mvwv—mm‘ 'vw'" ’ \ i l I 7; turn made up of towns, villages, 18' METROPOLITAN HOLDAY SUPPLEMENT n 1.1UN \lIClPAIL coves MINT.» CONGOLIDATION OF CITIES AND TOWNS ‘ .lN'i‘U TIIiE CITY OF NEW— IYOIIiK. i'le-ZCUTIVE‘AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES 01? COVER.'MENT—~STATISTICS RELATING TO I POPULATION AND RECENT GROWTH—— ", ' f COMMENTS-0N THE enigma 'l‘v municipality of the city of New- York undex the charter granted by act of Legislature in 1897 unites. in one vast Commonwealth all the cities, towns, villages and school districts included in Kings, Quains and Richmond'coum tic-s, Long Island City, Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica. The greater city is divided into five boroughs, to wit: Manhattan. The Brenx, Brook]; 11, Queens and Richmond. The corporate title or the municipa .ity is the city of New— York, and not Greater New- York or the Greater City. The last names are used. however, quite ex- tensively. The election of officers for the en- larged municipality took place in November, 1807, and the'succcsst‘ul candidates for office entered upon their duties January 1, 1808. The first year under the new order of things is just about at an end. The present Mayor, Robert Van Wyck, holds office until January 1, 1903, at a salary of $15,000 a year. The members of the Council and Board of Aldermen, which bodies form the legislative branch of the, city govern- ment, are also elected for four and two years respectively. Councilmen receive $1,500 a year; Aldermen, $1,000. There are twenty—nine mem- bers of the Council, and one Alderman from each Assembly district. The different administrative departments of the‘ city are as follows: Department of Finance. Law Department. Police Department. Represented in the Board of Public Improve- ments: Department of Water Supply; Depart- ment of Highways; Department of Street Clean— ing; Department of Public Buildings, Lighting and Supplies: Department of Bridges. Department of Parks. Department of Buildings. Department of Public Charities. Department of Correction. Fire Department. Department of Docks and Ferries. Department of Taxes and Assessments. Department of Education. Department of Health. The salary of the Controller, the head of the Finance Department, is $10000. The Corpora— tlon Counsel receives $15,000, the Police Com- missioners $5,000 each, and other public officers on a similar basis. In the report of the Com- missioners who had charge of drawing up the charter, it.is stated that “the Commission is glad to be able to add that its study of the problem has left it more firmly convinced than ever that the large and permanent interests of all the communi’ies iny'olved will be advanced by uniting them in the city of New-York. Con— solidation cannot do otherwise than facilitate the spread of population. To the extent that it does this. it will increase the number of citi- zens who can-own their own homes and will multiply still more largely the number of those who can hope to do so. In the long run, the government of the city and the government of the State must both be benefited by such a re- sult. Manhattan Island is to—day the business centre of a greater New-York of not less than three millions of people. There are those now living who may see it the business centre of a. population twice as large. In the mean while, by uniting into one city the settlements within the city limits that line the shores of the Sound. the East River and the Bay, so far as they are included in the State of New-York, the city of New-York secures an opportunity to command the development of commercial facilities throughout the length and breadth of its mag- nificent waterfront which probably could not be had in any other way." ' The Hon. William C. De Witt, in his review of the charter, says: "In designing a governmental system for a. . city of three millions of people, the Constitution of the United States naturally occupied a con- spicuous place among the models to be con- suited. The rare combination of powers grouped in one republic; the exquisite welding of States sovereign over their domestic affairs, and in cities and counties, each enjoying an adequate measure of home rule, into an indissoluble Union under a. supreme federal authority have rendered the Constitution of our country the most perfect fabric of civil society the world has yet seen. No higher tribute to the organic principles upon which it was constructed could be had than that which is presented in the modern politics of England, where, under the doctrine of home rule, it is proposed to assimilate the British Empire to our Federal Union. It is Ia principle _enforced by all experience. “The protracted labors of the Commission are over, and the charter has become a law. Brook- ,lyn will be greater as a borough than she is as a city. She will be the .grandest of the five divisions of the imperial metropolis. Her area will be 65% square miles. That of Manhattan will be 21 square miles. Her population is al- ready 1,140,000; that of Manhattan 1,743,000. “The charter isadequate to all the emer- gencies of the vast future. It is constructed not merely for the present, but for many centuries to come. It has in it all the virtues of existing charters and the Vices