Chap. 0240 An Act to revise the charter of the city of somerville.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows :
title 1.   municipal government.
Section 1. The inhabitants of the city of Somerville shall continue to be a municipal corporation, under the name of the City of Somerville, and as such shall be subject to all general laws relating to such corporations not inconsistent with the provisions of this act.
Section 2. The administration of the fiscal, prudential and municipal affairs of said city shall be vested in an executive department, to consist of the mayor, and a legislative department, to consist of a single body to be called the board of aldermen. The executive department shall never exercise any legislative power, and the legislative department shall never exercise any executive power.
Section 3. It shall be the duty of the city council in joint convention, as soon as may be after the acceptance of this act, to divide said city into seven wards, containing as nearly as possible and as may be consistent with well defined limits to each ward an equal number of male voters. In order that the new wards may conform to the present representative districts the present ward one shall constitute one ward, and the present wards two, three and four shall each be divided into two wards. Immediately after such new division of the city into wards the board of aldermen shall divide such new wards into voting precincts, none of which shall contain more than one thousand registered male voters, and the mayor shall thereupon appoint, with the approval of the board of aldermen, election officers to serve therein. Action under this section shall not apply to the state election to be held the present year.
title h.     elections and meetings.
Section 4. Except as herein otherwise provided all elections for national, state, county, district and municipal officers, and for any other municipal purposes, shall be called and conducted according to the provisions of the general laws of the Commonwealth : provided, however, that all nominations, other than by nomination papers, of candidates for aldermen to be voted for under
this act, shall be made by caucuses held in the several wards in which such candidates respectively reside.
Section 5. The annual municipal election shall take place on the second Tuesday of December and the municipal year shall begin on the first Monday of January following.
Section 6. At such municipal election the qualified voters shall give in their votes by ballot for a mayor and members of the board of aldermen and of the school committee, or for such of them as are to be elected. The person receiving the highest number of votes for any office shall be deemed and declared to be elected to such office, and whenever two or more persons are to be elected to the same office the several persons, up to and including the number required to be chosen, receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed and declared to be elected.
Section 7. If there is no choice of mayor, or if the person elected mayor shall refuse to accept the office, or shall die before qualifying, or if a vacancy in said office shall occur within the first nine months of the municipal year, the board of aldermen shall forthwith order a special election, and the same proceedings shall be had in all respects as are hereinbefore provided for the election of a mayor, and shall be repeated until the election of a mayor is completed. But if such vacancy in the office of mayor shall occur within the last three months of the municipal year it shall be tilled by the board of aldermen by a majority vote of all its members. If the full number of members of the board of aldermen has not been elected, or if a vacancy in the office of alderman shall occur within the first six months of the municipal year, the vacant office shall be tilled by an election by the voters of the city in the case of an alderman at large, or by an election by the voters of the ward entitled to such representative in the case of a ward alderman. But if such vacancy shall occur within the last six months of the municipal year it shall be tilled by the board of aldermen by a majority vote of all its members. The person elected to till such vacancy shall be chosen from the ward in which the vacancy occurs.
Section 8. General meetings of the citizens qualified to vote may from time to time be held, according to the right secured by the constitution of the Commonwealth,
and all such meetings may, and upon the request in writing of fifty qualified voters setting forth the purposes thereof, shall be called by the board of aldermen.
Section 9. When, in the opinion of the board of aldermen, no convenient room for holding a caucus of the voters of any ward can be had within the territorial limits of such ward the board may provide for such caucus a convenient polling place within the limits of an adjacent ward; and for the purposes of such caucus the polling place so provided shall be deemed and taken to be a part of the ward for which the caucus is held.
title hi.     legislative department.
Section 10. The board of aldermen shall be composed of twenty-one members, three members from each ward, to be elected as follows : - Seven aldermen at large, one being selected from each ward, shall annually be elected by the qualified voters of the city at large, voting in their respective wards, and two aldermen shall at the same time be elected by and from the qualified voters of each ward,. The members of the board of aldermen shall hold office for the municipal year next following their election, or, if elected after the first Monday in January, for the remainder of the municipal year and until a majority of the new board shall be elected and qualified*- in their stead.
