NEW YORK CITY. 



621 



ami :i fnv boats the "Zonhar Mills," the " I lav. - 

 me\er," niul the "New Yorker." There an- :;s."i 

 fin- horses for the companies. I hiring tin- year 

 I lure were 3,999 fires, and 17 buildings were 

 completely destroyed. The estimated loss by 

 tire- was $4.891,557: the insurance was $83,246,'- 

 !ie average loss to the fire was $1,2 % ~ > :!.1!. 

 The lire department caused 21 arrests for arson, 

 of which ! resulted in conviction. 



Knpid Transit. In the "Annual Cyclopae- 

 dia" for is'tl a full synopsis of the report of the 

 commission appointed to consider this subject 

 ven. Concerning its feasibility, the Mayor, 

 in his message for 1893, said : 



When the nature of the plan finally adopted was 

 nt length mndu pulilie, a fueling of doubt as to its 

 ity wus generally entertained. But when a 

 commission, selected with special reference to the ca- 

 pacity nf its members to deal with the, subject, had, 

 nt'ter two years' deliberation, decided upon a plan of 

 rapid transit, it was felt that it should have j>o~- 

 MHIIC merits which would commend it to private en- 

 terprise as a feasible project and a profitable invest- 

 ment. Judged by the test of an open sale of the fran- 

 chi.^e. it has, however, been found a total failure, any 

 further consideration of which would only result in 

 vexations and profitless delay. The whole subject ot 

 rapid transit is thus thrown back upon the attention 

 of the commissioners and the municipal authorities, 

 and however much we may deplore the loss of time 

 and money which lias already occurred, we must none 

 the less address ourselves energetically to a solution 

 nf the. question. To suy that the growth of the city 

 has been seriously impeded by the failure to provide 

 ampler and more expeditious means of transit, is to 

 treat the subject with moderation. As our population 

 is a constantly increasing one, the necessity for relief 

 in this respect grows every day more urgent. As the 

 question in its present aspect has been forced upon 

 public attention only within a few days, it is not now 

 feasible to make any definite suggestions upon the 

 subject for trie consideration of your honorable body, 

 but it is confidently believed that in a very short time 

 a plan will be devised which will bring the means of 

 relief within sight of the people of the city. 



Ellis and Ward Islands. In response to an 

 inquiry, the Secretary of the Health Department 

 of New York city was informed that the Treas- 

 ury Department in Washington regarded Ellis 

 Island, on which the immigrant station is lo- 

 cated, as within the State of New York. This 

 statement was made owing to the controversy be- 

 tween the States of New York and New Jersey 

 concerning their boundary line. 



In accordance with the act passed by the State 

 liiture, by which the city was permitted to 

 purchase the State's share of Ward's Island, the 

 corporation counsel received in June from the 

 Attorney-General the deed by which the State 

 lands on Ward's Island were to be transferred to 

 the city. The city pays the State about $1.000,- 

 000, br.t this sum will be reduced by discounts, 

 rebates, and set-offs to about $650,000. 



Iiiimigration.-~The reception of immigrants 

 in New York is under national supervision. 

 Ellis Island has been set apart for this purpose, 

 and is under the direction of Superintendent 

 John B. Weber. On Jan. 1, 1892, the buildings 

 constructed on Ellis Island were formally taken 

 possession of by the Government officials. Dur- 

 ing 181)1 buildings costing $500,000 were erected 

 and arranged with wharves, so that the immi- 

 grants from two vessels maybe landed nt the 

 same time. As soon as disembarked the passen- 



gers are .-hown up a broad stairway on the south- 

 ern side of the building. Turning to the left, 

 they pass through ten aisles, svh. ' loned 



as many registry clerks. After being regi- 

 those of the immigrants who have to be detained 

 are placed in a wire-screened inclosure. The more 

 fortunate ones pass on to a similar compartment. 

 where those going to the West are separated 

 from those bound for New England or local 

 points. By this means as many a;- 7,000 immi- 

 grants can be handled in a single day. 



There is an information bureau in the build- 

 ing for the benefit of those seeking friends or 

 relatives among the immigrants. There are also 

 telegraph and railroad ticket offices and a money 

 changer's office. 



During 1892, 957 steamships brought to this 

 port 120,991 cabin passengers and :;.">H,486 steer- 

 age passengers, of whom 374.000 were aliens, as 

 compared with 430,884 in 1891. 



At the close of August, 1892, when the cholera- 

 infected steamship " Moravia" arrived in port 

 with that disease, the immigration had exceeded 

 the immigration of the eight months of the pre- 

 vious year by 17,816. The immigration was tnen 

 stopped for a while, but has since recommenced. 



Post Office. This department is a Federal 

 office, under the jurisdiction of the Post Office 

 Department in Washington. The postmaster is 

 Cornelius Van Cott. The post-office building is 

 at the junction of Broadway and Park Kow, op- 

 posite Barclay Street. During the year the total 

 number of pieces of mail matter of all kinds han- 

 dled was 1,208,066,971, a daily average of 3,854,- 

 307. The increase over the previous year was 

 118,039,965. There were delivered through lock 

 boxes and by carriers 417,826,923 pieces of mail 

 matter. Of these, 69,237,385 letters were deliv- 

 ered through boxes, and 205,843.629 letters by 

 carriers. In the registered-letter department 

 1,552,644 pieces- were delivered, and 1,544,201 of 

 domestic and 888,361 of foreign pieces were re- 

 corded and distributed to other offices. In the 

 distributing department a total of 846,254.842 

 pieces were handled. The volume of money-order 

 business was as follows : At the general post of- 

 fice, 1,301,623 money orders were issued and paid, 

 amounting to $10,153.027.45, and 865.960 postal 

 notes, amounting to $1,303,707.43. At the 39 

 branch post offices and substations the number 

 of orders issued and paid was 308,665, amount- 

 ing to $4,322,360.13, and the number of postal 

 notes 152,629, amounting to $286,545.47. The 

 aggregate business of the money-order depart- 

 ment for the year amounted to $111.424.(52.60, 

 an increase over the previous year of $4,555,605.- 

 57. The total receipts of the office were $7.059.- 

 525.83, and the total expenditures $2,616,849.48, 

 including $1.155,303.21 expended for free-deliv- 

 ery service, giving a net revenue of $4.442,676.- 

 35. There were sold during the year 245,598,035 

 postage stamps, 49,608,182 Government-stamped 

 envelopes, and 62,771. T^ postal cards. The to- 

 tal weight of mails received and dispatched daily 

 during 1892 was 378 tons. Foreign mails dis- 

 patched averaged 34 a week. Foreign mails, 

 both inward and outward, frequently included 

 as many as 1,000 bags, and required from 1 to 

 12 two-horse trucks for their transportation. 

 The total number of employees was 3,100, of 

 whom 1,300 are letter carriers. 



