Current Events Dec. 20. Alexander C. Munroe, long choirmaster of Old South Church, offers new organ to the church as a memorial to his wife. 21. Annual meeting of Massachusetts Cattle Owners' Association in Horticultural Hall. 21. Board of Trade holds meeting of abutters to discuss city's plans for abolition of northern grade crossings. 21. Lieut. N. J. Smith, First Battalion Artillery, selected by Governor-elect Foss as aid-de-camp. 22. Arthur H. Burton, clerk of the Board of Assessors, elected President of Massachusetts Assessors' Association for third term. 23. 423 applications for naturalization papers filed in Worcester County in 1910, exceeding any previous record. 24. Rev. Robert J. Floody, superintendent of social settlement and garden city movement, honored by his alma mater, Albion College, with degree of Doctor of Divinity. 27. Philip Little, former Worcester artist, missing since July 25, 1909, returns to home of his parents, 3 Chadwick Street. 27. John H. Parent reappointed railroad inspector for term of three years by Massachusetts Railroad Commission. 30. State Board of Health gives adverse report on use of water from Coes Pond. 30. Worcester Oratorio Society presents oratorio "Messiah" at Pilgrim Church. 30. Donald Tulloch, secretary of Worcester Branch of National Metal Trades Association, and Mrs. Tulloch celebrate silver wedding anniversary with reception and housewarming. 31. Windsor apartment house, 720 Main Street, burns, with loss of $25,000. Jan. 1. Parishioners of St. Mary's Church, Richland Street, vote to build parochial school on Endicott Street. 1. Three hundred Tungsten electric street lights put into service, partly replacing gasolene lamps. 1. Worcester Licensed Automobile Dealers' Association vote to hold automobile show, February 7 to 11. 3. Worcester Merchants' Association at annual meeting reëlect Edwin E. Dodge, president; Edward B. Clapp, secretary; and Elwood Adams, treasurer. 5. Miss Clara C. Giddings, twelve years matron of Y. W. C. A., resigns. 6. Y. W. C. A. celebrates its silver anniversary. 6. County Commissioners after investigation recommend numerous changes in method of conducting Summer Street jail and house of correction. 6. William J. Clark, manager of heavy traction department of General Electric Co., addresses Board of Trade on topic Some Glimpses of Commercial Economics." 10. Worcester County ends financial year with balance of $28,000. Boston & Albany Railroad issues orders to engineers for purpose of abating smoke nuisance in city of Worcester. 10. Flames in City Hospital laundry cause loss of $3,000 to $4,000. 11. Deputy Sheriff Albert F. Richardson appointed master of the house of correction and keeper of Summer Street jail, succeeding W. Ansel Washburn. 11. The Addis-Adie Co. leases the Woods Building at 418 Main Street and will open special department store. 12. Rev. George L. Hibbard, pastor of First Baptist Church of Grafton, is given unanimous call to become pastor of Newton Square Baptist Church. Cost, Dec., 1910 Cost, Dec., 1909 Per Cent. Gain Loss Atlanta. $550,658 $591,776 10 Baltimore. 394,625 763,490 48 Bridgeport. 77,575 81,000 5 Buffalo. 488,000 475,000 9. 102,895 118 12. Annual meeting of New England Federation of Harvard Clubs at Woman's Clubhouse. 12. Miss Helen Grinnell Mears of Albany, daughter of Rev. Dr. David O. Mears, many years pastor of Piedmont Church, makes her debut as oratorio soloist. 14. New Hebrew free school building, 10 Waverley Street, ready for occupancy. 14. Bills filed in Senate and House of Representatives by Senator Hunt and Representative Sylvester, providing for a railroad station at South Worcester Junction. 16. Mrs. Ellen Frances Rogers re-elected President of Woman's Clubhouse Corporation. 17. Ten candidates take preliminary examinations for admission to Annapolis Naval Academy. 18. Worcester Tuberculosis Relief Association re-elects present officers at annual meeting. 18. Members of Legislature from Worcester petition Massachusetts Railroad Commissioners not to take action in granting trolley freight franchise until after Legislature acts on the Henebery Bill. 19. Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, U. S. Department of Agriculture, speaks to Economic Club on "The Economy of Honesty in Food and Drugs." 19. Fifth annual exhibition by Worcester Poultry Association opens in Mechanics and Washburn Halls. 19. Walter W. Farmer, organist at First Unitarian Church, engaged by First Baptist Church. City Hall Dec. 20. City debt shows net gain of $433,000 for 1910. 21. The joint standing committee on finance of the City Council vote to recommend appropriation of $75,000 for development of Asnebumskit watershed. 