Section 11. The board of aldermen shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members, and shall from time to time make rules for its proceedings. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a less number may meet and adjourn from time to time.
Section 12. The mayor elect and aldermen elect shall annually on the first Monday of January, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, meet and be sworn to the faithful performance of their duties. The oath shall be administered by the city clerk or by any justice of the peace, and shall be duly certified on the journal of the board of aldermen. At any time thereafter the oath may be administered to the mayor elect or to any alderman elect who was absent or was not then elected.
Section 13. After a majority of the aldermen elect have been sworn the mayor, or in his absence the oldest in age of the members present, shall call the board of
aldermen together, and shall preside until a president is elected, who shall thereafter preside over the board. A vice president shall be elected, who shall preside in the absence of the president. At any meeting of the board, in the absence of the president and vice president, the oldest in age of the members present shall preside until a president pro tempore is elected. The city clerk shall be clerk of the board of aldermen.
Section 14. The board of aldermen, as soon as may be after the election and qualification of a majority of its members, shall elect a city clerk, a city treasurer, who shall be collector of taxes, a city auditor, and a city messenger, who shall hold their respective offices for the term of one year or the remainder thereof, beginning on the first Monday of January in the year of their election, and until their respective successors are elected and qualified, unless sooner removed by vote of a majority of all the members of the board, taken b}r ballot.
Section 15. Any ordinance, order or resolution of the board of aldermen may be passed through all its stages of legislation at one session, provided that no member of said board objects thereto ; but if one or more members object the measure shall be postponed for that meeting; and if when it is next brought up five or more members object to its passage at that meeting a second postponement of at least one week shall take place.
Section 16. Every ordinance, order, resolution or vote of the board of aldermen, except such as relates to its own internal affairs, shall be presented to the mayor. If he approves thereof he shall signify his approval by signing the same, but if not he shall return the same with his objections to the board of aldermen, which shall enter the objections of the mayor at length upon its records and proceed to reconsider said ordinance, order, resolution or vote, and if after such reconsideration two thirds of all the members of the board vote to pass the same it shall be in force. In all such cases the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, if such ordinance, order, resolution or vote shall not be returned within ten days after it has been presented to the mayor the same shall be in force, lie may except from his approval of any ordinance, order, resolution or vote which he has the power to veto any part involving a distinct item of
appropriation or expenditure, and in .such case only the part so excepted shall be reconsidered in the manner and with the effect above provided. The veto power of the mayor shall not extend to elections.
Section 17. The board of aldermen shall, except as is otherwise provided herein, have and exercise : -
1. All the powers, authorities and duties of towns, of boards of aldermen, and of the mayor and aldermen and city councils and common councils of cities under general laws, provided that all appointments required by law to be made by the mayor and aldermen shall be made by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen.
2. The powers, authorities and duties now held by the city of Somerville, or by the city council, or by the common council, or by the board of aldermen or board of mayor and aldermen, of Somerville, by special laws.
3. Subject to the veto power of the mayor as hereinbefore provided, the exclusive power, without appeal from its decision, to lay out, locate anew, alter, widen and discontinue town ways and streets and to order specific repairs or a change of grade therein ; to order the construction of sidewalks and of sewers, and to take land therefor. Damages to property sustained by reason of any act done under the provisions of this section by the said board shall be assessed and awarded by the said board ; and any person aggrieved by the assessment of his damages may have the remedies provided by general law in the case of town ways. But no town way or street shall be laid out, located anew, changed as to grade or otherwise, widened or discontinued, until a public hearing has been had, after notice given in accordance with the general laws relating to town ways. Said hearing may be adjourned from time to time.
4. The power to make ordinances and affix penalties for the violation thereof, not exceeding twenty dollars for each offence, for all purposes for which towns and cities may make by-laws and ordinances under general laws. All such ordinances shall take effect without other sanction or approval than is provided in this act.