of none. It will adapt itself to any extent of domain and to any mul- tiple of population. As well with a. population of 10,000,000 as with a population of 3,000,030, it will give to each neighborhood the utmost ' 'care and. attention, and to the imperial metropo- lis as a. whole the utmost dignity and power. ' ' The, form of government for Greater N ew-York, ltIWill be the model upon which greater Lon- don will be constructed. Under it the city of New-York at one bound becomes the mistress of the Western Hemisphere and the second city of the world. Let it be to you what Athens ‘ was to the Greek, Rome to the Roman, Florence to th- Florcntine: what St. Petersburg is to the Russian. Paris is to the French, London to the English—an. object of constant. salicitude' Preserve its honor; uphold '_ ers are located on Fifth- -ave., which has "always and. of civic pride! its independence; develop its greatness!" I‘he patronage of the Mayor includes about fifty ofgiocgs, with salaries ranging from $5,000.. to $15, The following is a. tabular statement .to the population of the lea ding cities of the United,- States as estimated by the Mayors of the cities enumerated on January 1,1898 The estimates for the fifteen leading cities are here given in their order, and also their population in 1890 according to the United States census: Estimated populaétion. Population, City. Jan. 1 189 1890. Greater New-York .............. 3, 350, 000 _ ‘2,m0,000 Chicago . . . . . . . ................. 1.800.000 1,099,850 Philadelphia '.,. . . . . . ..' ..... '. . . . . 1,250,000 " 1,046,964 St. ........'. .............. 650.000 4.51.770 Baltimore . . . . . . ..' .............. 625,270 434,4394 Boston ......................... 550,000 148,477 Cincinnati ............ . . . . . . . . . . 400,000 . Burialo .............. . ......... . 255.664 Cleveland ................... . . . 385.0(1) 261.353 San Francisco .................. 350,000 208,137 Detroit .......... . .............. 320,000 $5.870 1‘" ew—Orleans ................... 300, 000 242, 089 Pittsburg ......” .............. 290,000 233,617 Milwaukee ..................... 275,000 204,468 Newark ...... . ................. $0,000 181,850 ‘Partially estimated. A comment on this table points out that an “examination of the increases in the Greater New—York territory between 1880 . and - 1890 develops the fact that what now consti- tutes New-York City increased in round numbers about 625,000 in the ten years, or 28. more. than the great gain shown by Chicago. If we include such towns as Jersey City, Hoboken and Newark, all prac- t1cally belonging to one centre of population, the total increase of this entire urban district is found to exceed 750,000, nearly twice as much as the great city ot London increased in the same period, with all its vast area. But with- out these New—Jersey adjuncts it will be per- ceived that New-York City is making greater strides than any other city in the world, and, considering the more serious effect of the recent depression in the Viest. it is entirely probable that New—York will show greater gross gains than Chicago. when the census of 1000 is taken." The population of the leading cities of the world outside of the United States is found in the following table: ‘ Nation.Cap1ial city. Population. Great B. itain ........... London ................. 4,211.43 France .................. Par 5 ................... 2.447, 057 Germany ................ Perlin ................... .1 677 351 Austria ................. Vienna .................. 1.364.543 Japan- ................... Toirin ................... 1.214.113 Russia .................. St. Peters burg ............ 1.035439 (hina ................... Peking: .................. 1. 000. 032 Turkey ........... '. ...... Constantinople .......... 373.- British India ........... (‘alcutta ................ 840.130 Brazil ................... Rio Janclro .............. 800.000 Argentina. ... . . . . . . . ....Buenos Ayres ............ 700.000 Belgium ................. Brussels ................ 507.95“?- Hungary ................ Rudapest ............... 506,380 Victoria. (Australia) ..... Melbourne ............... 400 000 Spain ................. Madrid .................. 472 230 Italy .................... Rome .................... 451.000 New South \Vaies. ....F-yrlney .................. 7183.300 Ebrypt ................... Cairo ................... 308.103 Jexico .................. Mexico ................. ,. 320, 540 ‘6 A RT D EA LING The progress of art dealing in the United States has been rapid and remarkable during the latter part of this century, and New-York has been the centre of the movement. From 1845, when the first representative of a Euro- pean dealer came to locate in this'city, there has been a steady increase in the sales of pict- ures from the sudios of the old and modern masters. To-day there are about twenty-five firms engaged in buying and selling paintings, engravings and other objectspf art. These deal- been the art district of the city. The value of the stock carried by these different houses ranges from I$3,00_O;000 Ito $4,;000000." European dealers soon discovered that 1n this country they had a most excellent field in which to carry on their business. Vast fortunes were being made here, and