28. Report of joint standing committee on finance of City Council shows City Treasurer's receipts during year ending November 30 were $5,906,585.88 and disbursements were $6,027,560.55, with balance on hand of $294,268.28. 29. Public hearing at City Hall by Special State Commission on compensation for industrial accidents. 29. Members of 1910 City Council have farewell banquet at Bay State House. Jan. 2. City Council re-elects all heads of departments except Assistant Street Commissioner 2. George F. Brooks elected President of Board of Aldermen and Edward T. Esty President of Common Council. 2. James Logan, 31st Mayor of Worcester, takes oath of office as Mayor for fourth term. 4. Superintendent of Schools Homer P. Lewis reports need of another high school building to seat 1000 pupils, also need of schools at Meade Street and Columbus Park. 6. George C. Halcott, superintendent of public buildings, announces that Worcester ranks third among cities of United States for gain in building operations in 1910. 10. Directors of Public Library vote increase of pay to about thirty employees; Librarian Shaw's salary is raised $200, to $3200. 16. Ex-Councilman James C. Blake elected Assistant Street Commissioner by City Council. 16. Librarian Robert K. Shaw in annual report states the number of volumes exceeds 180,000 and the circulation was 375,318, a net increase of 23,673, or nearly seven per cent. Industrial Dec. 20. Additions and alterations to State Armory, costing $45,000, completed. 27. Francis H. Dewey re-elected President of Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Co. at annual meeting of directors. 28. Norcross Bros. Co. awarded contract for furnishing and setting exterior marble and granite for structure in Montreal to be erected by the Art Association of Montreal, the estimated cost being $100,000. 31. E. D. Ward secures contract to build brick factory building at 42 Lagrange Street for A. W. Gifford at estimated cost of $15,000. Jan. 2. A. P. Crawford Company, Alfred P. Crawford, President, and George B. Crawford, Treasurer, incorporated under Massachusetts laws with capital of $25,000, to manufacture shoes. 2. People's Co-operative Bank organized with capital of $1,000,000. Albert F. Richardson, President, and Richard V. Hawley, Secretary and Treasurer. 2. Massachusetts Railroad Commission extends franchise of Worcester & Northern Street Railway Company, a proviso being inserted that work must be begun within year. 6. Norton Company tenders annual banquet to officers, salesmen and department heads at Frohsinn Hall. 11. Queensbury and Greenwood Mills consolidate under new Massachusetts charter, with capital of $400,000. Board of Directors is composed of Haggis Hodgson, Fred Hodgson, S. Benton Emery, Charles B. Coburn and Edwin Wilcock. 13. Worcester County Horticultural Society votes to appropriate $25,000 for improvements and alterations on its building. 15. Osgood Bradley Car Co. gets contract from Boston & Maine Railroad to build 300 passenger coaches at cost of $2,610,000. 17. Present officers are re-elected at annual meeting of New England Envelope Co. Necrology Dec. 23. Henry Baker Goodnow, 80 years old, former resident and Civil War veteran, of heart trouble, in Boston. 23. Hercule F. Normand, 72 years, 2 months and 19 days, 43 years in employ of D. H. Eames Co., of pneumonia, at his home, 10 High Street. 28. George D. Webb, President of Webb Granite & Construction Co. and American Granite Saw Co., aged 56 years, 7 months and 12 days, from fall from moving train, at Millbury Junction. 29. Austin W. Heffern, many years in oil business in Worcester, at home of daughter in Providence, of pneumonia, aged 65 years. 30. Asenath J. (Porter) Arnold, at home of daughter, Mrs. Arthur M. Davis, 62 Austin Street, of old age, 90 years, 2 months and 9 days. Jan. 3. Worcester people attend funeral at Chicopee Falls, of Rev. Darius H. Stoddard, former pastor of Dewey Street Church. 3. Rev. Dr. Daniel W. Faunce, author and preacher, pastor of Pleasant Street Baptist Church 1854 to 1860, at Providence, R. I., 82 years old. 4. George Pierce, 38 years a carpenter and builder in Worcester, at his home, 9 Boynton Street, of arterio sclerosis, aged 65 years, 5 months and 16 days. 10. Walter Brooks Abbott, 48 years old, former Secretary of Worcester Y. M. C. A., from accidental discharge of pistol, at Spartanburg, N. C. 10. Charles Hill Morgan, 80 years and 2 days old, President of Morgan Construction Co. and Morgan Spring Co., eminent inventor, of old age, at his home, 28 Catharine Street. 13. Linus Sibley, many years accountant at Worcester County Institute for Savings, from pyelonephritis, at his home, 83 Elm Street, aged 46 years, 10 months and 15 days. 14. John Rankin, aged 63 years, 6 months and 4 days, many years a contractor and builder, from pneumonia, at home of daughter, Mrs. Nathan Rice, 128 Paine Street. 