NEW YORK CITY. 



427 



Mayor Low, who after a brief address transferred 

 them to President Willcox, of the Park Depart- 

 ment, who accepted the trust in an appropriate 

 address. The monument was then unveiled, and 

 the exercises closed with an address by Gen. 

 Howard. The memorial bears the inscription: 

 " To the Memory of the Brave Soldiers and Sail- 

 ors Who Saved the Union," and on the tablet is 

 inscribed : " Soldiers' and Sailors' Memoral Monu- 

 ment of the City of New York. Commissioners: 

 Robert A. Van Wyck, Mayor; George C. Clausen, 

 President Park Board; John W. Goff, Recorder; 

 Bird S. Coler, Comptroller; Joseph A. Goulden, 

 Chairman Memorial Committee, Grand Army of 

 the Republic. Architects, Charles W. Stoughton, 

 Arthur A. Stoughton, Paul E. Dubry. Builders, 



lien & Dwyer." 



On July 23 a bronze fountain that was pre- 

 sented to the Society for the Prevention of 

 Cruelty to Animals by John M. Gitterman was 

 unveiled at the intersection of Liberty Street and 

 Maiden Lane. 



On Nov. 16 a statue of Gen. Josiah Porter, de- 

 signed by Clark G. Noble, was unveiled on the 

 parade ground in Van Cortlandt Park. The veil 

 was drawn by Mrs. Mary Porter Robinson, 

 daughter of Gen. Porter. 



In the autumn a committee from the New 

 York Historical Society and the American His- 

 toric and Scenic Society, to cooperate with the 

 Municipal Art Commission, was appointed to ex- 

 amine the memorial tablets in the borough. It 

 is said that there are many errors on these tab- 

 lets, and it will be the work of the committee 

 to correct these, as well as to pass upon the de- 

 sign, inscription, and location of such other me- 

 morial tablets as the patriotic societies may seek 

 to place. 



Historical. Under the auspices of the Scenic 

 and Historic Preservation Society plans have 

 been made for the preservation of Fraunce's Tav- 

 ern. The building is to be restored, so far as the 

 records make possible, to its condition at the 

 time when Washington took leave of his gen- 

 erals in the old Long Room, and a park is to 

 be established on the surrounding half-block of 

 property, the purchase of which, with the build- 

 ing itself, was authorized by the Board of Es- 

 timate and Apportionment, for $340,000. The 

 Long Room will be a portrait-gallery of Wash- 

 ington's generals who met within its walls. Pa- 

 triotic societies are expected to contribute simple 

 collections of Revolutionary relics, which will be 

 displayed in the other apartments. Revolu- 

 tionary cannon, set up as if for action, will be 

 planted amid the trees that will be set out, and 

 custodians, to be uniformed as Continental sol- 

 diers, are to be placed in charge. 



Surrogate's Court. This branch of the ju- 

 diciary is under the supervision of two surro- 

 gates, each of whom is elected for fourteen years 

 and receives a salary of $15,000. The incumbents 

 during the year were Abner C. Thomas and F. T. 

 Fitzgerald; and their office is in the County 

 Court-House. In 1902, they report, 5,170 motions 

 were heard and disposed of; 379 will contests 

 were tried; 2,142 wills were offered for probate, 

 of which 123 were foreign wills; 1,968 were ad- 

 mitted and 5 rejected; 1,910 letters testamentary 

 were granted; 1,878 decrees admitting wills were 

 drawn by the Probate Department; 3,401 ac- 

 counts were filed; 2,024 decrees were made on 

 final accountings; 23,799 orders and decrees were 

 signed and entered; 3,528 letters of administra- 

 tion were granted and issued; 3,816 petitions in 

 administration were examined and signed, and 

 55,800 bundles of papers handled for the exami- 



nation of accounting, administration, probate, 

 and real-estate proceedings. 



Immigration. The reception of immigrants 

 in New York is under national supervision. The 

 commissioner, who is appointed by the President, 

 was Thomas Fitchie, who in April was succeeded 

 by William Williams. Ellis Island, in New York 

 Bay, is the landing-place for immigrants. In the 

 year ending Dec. 31 551,645 aliens were landed at 

 this port. The nearest approach to this was in 

 1882, when 476,086 foreigners were landed at 

 Castle Garden, and 1892 comes next with 445.989, 

 which would indicate that the tide of immigra- 

 tion reaches its height every ten years. In 1901 

 408,040 aliens passed through the Ellis Island 

 Bureau, and 341,712 in the previous year. The 

 percentage of deportations for mental or physical 

 infirmity or for poverty was greater than for any 

 previous year. The records showed that out of 

 36,600 arrivals in December, 900 were excluded, 

 while for the same month in 1901 there were 

 only 255 exclusions out of 29,685 arrivals. Of the 

 total number landed in 1902, 5,533 were ordered 

 deported, liability to become a public charge 

 being the chief cause of exclusion. The increase 

 in the number and percentage of deportations 

 is due to the more rigid examination of immi- 

 grants. The work in connection with the strict 

 inspection has been so severe that in one month 

 4 inspectors resigned. The holders of the money, 

 baggage, and catering privileges who have been 

 doing business on Ellis Island ten years were 

 ousted for alleged irregularities, and were re- 

 placed by new men. The various steamship com- 

 panies were forced to exercise a stricter super- 

 vision over the class of steerage passengers who 

 come over in their vessels, and to be more careful 

 in making out their manifests, as fines ranging 

 from $10 to $1,000 were inflicted upon the com- 

 panies guilty of careless or improper manifesta- 

 tion. 



Harbor Improvement. The care of the har- 

 bor improvement is under the control of the 

 chief of engineers of the War Department. The 

 report of the work done in the year shows that 

 the improved channels by way of Sandy Hook 

 have a full depth of 30 feet and are 1,000 feet 

 wide, except in one or two places where the chan- 

 nel has shrunk to 800 feet in width. The work 

 on the Ambrose channel continues with good 

 success. Improvements have been made at Gov- 

 ernor's Island, headquarters of the Department of 

 the East, by building wharves and dredging, so 

 that larger vessels may approach the island. The 

 State of New York has conveyed to the United 

 States some ground under water, and it is pro- 

 posed to enlarge the island by constructing bulk- 

 heads upon this ground. It is estimated that the 

 entire project will cost $685,000, and that $400,- 

 000 will be required immediately. The following 

 estimates for 1903 were made: New York harbor, 

 for general improvement, $100,000; for Ambrose 

 channel, $340,000; to complete the project, 

 $2,720,000; Bay Ridge and Red Hook channels, 

 $348,000; to complete the project, $1,898,000. 



Events. On Jan. 6 Prof. Nicholas Murray- 

 Butler was chosen President of Columbia Uni- 

 versity. 



On Jan. 8 a serious collision occurred in the 

 tunnel of the New York Central Railway in 

 New York city, killing 17 persons and injuring 

 a large number. 



On Jan. 27 an explosion, caused by dynamite, 

 occurred in the Rapid-Transit tunnel, at Park 

 Avenue and 41st Street, killing and injuring 

 many persons and destroying considerable prop- 

 erty. 