Section 18. On or before the thirtieth day of April in each year the board of aldermen shall appropriate the amount necessary to meet the expenditures of the city
for the current municipal year, and provide the ways and means for raising the same. It shall take care that no money be paid from the treasury unless the same is granted or appropriated, and shall require bonds with sufficient penalties and sureties from all persons entrusted with the receipt, custody or disbursement of money. All votes of the board of aldermen making appropriations of money shall show the specific objects for which the appropriations are made. The board of aldermen may appropriate money from time to time in aid of the Somerville Hospital, and in return for such appropriation may arrange for the care of such city patients as can be received at the hospital; but such appropriations shall not exceed in any one year a sum amounting to one one hundredth of one per cent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the city for the preceding year.
Section 19. The board of aldermen shall have power to establish by ordinance fire limits within the city, and from time to time to change or enlarge the same, to regulate the construction of all buildings erected within said fire limits, determining their size, situation, and the material of which they shall be constructed, and to make such other rules and regulations as shall tend to prevent damage ))y fire : provided, that such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the laws of the Commonwealth.
title iv.     executive department.
Section 20. The executive powers of the city shall be vested solely in the mayor, and may be exercised by him either personally or through the several officers and boards in their respective departments, under his general supervision and control. In case of a vacancy in any office to which appointment is made by the mayor he may personally perform the duties thereof, but he shall not be entitled to receive any salary or pay attached thereto. The mayor shall hold office for the municipal year beginning with the first Monday in January following his election, unless sooner removed, and until his successor is elected and qualified: provided, that if elected to fill an existing a-acancy he shall hold office only for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Section 21. The mayor shall have the power to appoint, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen,
the following officers and boards, to serve, except as herein otherwise provided, for one year and until the appointment and qualification of their successors:-A chief of police and all other officers and members of the police department; a chief engineer and all other officers and members of the fire department; a city solicitor; a city physician ; a board of assessors; a board of overseers of the poor ; a board of health ; a board of trustees of the public library; a city engineer; a commissioner of streets; a commissioner of public buildings; a commissioner of electric lines and lights ; a water commissioner ; one or more measurers of wood and bark; two or more field drivers ; two or more fence viewers ; one pound keeper for each pound in the city; such number of constables and special police officers as may be deemed advisable ; and all other officers and boards of the city whose election or appointment is not otherwise provided for in this act. The officers and members of the police and fire departments shall hold their respective offices during the pleasure of the mayor and board of aldermen and until removed by them in the same manner in which they are appointed, or until their offices or places are otherwise vacated. Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with the provisions of chapter one hundred and ninety-seven of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five, entitled "An Act to provide for the appointment of a reserve police force in the city of Somerville."
Section 22. The mayor may at any time appoint a suitable person or persons to examine, without notice, the books and accounts of any department, officer or employee of the city.
Section 23. The mayor may in writing suspend any executive officer, and he shall at once report his action and his reason therefor to the board of aldermen. The suspension of any such officer shall, unless previously revoked by the mayor, be a removal at the expiration of fifteen days after said report is made, unless within that time such officer asks for a hearing before the board, which hearing shall forthwith be granted. If within one week after the conclusion of such hearing the board, by a two thirds vote, shall set aside the suspension, the officer shall thereby be reinstated ; otherwise the suspension shall constitute a final dismissal from office.
Section 24. The mayor shall communicate to the board ot* aldermen such information and shall recommend such measures as in his judgment the interests of the city require. He may at any time call a special meeting of the board of aldermen, upon such notification as he may deem sufficient, and other special meetings of said board may l>e called at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules of said board.
Section 25. The mayor shall cause the laws, ordinances and orders for the government of the city to be enforced, and shall cause a record of all his official acts to be kept, and for that purpose and to aid him in his official duties he may appoint a secretary and define his duties; and, subject to the approval of the board of aldermen, shall fix the salary of the secretary. The salary of the mayor shall not be changed during his term of office.
Section 2(3. The mayor shall have the sole power to sign, seal, execute and deliver in behalf of the city, deeds and leases of land sold or leased by the city, and other deeds, agreements, contracts, leases, indentures and assurances on behalf of the city. All contracts made on behalf of the city in which the amount involved exceeds three hundred dollars shall be invalid, unless signed by the mayor.
