The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-28
THE CITY SOLICITOR.

Dec. 81, 1898
TO the Honorable City Council of the
City of Worcester:
In accordance with the provisions of
the ordinance / beg leave to submit
my annual report for the year ending
with the Both of November, 1898.
The work OF the law department for
this year has been exceedingly onerous,
and necessarily has dealt with subjects
of great Importance. The solicitor has
during the year actually spent rs days
in the argument and trial of causes, in
the supreme judicial and superior
courts and before commissioners and
legislative committees. This has been
the time required for actual trial, and
does not include any time spent in
preparation.
The litigatlon of largest consequence,
both in the amounts claimed and the
many interesting legal questions in
volved, has been that arising out of the
taking of the waters of Kettle brook
in 1895 for the municipal water sup
ply. Most of these cases were referred
in 1897 to a commission consisting of
Everett c. Bumpus of Quincy. William
Whiting of Holyoke and George r.
Evans of Lowell. The presentation of
evidence before this commission has
recently been concluded, 1877 witnesses
having been examined. The arguments,
which in behalf of the city will be
made by Senator Hoar and Col. Hop
kins, have been assigned for the week
of the second day of January, 1899
The recent laying out and relocation
of streets near the centre of the city
has caused the trial during the year of
several land damage cases involving
very large sums of money, and many
more are now pending on this account,
in which large claims are made.
The total number of cases now
pending is 15S, which is the largest
number ever pending at one time. On
Nov. 30, 1897, there were pending 105
cases, and at the end of the fiscal year
1896, 103 cases. In no year before 1896
has there been approaching 100 cases
pending in which the city is a party
/ take the liberty of renewing a sug-
gestion made during the year in an
opinion to the board of aldermen, rela-
tive to an amendment to the charter
Section rs provides, in the first SEN
tence, that "all officers of the city not
elected by the qualified voters shall be
resident citizens Of the city, and shall
except as herein otherwise provided or
provided by the general laws or by or
dinanCe or by provisions of trust, be
appointed by the mayor, subject to the
confirmation by the board of aldermen,
and for such terms respectively as are
or may be fixed by law or ordinance,
or in case Of an appointment to fill a
vacancy for the uneXpired term"
Substantially the same provision is
also contained in section 80 of the
charter.
The difficulty in the construction of
these two section arises in the inter
probation of the clause, "or provided by
the general laws"
The charter itself provides for the
most important officers of the city, and
for almost all in point of numbers So
that all officers, whose election is not
provided for either by the charter or
by special law, or by provisions of trust,
or by ordinance, and whose election is
governed by the general laws, are few
in number, and comparatively unirn-
portant in functions, including perhaps
fence viewers, field drivers, pound keep
ers, measurers of wood and bark, and
possibly few others. They are not
enumerated, however, in any single sec
ton or chapter of general laws, and can
only be determined by a review of all
statutes relating to all public officers.
1t is quite difficult, therefore, in the
change of city officials charged with the
duty of appointing or electing other
officers, which necessarily occurs from
time to time, to avoid confusion as to
the proper method of filling these
offices.
This provision may seem also some
what out of harmony with the spirit of
the present charter of the city of Wor-
cester, which in contrast with the one
which it superseded consists in a CEN
tralization of authority and RESPONSE
bility in the mayor as to executive
functions, and many matters formerly