights,-Shapleigh, Seavey, and Maxfield Printing,-Crannon, Beaudoin, and Watson Elections and Returns,-Larose, Foss, and Osborne Adams Fund, -Stewart, Watson, and Crannon Bills in Their Second Reading and Enrolled Ordinances, -Small, Wentworth, and Bickford
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ANNUAL REPORT
Legal Affairs, -Mayor, Small, and Jacobs
Purchasing Committee,-Mayor, Wentworth, and Seavey Police,-Mayor, Stewart, and Foss
Old Cemetery Conservation Fund Perpetua, -McDuffee, Hoyt, and Maxfield
Street Sprinkling,-Seavey, Osborne, and Beaudoin
Finance Committee
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