Section 27. In case of the inability of the mayor from absence or any other cause to perform the duties of his office the president of the board of aldermen shall, until such inability is removed, exercise the powers and perform the duties of mayor, under the style of acting mayor, except that he shall not, unless authorized thereto in a special instance by the board of aldermen, and then only in case of exigency requiring an immediate appointment or removal, make any permanent appointment or removal, and shall not, unless such inability of the mayor has continued at least ten days, or unless the office of mayor has become vacant, have power to approve or disapprove any ordinance, order, resolution or vote of the board of aldermen. In case of such inability on the part of the president of the board of aldermen his powers and duties hereunder shall devolve upon the vice president of that board, and in case of such inability on the part of both the president and vice president such powers and duties shall devolve upon the president pro tempore of said board.
title v.   school department.
Section 28. The management and control of the public schools shall be vested in a school committee, which shall exercise the powers conferred, and discharge the duties imposed by law upon school committees. The committee shall consist of fourteen members, two from each ward, elected as follows: - At the first municipal election held under this charter two members of the school committee shall be elected by and from the qualified voters of each ward, one to serve for the term of two years and one to serve for the term of one year, beginning on the first Monday of January next ensuing, and thereafter one member from each ward shall be elected in like manner at each annual municipal election, to serve for the term of two years. Vacancies occurring in the school committee shall be filled by a joint ballot of the board of aldermen and the school committee, the member so elected to be a resident of the ward entitled to the new member, and to hold office only for the remainder of the municipal year, the vacancy for the remainder of the term, if any, to be filled by the voters of said ward at the next municipal election.
Section 29. The school committee shall meet on the first Monday of January in each year and organize by the election by ballot of one of its members as chairman. The oldest in age of the members present shall preside at all meetings until a chairman is elected.
Section 30. The school committee shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members, and shall from time to time make rules for its proceedings. A majority of all the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a less number may meet and adjourn from time to time. It shall annually appoint a superintendent of schools, who shall also be its secretary but who shall not be one of its members.
title vi.     administrative officers, their powers and
duties.
Section 31. The city clerk shall have charge of all journals, records and documents of the board of aldermen, and attest all warrants. He shall be clerk of the board of aldermen and shall keep a journal of all votes
and proceedings. He shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the board of aldermen, and he shall perform all the duties and exercise all the powers assigned by law to city clerks or town clerks, so far as such laws can apply to said city. In his absence a clerk of the board of aldermen pro tempore shall be chosen, who shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duties.
Section 32. The city treasurer and collector of taxes shall collect all moneys due the city, except license fees or other moneys the collection of which is otherwise provided for by law. He shall have the custody of and pay out all moneys, and cause an accurate account of the same to be kept in proper bookkeeping form, and shall perforin such other duties as the ordinances prescribe ; he shall also perform all the duties and exercise all the powers assigned by law to city treasurers and collectors of taxes, or town treasurers and collectors of taxes, so far as such laws can apply to said city.
Section 33. The city auditor shall perform such duties as the ordinances prescribe.
Section 34. The city solicitor shall perform such duties as the ordinances prescribe.
Section 35. The city physician shall perform such duties as the law and ordinances prescribe.
Section 36. As soon after the organization of the city government under this act as may be convenient the mayor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen, five persons to be assessors of taxes, to serve, two for three years, two for two years and one for one year, and thereafter the mayor shall annually as soon after the organization of the government as may be convenient appoint in the same manner a person or persons for a term of three years, to succeed those whose respective terms of office shall have expired. The persons appointed shall constitute the board of assessors, and shall exercise the powers and be subject to the liabilities and duties prescribed by the general laws of the Commonwealth and the ordinances of the city. Vacancies occurring in the board of assessors may be filled in the same manner, but only for the unexpired term. One member of the board of assessors shall be designated annually by the ma}ror, without confirmation, as chairman of said board. He shall devote his whole time to the duties of the office and shall have general supervision
and control of all matters appertaining to his department not expressly provided for by law. He shall select and appoint all assistant assessors and clerks.
