PHILADELPHIA. 



633 



Moriah, and Woodlands, in West Philadelphia, 

 south of Fairraount Park, the last being situ- 

 ated on the bank of the SchuylkiH. 



Several fine bridges, both for railroad and 

 ordinary travel, span the SchuylkiH, and six 

 steam-ferries (fare five cents) ply across the 

 Delaware to the New Jersey shore one to 

 Gloucester and the others to Oamden. 



Philadelphia is connected with New York 

 and the West by the Pennsylvania Railroad ; 

 with different points in the State of Pennsyl- 

 vania by the Philadelphia & Reading, the 

 Germantown & Norristown, the North Penn- 

 sylvania, and the West Chester & Philadelphia 

 Railroads, and the Philadelphia & Erie division 

 of the Pennsylvania Railroad ; and with the 

 South by the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balti- 

 more, and the Philadelphia & Baltimore Cen- 

 tral Railroads. By ferry to Camden, N. J., 

 communication is had with the Camden & 

 Am boy division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 

 for South Amboy ; with the Camden & Atlan- 

 tic Railroad, for Atlantic City ; with the Cam- 

 den, Mount Holly & Pemberton Railroad, for 

 Long Branch ; and with the West Jersey Rail- 

 road for Bridgeton, Salem, and Cape May. 

 There are numerous regular lines of steamers 

 to Southern and other coastwise ports, a fort- 

 nightly line to Havana and New Orleans, a 

 weekly line to Liverpool, and a weekly line to 

 Antwerp. The bar in the river below the city 

 has 19 feet at low and 25 feet at high water. 

 The wharf front of the city has extraordinary 

 depth of water, there being 57 feet at low 

 water at the pier-heads for half a mile, and 

 not less than 25 feet for three miles of the 

 river-front. The occupied commercial front is 

 seven- miles on the Delaware and four miles on 

 the SchuylkiH. Just below the city, on Mud 

 Island, is Fort Mifflin, commanding the river ; 

 and on Tinicum Island, eleven miles below, 

 are the quarantine station and hospital. The 

 United States Navy- Yard, embracing eighteen 

 acres on the Delaware, about a mile below 

 Market Street, is to be sold, and League Island, 

 comprising 600 acres, having been presented 

 to the Government by the city, is to be occu- 

 pied as a naval station. 



The customs district of which Philadelphia 

 is the port includes the city of Camden, N. J., 

 and all the shores of the Delaware and its 

 tributaries within the State of Pennsylvania. 

 The value of its foreign commerce during the 

 year ending June 30, 1874, included exports 

 amounting to $33,121,337, and imports to $26,- 

 447,037. During -the year ending June 30, 

 1875, the imports amounted to $24,236,387, 

 and the exports to $28,611,644. Chief among 

 the exports are petroleum, breadstuffs, and 

 provisions. 



In 1874 1,008 vessels entered, and 1,105 

 cleared, in the foreign trade. The number 

 of vessels belonging to the district was 3,040, 

 of 394,760 tons : 120 vessels were built dur- 

 ing the year. The coal-trade of the port is 

 immense, vast quantities being brought here 



for shipment to coastwise ports. Kensington, 

 about two miles north of Market Street, is the 

 chief seat of ship-building in the city, but the 

 business is extensively carried on at Chester 

 and other points on the Delaware within the 

 customs district. Philadelphia is preeminent 

 for its manufactures, for which its proximity 

 to the iron and coal fields of Pennsylvania af- 

 fords great facilities. In 1870, according to 

 the United States census, it was the first city 

 in the Union in the number of manufacturing 

 establishments and of hands employed, in the 

 amount of capital invested and of wages paid, 

 and in the value of materials used; it was sur- 

 passed only by New York in the value of manu- 

 factured products. The number of establish- 

 ments was 8,184, with 1,611 steam-engines of 

 40,528 horse-power, and 59 water-wheels of 

 2,696 horse-power; number of hands 137,496, 

 of whom 95,421 were males above sixteen, 

 32,687 females above fifteen, and 9,388 youth; 

 capital, $174,016,674; wages paid during the 

 year, $58,780,130; value of materials used, 

 $180,325,713 ; of products, $322,004,517. 



Philadelphia is divided into 31 wards. The 

 chief executive officer is the mayor, elected by 

 the people for three years. The legislative 

 authority is vested in a Select Council of 31 

 members (one from each ward), elected for 

 three years, and a Common Council of 68 mem- 

 bers, elected for two years. There are also 

 a city controller, city treasurer, city solicitor, 

 and receiver of taxes. Boards of Commission- 

 ers have the management of Fairmount Park, 

 the public buildings, the gas-works, the city 

 trusts, the health department, etc. The chief 

 county officers are three commissioners, the 

 sheriff, recorder of deeds, register of wills, dis- 

 trict attorney, and coroner, elected by the 

 people for three years. The United States 

 Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 

 meet here, and terms of the State Supreme 

 Court are held here. There are four Courts of 

 Common Pleas, each consisting of three judges, 

 which have coordinate jurisdiction in civil mat- 

 ters within the city. These judges designate 

 one or more of their number to hold the Courts 

 of Oyer and Terminer and of Quarter Sessions, 

 which have criminal jurisdiction only. There 

 are also an Orphans' Court of three judges, 

 with probate powers, and Magistrates' Courts. 

 Philadelphia sends 8 Senators and 38 Repre- 

 sentatives to the State Legislature, and 5 mem- 

 bers to Congress. The police-force is under 

 command of a chief, assisted by four captains, 

 and consists of 1,200 men. There is a paid 

 fire department, under the control of a board 

 of seven commissioners. In 1875, the force 

 consisted of a chief -engineer, five assistant 

 engineers, and 389 men, organized into 27 

 steam-engine companies and 5 hook-and-lad- 

 der companies. There is a fire-alarm tele- 

 graph, but the number of alarm-boxes is in- 

 adequate. The number of fires during 1874 

 was 592, with a loss of property estimated at 

 $754,688. The amount appropriated for tho 