15. Henry C. Adams, 81 years, 1 month and 19 days old, many years in picture framing business, of heart trouble, at his home, 1 Ely Street. 16. Charles V. Knight, many years foreman for Coates Clipper Co., 61 years, 7 months and 22 days old, from cancer of the liver, at his home, 656 Pleasant Street. 16. George H. Rich, pioneer market gardener, 74 years old, from Bright's disease, at home of daughter, Mount Sunapee, N. H. 17. Bishop Alexander H. Vinton of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Western Massachusetts, 18 years pastor of All Saints' Church, in Springfield, of pneumonia and bronchitis. 19. Mary E. D. (Davis) Stoddard, widow of Hon. Elijah B. Stoddard, Mayor of Worcester in 1882, at her home, 15 Ashland Street, from heart disease, 80 years and 4 months old. Why not Combine Them? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is calling loudly for increased income, and threatens to move from Boston, unless the annual State appropriation is increased from $25,000 to $100,000. The Worcester Polytechnic also is said to be rapidly accumulating annual deficits. An increased appropriation for Boston implies the same thing for Worcester in the near future. The State can hardly go on indefinitely providing for the growing needs of two rival institutions only fortyfour miles apart, institutions requiring expensive equipment and large outlay for running expenses. Has not the time come to suggest the merging of these two schools into one adequately equipped school of engineering, that in the Heart of the Commonwealth would meet all present needs, and could be properly carried on at less total cost than the two separate institutions will require? IN Editorial Reflections The Manufacturers' Outlook N the last issue of Western New England three rather remarkable editorial paragraphs are devoted to the narrowing influence of manufacturing upon manufacturers themselves. Editorial utterances of this sort might be expected from the Rural New Yorker or some of the great agricultural journals of the middle West, but it is somewhat of a staggerer" to encounter this statement in a journal published in New England: "From the nature of the case the manufacturer must focus his attention inside the factory and is little in contact through business with large numbers of people. The tendency is to narrow him." The Further along in the same article, after comparing the manufacturer with the retailer to the former's disadvantage, the editor sapiently remarks: "There are narrowing tendencies in either class of occupation, but the retailer's contact with the public is a broadening influence. manufacturer is largely precluded from this influence." We hold no brief for the manufacturers of Springfield, but we certainly resent the statements set forth above as far as the manufacturers of Worcester are concerned. And we believe that what is true of Worcester is true of the country at large. We have in this city no more public-spirited men than our manufacturers. They are the backbone and sinew of every great movement for the development of Worcester and for the development of the nation. To mention one concrete instance: The Overlock movement for the care of incipient tuberculosis cases at sanatoria during a probationary period of thirteen weeks at the expense of the employer was originated by David H. Fanning of the Royal Worcester Corset Co. Νο grander and more far-reaching work for the amelioration of humanity has ever been devised than this. This plan sprang from the heart of a manufacturer whose most recent previous contribution to the welfare of this community has been a gift of $5000 towards the establishment of Hahnemann Hospital. It would be hard work to make the working people of this city believe that either of these contributions to human weal was very narrowing. This number of the Worcester Magazine contains an all too brief tribute to Charles H. Morgan, one of the heroic figures of his time, a man calculated to shine in any walk of life, great as a manufacturer, great as an organizer, great in the appeal and affection that he aroused in the brains and hearts of the thousands of men with whom he came in contact. One little incident in his life is told in these columns: How he went to England and re-discovered, to the amazement even of the English themselves, Henry Cort, the inventor of the modern process of puddling iron and the builder of the first rolling mill. Cort was dead and forgotten, but Charles H. Morgan brought his virtues and achievements to the knowledge of his own countrymen. Nothing very narrow or provincial about that. He The manufacturers of