Section 37. As soon after the organization of the government as practicable the mayor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen, three persons, who shall constitute the board of overseers of the poor, to serve, one for one year, one for two years and one for three years, and thereafter one each year to serve for the term of three years. Vacancies occurring in the board may be tilled in the same manner, but only for the unexpired term. The overseers of the poor shall perform such duties as are prescribed by law and ordinance.
Section 38. As soon after the organization of the government as practicable the mayor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen, three persons, who shall constitute the board of health, to serve, two for one year and one for two years, and each year thereafter one to serve for the term of one year and one for the term of two years. Vacancies occurring in the board may be tilled in the same manner, but only for the unexpired term. At least one member of the board shall be a doctor of medicine. The board of health shall have power to appoint and to remove at pleasure, one or more inspectors of milk and vinegar, and one or more inspectors of animals and provisions, who shall have all the powers and perform all the duties prescribed by law for such officers. Said board may make rules, not inconsistent with law, to govern the action of said inspectors. The board of health shall perform such duties as are prescribed by law and ordinance.
Section 39. The board of trustees of the public library shall consist of nine members, to be appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen. As soon after the organization of the city government under this charter as may be convenient the mayor shall appoint three trustees to serve for the term of one year, three for the term of two years and three for the term of three years, and each year thereafter the mayor shall appoint three trustees to serve for the term of three years. Vacancies occurring in the board may be filled in the same manner, but only for the unexpired term. Said trustees shall have the care and management of the public library.
Section 40. There shall be a board of public works, consisting of the mayor, who shall be its chairman, the city engineer, the street commissioner, the commissioner of public buildings, the commissioner of electric lines and lights, and the water commissioner. Said board shall meet for consultation at regular stated times and upon such other occasions as the mayor may deem expedient.
Section 41. The public works of the city shall comprise the following departments : -
First. The engineering department, including sewers and public parks and grounds. This department shall be under the control of the city engineer, who shall have charge of the construction, alteration, repair and care of main drains and common sewers, the care, superintendence and management of the public grounds and parks, and the care of shade and ornamental trees therein, and shall also make and have the custody of all plans, surveys, measurements and levels appertaining to public ways, drains, sewers, water works or lands. He shall perform such other duties as the board of aldermen may prescribe, and shall give his whole time to the city.
Second. The street department. This department shall be under the control of the street commissioner, who shall have charge of the construction, alteration, repair, maintenance and management of ways, streets, sidewalks and bridges, and of street watering; he shall have the powers and discharge the duties of surveyors of highways, and perform such other duties as the board of aldermen may direct.
Third. The public buildings department. This department shall be under the control of the commissioner of public buildings, who shall have charge of the construction, alteration, repair, maintenance and care of public buildings, and shall also be the inspector of buildings.
Fourth. The electric lines and lights department. This department shall be under the control of the commissioner of electric lines and lights, who shall have charge, so far as the rights of the city extend, of the fire alarm and police signal systems, and of all electric light, power, telephone, telegraph and trolley wires and poles, of all gas pipes, and of all lights in the streets and public grounds of the city.
Fifth. The water department. This department shall be under the control of the water commissioner, who shall have charge of the construction, extension, alteration, repair, care and management of the water works, and shall exercise all the powers and rights conferred and perform all the duties imposed by law upon the present board of water commissioners of the city of Somerville, but shall not expend in any year, either from the income received from the water works under his charge or otherwise, more than the amount appropriated by the board of aldermen therefor.
Section 42. The street commissioner may require that no person or corporation, other than an officer or agent of the city, authorized by the board of aldermen to dig up any public street or sidewalk in said city shall begin such digging before furnishing to said commissioner security satisfactory to him to restore such street or sidewalk to its former condition.
Section 43. The heads of the departments mentioned in this act shall severally make all purchases for their respective departments, but no purchase exceeding three hundred dollars in amount shall be made without the previous approval of the mayor in writing. The powers of the school committee shall not be affected by this section.
Section 44. The several administrative boards and officers named in this title having charge of departments shall, subject to the approval of the mayor, appoint, employ and discharge, at pleasure, all subordinate officers, clerks, assistants and laborers in their respective departments, and shall have the immediate direction and control of all executive and administrative business therein. They shall at all times be accountable to the mayor for the proper discharge of their duties.
