NEW YORK 



TABLE I. STATISTICS OF NEW YORK CITY AND ITS FIVE 

 H< >Kor<; IIS IN I'.HXi 



The organization of the Street Cleaning Department 

 as a separate branch of administration in New York 

 City dates from the year 1881, up to which 

 time the collection and disposal of street and 



house refuse was carried on under the direc- in * De P art - 



ment 



tion of the Department of Police. The new 

 organization was the outcome of much agitation on 

 the part of the public against the order of affairs which 

 existed at that time. Physicians and civic reform 

 associations took an active part in this crusade. It 

 is interesting to note that, with the exception of a 

 few brief intervals, the department has ever since its 

 creation been a source of dissatisfaction to the public 

 for the work has not been done with the thorough- 

 ness and economy which the people consider desirable. 

 The result has been that exhaustive and formal inves- 

 tigations have been made into the affairs of the depart- 

 ment on a number of occasions and the official head 

 of the department has often been changed. 



The first investigation was in 1891 when a committee 

 of eminent citizens made a study of the subject of 



163 



