194 



tionary cm is tin- Liberty Bell, cast in London in 1752 

 li.il the " Provimv nf IVnn.-ylvania, an<l bearing the 



1 



iiiM-ri|ition. " Prix-laim lilx'rty throughout the land to 

 :ill the inhabiuntt< thereof. I>?v. xxv. 10." It was first 

 used in 1753, and on .In' saluted the first 



;niblie reading of the Declaration of IndetMndeooe. 

 it was finallv cracked on .Inly ii. ]s:i.x while Ix-injr 

 t.ill.-d tor the ftmcnl of Chief..) ii.-tice Marshall. The 

 bell was lent to New Orleans tor it.s \VorM '.- KxpoMiion 

 in 1884, and since its return hanjis on its old frame in 

 the southern corridor of [ndefMMMM Hall. 



( >n Sept. I/.-I7. l7, the centenary of the framing 

 and adoption of the Constitution was celebrated by 

 civic, nnlitarj'j and industrial parades. The U. S. 

 government, with IT States and the District of Colum- 

 bia, contrilmtfd to the display. 



nl. The original charter of Philadelphia 

 had undergone various changes before the Consolida- 

 timi Act i if 1852, which brought the whole county 

 (nearly 1 30 square miles) under one city government 

 The vastly increased outlay for municipal purposes 

 then rendered necessary gave frequent opportunities 

 for jobbery, while the control of public works was 

 chiefly with committees of the city councils, in which 

 responsibility tor maladministration was vague and 

 uncertain. After the burden had grown oppressive 

 the citizens sought relief from the State legislature. 

 which fixed the limit of the city debt at $70,000,000, 

 and required the expenditures to be kept strictly 

 within the bounds of annual appropriations, whose total 

 should not exceed the estimated income. Another 

 measure of relief was the granting of powers for 

 specific purposes to boards or commissions composed 

 of prominent citizens. Eventually, however, these 

 independent commissions aggravated the evils they 

 were intended to cure. After various attempts at re- 

 form in management under the existing laws, the Leg- 

 islature authorized the governor to appoint a Commit- 

 tee on Municipal Reform. Mr. John C. Bullitt, a 

 member of this committee, drafted an important bill 

 remodelling the city charter. This bill was, in 1883, 

 introduced into the Legislature by his son, William C. 

 Bullitt. then State Senator, was passed in 18.v"> and 

 took effect April 1, 1887. Pursuant to this bill the 

 mayor, who formerly was hardly more than chief of 

 the police, has authority to administer nearly the entire 

 city government through various departments, the 

 heads of which are subject to his appointment and 

 removal. These departments are those of Public 

 Safety. Public Works, and Charities and Correction. 

 There are also Departments of Receiver of Taxes, 

 City Controller, and Law, whose chief officers are 

 elected by the people, while the Board of Education 

 is composed of members appointed by the Judges of 

 the city courts. 



Public Stifet. ii. This department, with a Director 

 appointed by the Mayor at a salary of $7500, com- 

 prises the bureaus of Police, Fire, and Public Health. 

 The police force consisted in 1888 of 4 captains at 

 $1350 each; 8 detectives at $1080; 28 lieutenants at 

 $1092.50; 70 house sergeants at $960 ; 14 patrol ser- 

 geants, 14 patrol drivers, 14 patrol officers; 4 pilots; 

 4 firemen ; 5 van-drivers ; ana 1270 policemen at $2.38 

 a day, the total cost of the bureau being $1,751,710.08. 

 The number of arrest* in 1886 was 53,409 ; number 

 of station-house lodgers, 54,589 ; number of commit- 

 tals to prison in 1887, 28,968 ; to House of Correction, 

 5841. 



The Brooks High License Bill, passed by the State 

 legislature in May, 1887, fixed tne price of license for 

 the sale of liquor at retail in large cities at $500, and 

 gave the judges large discretion in granting licenses. 

 Tin. License Court in Philadelphia in 1888 granted 

 only 1340 licenses, while the former number of saloons 

 was 5989. 