this country need no defense at our hands. As Webster said of Massachusetts they speak for themselves. Suffice it is to say that where there is a cause to be championed, sympathy to be extended, money to be contributed, intelligence to be fostered, conditions to be improved, there in the very front rank will be found the manufacturer. As Wesley said of the Methodist Church, the world is their parish. The manufacturer in his factory knows no distinction of race, color or previous condition of servitude. entertains no prejudices and plays no favorites. belongs to no school and acknowledges no caste. knows his success as a business man depends entirely upon his preserving an absolutely open mind. constant incentive is efficiency, efficiency, and yet more efficiency, and as he pursues his search for that elusive goal with a clarity of vision uncalled for in any other work of life, he does it knowing full well that he is operating in a realm where brains are daily and hourly being subjected to the polishing of the fiercest competition known to man. He He His But why multiply words- there may be narrow manufacturers in Springfield. If there are they are in a class by themselves. As for us, we doubt it. The movement which culminated in the founding of the Worcester Trade School originated in the fertile brain of Milton P. Higgins, for many years one of our most successful manufacturers and one of the most widely known men in this country-- a man who touches life at so many points that his brain may well be regarded as a human dynamo. Manufacturers have been his constant Worcester at the Pan-American Conassociates in working out this broad visioned plan for the development here of a great apprenticeship system that shall furnish not only this city, but this country with trained journeymen capable of earning $3, $4, $5 a day and even higher wages. Certainly there is nothing very narrow about work of that type. The city of Cincinnati teems with manufacturers who are devoting not only hours but days and weeks to civic welfare and the betterment of the rising generation. The half-time school, the continuation school and all the other great practical movements in the direction of vocational ference The Pan-American Conference in Washington February 13-18, which is being attended by a delegation of Worcester business men under the auspices of the Worcester Board of Trade, is epochal in its character and marks the beginning of the 20th century revulsion from world movements from east to west to tides of commerce which shall flow north and south. For 400 years the movement of trade and population both has been from east to west. From Christopher Columbus to Commodore Perry westward the star of empire has blazed its way. With the completion of the Panama Canal the centuries' long struggle to divide the two continents and unite the two oceans will be brought to a successful issue and the greatest achievement of modern times will belong to the ages. When that is consummated the marvelous resources of Latin America will be available for development for the first time, and as a result of that development the dawn of the 21st century will disclose, under the Southern Cross, a dozen republics the size of the United States to-day. What they may be expected to buy from us is forecasted by the figures as to Argentina alone. In 1900 the Argentine Republic purchased of the United States goods amounting to $11,000,000. In 1910 our sales to this one South American customer had risen to $42,000,000. Our sales to China and Japan both last year did not equal our sales to Argentine. And this is but one of our great natural outlets in Latin America. Our handicaps in getting and holding this trade have always been manifold. Entirely aside from the difficulty of securing trained salesmen capable of speaking Spanish and Portuguese fluently, there has always been trouble in presenting the merits of our wares in catalogues and other media printed in the Spanish tongue. Provided we secured the Spanish salesmen and the Spanish literature we still were minus boats in which to ship our cargoes and finally when we got our wares into vessels that would eventually touch at South American ports, we found the banking and every other credit facility there in the hands of English or German bankers. The strange thing under all the circumstances is not that we have done so much business with South America but that we have done any. It This government has at last awakened from its lethargy and Senator Jacob H. Gallinger of New Hampshire has introduced a bill into the Senate, calling for a ship subsidy for American vessels carrying ocean mails between United States and South American ports, limiting the payments to $4,000,000 per annum. is expected this bill will pass at this session of Congress and that as a result twenty new vessels will be built to ply on the west coast and thirty on this coast. Bernard N. Baker of Baltimore announces if the bill becomes a law he will alone build ten new vessels at once, with 6000 tons registry and sixteen knots speed to ply between this country and South America. At the present time the United States with over 90,000,000 people has but eleven vessels in its foreign going trade. It is to rectify that among other things that the PanAmerican Conference is held. It has brought together at Washington the ablest and most progressive business men of the two continents and the interchange of thought and good will that is taking place at the capital these February days, means millions of dollars to this country. The city of Worcester has a very deep personal interest in the outcome of this meeting. Many of her manufacturers are in Washington as we go to press. They have not gone there on a pleasure jaunt, but they have gone there to do business and we expect that as a result of their trip they will return to us not only with a new appreciation of the worth and character and dignity of our Southern friends, but with a prestige and an acquaintanceship that will later on bear rich fruitage in a tremendously developed commerce, between the Heart of the Commonwealth and our neighbors in those magnificent countries, so pregnant of future greatness, which lie smiling and serene under the sunny southern skies, Co-operation in Worcester Libraries Worcester is unusually fortunate in the diversity of the collections found in its libraries and in the high quality of the men who administer them. Collectively they are doing a splendid work for the citizen of today and an even more wonderful work in preparing the citizen of tomorrow for life's tasks. The libraries of Worcester are sufficiently large and varied in the character of their patronage for the principle of co-operation to enter as a prominent factor into their administration. Thus the Public Library is relieved by the Law Library from subscribing for most of the periodicals and treatises relating to legal matters, while Clark University can send its debaters to look up magazine references in the Public Library files. Genealogists who have exhausted the stores of the Public Library will often find additional material in the treasures of the library of the American Antiquarian Society or the local Society of Antiquity. The Worcester District Medical Society, with its 8000 volumes, including valuable sets of periodicals, whose priceless treasures may be unlocked through the " Index medicus," likewise renders most welcome assistance to its sister libraries. The card index, kept on file in this library, of medical periodicals known to be taken regularly anywhere in Worcester, is one specific instance of co-operation. Another is the list of chemical periodicals in the Public Library, Clark University and the Polytechnic Institute. This was printed in 1905 and is now about to be revised and brought up to date. A more ambitious plan is to print a union list, such as has been printed for the libraries of Boston, Chicago and Washington. Materials for this work are now being compiled. The librarian of any of the libraries within the city's limits will hesitate to assert that no information is available on a given topic, until he has considered whether or not some other library may serve as his auxiliary. For instance, the Public Library receives daily requests for directories not in its collection. Material wanted in the current directories of large cities may be found usually at the Directory office, 452 Main Street, while the Worcester Society of Antiquity is collecting directories of past years, and making them available to the public. This society has also a remarkable collection of old school text books. The libraries of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, and of the Mechanics' Association, would also naturally be consulted for subjects lying within their province. Not only in administration, but in purchasing as well, do our local libraries find obvious opportunities for mutual helpfulness, and for avoiding needless duplication of costly material. Clark University, by its recent purchase of the invaluable British Museum catalogue, published in over a hundred parts, relieves other li braries from considering the acquisition of this monumental work. The Library of the American Antiquarian Society is soon to become a depository for the printed cards of the Library of Congress, thus adding a splendid bibliographical aid to Worcester. If the Public Library contemplates buying a costly family history