Section 45. All officers required by this act or by general law to be appointed by the ma}-or, or by the •mayor and aldermen, shall be appointed as soon as practicable after the mayor and a majority of the aldermen have been qualified, and shall, unless sooner removed, hold their respective offices for the length of time prescribed by law, or the portion thereof then remaining, beginning on the first Monday in .January of the year in which they are respectively appointed, and until their respective successors are appointed and qualified. This section shall not apply to the appointment of election officers.
title vh.     general provisions.
Section 46. The heads of departments and all other officers and boards whose duties involve the expenditure of public money shall annually in the month of January or February present to the mayor an itemized estimate of the money required for their respective departments or offices during the current financial year, who shall examine and submit the same, with his recommendations for appropriations, to the board of aldermen during the month of February or March.
Section 47. Every administrative board, through its chairman, and every officer having charge of a department, shall, at the request of the board of aldermen, appear before it and give such information as it may require in relation to any matter, act or thing connected with the discharge of the duties of such board or officer; and when so requested to appear the officer who appears shall have the right to speak upon all matters then under consideration relating to his department.
Section 48. No sum appropriated for a specific purpose shall be expended for any other purpose, unless by authority of the board of aldermen first obtained ; and no expenditure shall be made and no liability incurred by or in behalf of the city until the board of aldermen has duly voted an appropriation sufficient to meet such expenditure or liability, except that after the expiration of the financial year and before the making of the regular annual appropriations liabilities payable out of a regular annual appropriation may be incurred or payments made to an amount not exceeding one fourth of the total appropriation made for similar purposes in the preceding year.
Section 49. No member of a committee of the board of aldermen shall directly or indirectly take part in the employment of labor, the expenditure of public money, the making of contracts, the purchase of materials or supplies, the construction, alteration or repair of any public works or other property, or in the care, custody or management of the same, or in the conduct of the executive or administrative business of the city. No member of the executive or legislative department shall appear as counsel before any officer or board of the city.
Section 50. Every person who is elected and every person who is appointed by the mayor or by the mayor and board of aldermen to an office shall receive a certificate of such election or appointment from the city clerk, and, except as otherwise provided by law, before performing any act under his election or appointment, shall take and subscribe an oath qualifying him to enter upon his duties. A record of such oath shall be made by the city clerk. Any oath required by this act may be administered by the mayor, the city clerk, or any officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
Section 51. The existing ordinances and regulations of the city of Somerville, so far as they are not inconsistent with this act, shall continue in force until amended or repealed.
Section 52. Nothing herein shall affect the enforcement of the provisions of chapter three hundred and twenty of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and eighty-four, entitled "An Act to improve the civil service of the Commonwealth and the cities thereof", or of any acts in amendment thereof or in addition thereto, or of the rules made by the commissioners appointed thereunder, and the board of aldermen shall make sufficient appropriations for the carrying out and enforcement of said acts and rules in said city.
Section 53. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, but the passage of this act shall not affect any right accruing or accrued, or any suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding pending at the time when it shall take effect by acceptance, as herein provided, and no penalty or forfeiture previously incurred shall be affected thereby. All persons holding office in said city at the time when this act is accepted shall continue to hold such office until the organization of the city government hereby authorized shall be effected and until their successors shall be chosen and qualified. No act which has been repealed shall be revived by the repeal of acts mentioned in this section.
Section 54. This act shall be submitted to the qualified male voters of the city of Somerville for acceptance at a special election to be called by the board of aldermen and held on the fourth Tuesday of September in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine. The vote shall be taken by ballot in answer to the following question : - " Shall an
act passed by the general court in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, entitled ' An Act to revise the charter of the city of Somerville', be accepted?"
Section 55. So much of this act as directs the submission of the question of its acceptance to the qualified voters of said city shall take eifect upon its passage; so much hereof as relates to elections hereunder shall apply to the annual municipal election which shall be held on the second Tuesday of December in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine if the larger number of votes upon the question of its acceptance be in the affirmative; and if so accepted this act shall take full eifect on the first Monday of January next ensuing.
Approved April 10, 1899.