

NEW YORK. 



495 



rebate, 4,026. The rebates paid were $815,988.86, 

 and expenses of the department $264,317.94. In 

 the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx the report 

 Allows that the number of certificates in force on 

 Oct. 1 was 7,556. Also that the total amount re- 

 ceived from the issue of certificates, transfers, and 

 fines was $5,747,864.35; rebates paid, $306,233.47; 

 net revenues, $5.441,630.88; city's two-thirds share 

 of same, $3,627,753.92; State's one-third share, $1,- 

 813,876.96; on the basis of the equalization table 

 of 1898, prepared by the State Board of Assessors, 

 the city has benefited by a reduction in State taxes, 

 due to the State excise revenue, $1,830.545, making 

 a total benefit to the city's revenue of $5,458,298.92, 

 showing a gain to the city from the State treasury 

 over and above what it pays to the State amount- 

 ing to $16,668.04. 



Education. This department is under the super- 

 vision of a superintendent, whose term of office is 

 three years, and who receives a salary of $5,000. 

 The incumbent during the year was Charles R. 

 Skinner, whose term of office expired on April 6, 

 when he was reappointed for a new term. His 

 report shows that the total number of children of 

 school age (five to eighteen) was 1,668,949, an in- 

 crease of 17,091. Of this number 1,113,899 were in 

 the cities, an increase of 47,829, and 555,050 in 

 towns, a decrease of 30,738. The average daily 

 attendance was 820,254, an increase of 48,200. 

 The whole number of teachers employed was 34,- 

 385, an increase of 565 in one year and of 3,060 in 

 twelve years. There was expended for teachers' 

 salaries $14,183,685, an increase of $564,456. Of 

 this expenditure the cities paid $9,158.205, an in- 

 crease of $483,522, and the towns $5,025,480, an 

 increase of $80,936. The average annual salary of 

 teachers was $495, an increase of $8. The State 

 paid in teachers' quotas to the 3,090 small districts, 

 at $100 each, $309,000. Estimating an average 

 attendance of five scholars in each district the State 

 pays $309,000 for the education of 15.450 pupils, or 

 an average of $20 a pupil. The total expenditure 

 for public schools was $26,689,856, an increase of 

 $3,516,026. The cities spent $19,152,644, an in- 

 crease of $3,610.573. The towns spent $7,537,212, 

 a decrease of $94,547. There was expended for 

 schoolhouses, sites, furniture, and repairs $8,415,- 

 573, an increase of $2.588,237. The cities expended 

 $7,226,700, an increase of $2,816,645 ; the towns ex- 

 pended $1,188,872, an increase of $228,407. The 

 value of schoolhouses and sites was $66,077,600, an 

 increase in one year of $5,744,474. In cities this 

 value was $49,784,983, a gain of $5,883,909. In the 

 towns the value was $16,292,617, a decrease of 

 $139,435. 



According to the Regents' report, the number of 

 teaching institutions in the university has increased 

 to 688. The universities, colleges, professional and 

 technical schools remain the same in number, while 

 the incorporated academies have fallen from 128 to 

 119. In these institutions there are faculties with a 

 total of 3.775 men and 2,671 women, and the total 

 number of students is 43,146 male and 38,325 fe- 

 male. The net property has increased to $87,460,- 

 783, while the expenditures reached $9,055,572. 



Charities. This interest is under the care of a 

 board, whose annual report is prepared from the 

 sworn statements filed by the treasurers or other re- 

 sponsible officers of the charitable institutions, soci- 

 titirs. and associations subject to the board's super- 

 vision. The real and personal property of these 

 ! institutions, societies, and associations is estimated 

 to have a value of $103,384,554.21, of which $77,- 

 455,064.20 is real estate and $25.929.490.01 personal 

 property. The receipts of the institutions aggre- 

 gate $23,100,880.50, of which amount $9,606,136.34 

 came from the State, counties, and cities, while 



$13,494,744.16 was received through the medium of 

 personal benefactions. The total expenditures for 

 the year amounted to $21,448,362.03. The number 

 of inmates in the institutions was, on Oct. 1, 1897, 

 74.664. The tables further show that the number 

 of inmates received and cared for during varying 

 periods of time during the year aggregated 269,147. 

 But these were not all that received charitable 

 assistance, the tables also showing that in the dis- 

 pensaries 1,523,699 persons were treated practically 

 free of charge, the number of prescriptions dispensed 

 being 2,257, V 075. Also general outdoor relief .was 

 given by superintendents and overseers of the poor, 

 relief societies, missions, and other charities to 758,- 

 609 persons, making the number relieved by insti- 

 tutions (including hospitals and dispensaries), soci- 

 eties, associations, and public officials aggregate 

 2,551,455. 



Canals. The statement made toward the close 

 of 1896 by State Engineer Adams, that the amount 

 of $9,000,000 appropriated for the improvement of 

 the canals was insufficient, and that at least $7,000,- 

 000 additional would be required, led to a general 

 feeling that mismanagement had occurred in the 

 office of the Superintendent of Public Works. Soon 

 after the convening of the Legislature, Gov. Black, 

 in a special message, transmitted the following com- 

 munication : 



" The appropriation of $9,000,000 voted by the 

 people at the election of 1895 for improving the 

 canals is insufficient to complete the work. An- 

 other large sum will be required. The authority 

 for the second appropriation should be no less than 

 that by which the first was made." 



The communication further suggested that a 

 commission be appointed to examine the " work 

 already done or contracted for, and estimates pre- 

 pared for that which may be necessary to complete 

 the undertaking." The Governor called attention 

 to the fact that he could not appoint " a committee 

 having the necessary powers unless authority is 

 conferred on him by the Legislature." A bill- au- 

 thorizing such action was passed, and the following 

 commission was appointed : George Clinton, chair- 

 man ; Smith M. Weed, Darwin R. James, Frank 

 Brainerd, A. Foster Higgins, Franklin Edson, and 

 William McEchron. The commission was directed 

 to examine and report on the work of enlarging 

 and improving the Erie, Champlain, and Oswego 

 canals. The commission began its work in the lat- 

 ter part of March, with E. P. North as consulting 

 engineer and Lyman E. Cooley as advisory engi- 

 neer. Nearly all the members visited Albany, Syra- 

 cuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and intermediate points, 

 and personally inspected portions of the canals, be- 

 sides taking testimony. A voluminous report was 

 submitted to the Governor on Aug. 1. in which the 

 commission said that large sums had been expended 

 in unnecessary advertising in the interior of the 

 State; also that $1,000,000 or more had been ex- 

 pended il unwisely " in various ways ; and that cer- 

 tain accounts for payments to contractors for earth 

 and rock filling had been manipulated. The evils 

 of the existing dual system of keeping the accounts 

 of the Public Works Department were pointed out. 

 The commissioners examined 69 contracts for work, 

 and the engineers carefully examined every foot of 

 the new work. Several recommendations were given 

 in the report, and the members voted as a unit on 

 every point. They were unanimous in suggesting 

 that political methods should be eliminated so far 

 as possible from the management of the State canals, 

 and they we/e also unanimous in recommending 

 that sufficient additional appropriations be made to 

 complete the work of putting the canals in the best 

 possible condition. The report emphasized strongly 

 the importance of the canals to the commercial in- 





