60 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



must be a large sum. The reports which these visitors make of 

 the Park when they return home tends to induce others to visit 

 New York. In other words, the Park is for the City a valuable 

 advertising medium, and the Society, with its sister institutions, 

 aids in making the City a highly attractive metropolis, spreading 

 its fame throughout the United States and abroad. It is no exag- 

 geration, therefore, to say that the maintenance of the Park is 

 no drain on the wealth of the city, and that financially the City 

 is the gainer by reason of the Park. 



Those facts are well known. This Park was made by all the 

 people of New York. It is conducted for them. The Zoological 

 Society not only gets no material "benefit" out of it all, but it 

 is an annual source of expense to the extent of about $30,000. 

 The Society has done far more for this institution that it ever 

 promised to do. 



Now, do the taxpayers of New York, — joint owners of the 

 establishment, — wish this Park to be maintained on a level scale, 

 or do they wish its progress to slack up, and drop back? Do they 

 wish to have the word go all over the world that "the New York 

 Zoological Park is going down"? Once that word starts out, it 

 will be a long task to overtake it. The saving which the tax- 

 payers will efi"ect by seriously injuring the Park will equal less 

 than 07ie cent apiece to each of the inhabitants of Greater New 

 York! 



ATTENDANCE. 



The total attendance of visitors at the Park since it was 

 opened in 1899 has been 26,704,936. 



The attendance for 1918 suffered a heavy loss through the 

 plague of influenza. During the months of August, September 

 and October, when the crowds should have been great, the falling 

 off was very marked. 



The attendance by months was as follows : 



1918 1917 



January 38,528 74,238 



February 56,620 83,353 



March 135,482 89,853 



April 161,344 208,723 