the surplus JIWealth of the leading men was easily diverted into the. chan- nels of art patronage. It has been shown time and again that the investment. of money in fine paintings was one of the best that could have been made. The private collections of leading New-York families are estimated to represent a value of $20,009,000, among some of the most noted being those of the Haveme'yers, Vendor ’ bilts and Rockefeller-s. :As an instance of appreciatahn of the-vain. of paintings. it maybe stated am the, work- "of a famous French artist which sold in Pan- thirty years ago for $300 to $500 are now held in thiscity at from $3,000 to$10.000. In 1889 Joseph Jefferson purchme'd at tilt “IWyncoop Sale “The Sh'ecpfold,” by Mauve, for $300. Today the work is valued at about $25,- 000. Each year the New-York dealers travel in Europe, picking np=rare ‘works, and these an soon disposed of in this country, and New- York is fast becoming the leading art emporim in the world. 4 . ART ROOMS OF L. ' CRIST DELMONICO. A visit to the Art Galleries, No. 166 Fifth Avenue. reveals some interesting and‘important paintings from the most famous masters. of “Old Creme," "The Glade Cottage. ” Among the most attractive pictures is a landscape It represents a. giade, with its cottage, whose tenant is on her way to her co .vs with milking pail and stool; the shade of the boughs. a dog accompanies her, and a cock struts between two barndoor favorites under - The glade itself is such as one stops to look upon in merry bid England; the path is grassy and seldom travelled; the flowers have here and there asSe1‘téd their right to the soil; and the trees are luxuriant, and meet and mingle overhead so closely that the afternoon sun has some difficulty in pouring his warmth through them on the cot- tage. subdued way. The light glimmers on the clay—built Wall—not broad and bright, but gently, and in 3 Among the important pictures which hang on the north wall of the galleries are the follow. ing four, which were painted by the artists to the order ofthe house, and were previously ex- hibited in the Salon of Paris: “A Summer Day in France" (County of Artois), by J. Ch. Cazin; “Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon in the Park of Versailles," by J. L. Gerome; “Normandy Cattle," by Félix de Vuilletroy, and “La Toilette," by Fantin Latour. Other paintings are “In the Orange Mountains,” by George Inness dated 1883 ,“Hyde Park Entrance, London," by Fritz. Thaulow and “A Little Russian Girl,” by Alexis Harlamoff. THE FIFTH AVENUE BANK BUILDING. The Fifth Avenue Bank, at Forty—fourth-st. and Fifth-ave" was organized twenty-three years ago, and is one of the strongest institu- tions in the city. It has a. patronage consisting largely of the business houses in its neighborhood. and is reputed to have the largesz num- ber of accounts in the city from individuals and families, representing the best element in the city's social life; The bank makes a specialty of securing accounts. from women. and for this purpose has equipped a handsomely furnished separate department. This department has separate tellers and bookkeeper-s, every convenience-for the transaction of private business, and is exclusively for women. There are connected with this bank special safety-deposit vaults, equipped in a. manner to secure absolute safety for the storage at papers and valuables. Safes are rented at a. small charge, and this department has proved a popular one with the patrons of the institution. The bank is guarded with the Holmes system of electric protection, insuring as absolute a degree of safety as can be secured. At (‘11. foot of each of the teller’s desks is an electric button, and by means of a simple pressure of the foot the safes can be locked. The president's desk is also fitted out with a Signal call of approved and modern design, and by means of which, should occasion require, he could call to his assistance a corps of men at any time. The Fifth Avenue Bank has been called the institution of the Four Hundred. It is a State institution. and its present enviable position is due to years of careful management and the economical administration which marked the first years ‘afiB existence, for, although the bank was earning abundant profits, the directors decided not to pay any dividends until a. handsome surplus had been accumulated. . On December 12, 1898, the bank declared a. regular quarterly 20 per cent dividend'on‘ the capital stock of $100000, and an extra 6 pelf cent dividend. The bank, in fact, pays a regular 100 per cent on Iits 111091;, which is so valuable that it seldom appears in the market. The”: reported sale brought $3, 205 a share. Chemical National, which pays 150 per cent a year in bi-mOnthly dividends. The officers of the Fifth Avenue Bank are: A. S. Frissell, president; Frank Dean. whiter, and B.. H. ..Fancher assistant cashier. The dividend record of this bank is equalled only by the First National and surpassed only by thl Th. directors are Charles Stewart smith, Edward H. Perkins, Russell Sage, Gardner Wetherbee. A. S. Frisseli, John D. CrimminIs. James G. 0:1.an John B. DuItIcher, Edward A. Price and James R. PIlunII. ' 2. ‘W;‘-'z'. ~ -'1= 11.2; ..
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