or psychological monograph in German, it naturally inquires first if Clark University or the Antiquarian Society would not care to add them to their special collection. Thus are the several libraries of Worcester working together to correlate their various lines of work; to save money for their directors; to give their patrons, both in and out of Worcester, the best service in their power. THE Grievance-All Aboard for Washington! and Other Matters HE month of January saw no cessation in the work of this organization. The Committee on Public Health at a meeting held January 10, recommended the establishment of a National Department of Health, in accordance with the bill introduced by Senator R. L. Owen of Oklahoma, a recommendation which subsequently met with the approval of the directors. The Legislative Committee and the Committee on Railroad and Transportation have been hard at work. The Legislative Committee has conducted a hearing on the parcels post proposition, securing as speakers James L. Cowles of New York, secretary of the Parcels Progress League, who spoke for, and Representative Charles L. Underhill of Somerville, who spoke against the measure, and the Railroad Committee is at work on a plan for bettering the sleeping car service between this city and New York on the midnight train, a consummation devoutly to be wished by any who have ever ridden in either direction on these cars. It has also warmly endorsed the proposed sea level canal between Narragansett Bay and Fisher's Island Sound; but all this subject of course to the directors' approval. The Mercantile Committee is endeavoring to bring about a reduction and readjustment of the telephone rates between Worcester and Webster, and the Secretary has been busy arranging for an excursion to Washington of the members tojattend the sessions of the Pan-American Union Feb. 13-18, the most important conference on South American trade relations ever held in this country. At the January meeting of the Board, Vice-president E. M. Woodward presided, in the absence of the president, and there were also present Messrs. Louis H. Buckley, Ernest P. Bennett, Arthur O. Young, Herbert H. Fairbanks, Marcus L. Foster, Franklin B. Durfee and S. F. H. Goodwin, a quorum of the directors. With reference to the proposed Worcester Industrial Museum the Committee on Manufacturers reported as follows: The Committee on Manufacturers, to whom was referred for investigation and report the subject of the proposed Worcester Industrial Museum, having met and listened to the plans for said museum as outlined by the proponent, Prof. U. Waldo Cutler beg leave to report as follows: That the Committee on Manufacturers have listened with much interest to the plan proposed by Prof. U. Waldo Cutler for the establishment of an industrial museum in Worcester. That the Committee understands that it will be the function of this museum to place before the public exhibits showing, in as much detail as possible, the various processes employed in many industries of Worcester. That said plan comprises many attractive features. That the committee realizes that for the proper housing, care and intelligent exhibition of the apparatus involved, a large amount of money will be necessary. That if sufficient funds can be provided to carry said plan with effect, said museum would undoubtedly prove of material benefit to the community. C. S. Marshall, Chairman. The report was accepted and adopted. A communication received from the National Board of Trade inviting this organization to send five delegates or less to the National Monetary Commission in Washington January 18, was turned over to the President for the appointment of the delegates. A communication from Flavel Shurtleff of Boston, writing this Board to become a sustaining member of the Conference on City Planning, was referred to the Committee on Municipal Affairs. A communication from the Lynn Board of Trade protesting against the passage of the proposed Workingman's Compensation Act was read as follows: Lynn, Mass., Jan. 3, 1911. Mr. James A. Lowell, Chairman. We wish to emphatically protest against many of the provisions contained on the tentative draft of a proposed Act for Compensation to Employees in cases of accidents. While we believe the present system of compensation inefficient and in cases injurious, we, at the same time, believe an act such as you propose would work out much greater injury to the working classes than our present system. The object desired is compensation for the employed when injured. Primarily and fundamentally they must be employed in order to be injured. What we are most desirous of obtaining at the present time is business in order to furnish employment. Our business |