Fire. In bygone years Philadelphia was famed for 

 its volunteer companies of firemen. In March, 1871, 

 the volunteer system was changed for a paid fire- 



department, and this, in 1887, fell under the Der 

 ment of Public Safety. In l>s> the apparatus of this 

 bureau consisted of 34 steam-engines, 2 chemical en- 

 gines, and 7 trucks, operated by :;i engine men at sal- 

 aries of $1000 each; 34 firemen at $M,T 7": 41 

 drivers and 7 tiller-men at $867.70; 41 tori men at 

 $1 100 ; and 342 hose and ladder-men at $867.70 each. 

 The number of fires in 1887 was 1222, involving a Ions 

 of $2,857,456, with insurance of $12,287,301. 



Health. In 1887 there were 24,113 births; 6355 

 marriages; and 21.719 deaths, of which 8321 were 

 under five years, the percentage of deaths to popula- 

 tion being 2.21. 



I'nlilic Work*. The head of this department is a 

 Director appointed by the Mayor, with a salary of 

 $7500, and under it are comprised bureaus of gns. water. 

 and highways. In 1886 Philadelphia had 855 n 

 gas-pipes ; the total number of consumers was 1 14,386. 

 using 1,886,599 lights. The public lights numbered 

 15,410. The total gas made was 2,94ti.4o7.<in ,-uliio 

 feet The cost of manufacture was $3,494. 47J. tin- 

 receipts, $4,659,783, the surplus being applied to the 

 payment of interest on loans, the sinking fund. etc. 

 On April 1, 1887, the gas trustees reduced the price to 

 $1.50 per 1000 ft 



The principal streets of the city are brilliantly lighted 

 by electricity, which is also liberally used in the larger 

 stores and warerooms. Girard College, since May. 

 1887, has been illuminated with 35 electric lights upon 

 7 towers, each 125 ft. high. 



Wntfr. The water pumped into the city reservoirs in 

 1887 amounted to 32,426,779,765 gallons, giving a daily 

 average of 88,840,492, and, assuming the population 

 to have been then 998,000, a daily per capita allow- 

 ance of 98 gallons. In 1886 the total receipts of the 

 bureau were $1,993,328, the cost of operating the 

 works, $552,454. The total length of pipes laid up to 

 1887 was 852 miles, and the average length laid annu- 

 ally for the 11 years preceding Isss was 15 miles. 

 Through the agency of tne Philadelphia Fountain Socie- 

 ty there are now 6 1 public drinking- fountains in the city. 



Street*. In 1886 there were in Philadelphia over 

 2000 miles of highways, of which 900 miles were 

 paved, the greater portion with cobble stones. For- 

 merly this style of pavement was universal, but now 

 a yearly appropriation is made for the replacement of 

 cobble-stones with improved materials, as Belgian 

 blocks and asphalt. The expenditure of the depart- 

 ment for 1887 was $1,010.061, the cost for street clean- 

 ing being $314,022, yet the condition of the streets in 

 respect to paving and cleaning leaves much to be de- 

 sired. The total length of sewers was 300 miles. 



Almost every leading street, except Broad, is tra- 

 versed by a car-track, double or single, making not less 

 than 300 miles of street railways, employing some 

 9000 horses. The uniform rate for a ride is 5 cents 

 and 8 for extreme distances. On Oct. 1, 1884, steam - 

 traction or cable-motor cars began to be run. Now 

 this system has over 20 miles in full operation, with 591 

 passenger-cars. An electric car built in Philadelphia 

 made an experimental trip on Aug. 4, 1 887. It was 

 propelled by means of storage-batteries in the car. 

 The pavements of the streets on which car-tracks are 

 laid are required to be kept iu repair between the 

 curbs by the several street-road companies, but this 

 condition is but indifferently carried out and is a source 

 of constant bickering. 



In 1888 the total number of dwelling-houses in the 

 city was 274,835, and of stores having dwellings 

 attached 1386. The total number of building permits 

 issued from 1885 to 1887 (both years inclusive) was 

 21,243, the value of buildings of all descriptions erected 

 jn 1887 being $45,000,000. The new schools erected 

 in the above three years were 39 ; factories. 1212. 



>ncf*. On Sept 1, 1887, the city controller 

 estimated the expenses of the departments for 1888 at 

 $1 7, 1 10, 1 88. 1 8, exclusive of legal obligations amounting 

 to $4,438,089.93, the full amount to be provided 



