HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM 



GREATER NEW YORK* 



1909 4,665,195 



1914 5,442,727 



1919 6,349,848 



1924 7,409,807 



1929 8,646,444 



* The New York Times, Sunday, April 25, 1909, p. 9. 



While the rate of increase of the past ten years may not continue 

 as in the above estimate, owing to increased facilities of transit which 

 will tend inevitably to spread population into New Jersey and Long 

 Island, all this country may be regarded as more or less tributary to 

 New York and dependent upon its public educational institutions; in 

 other words, the improved transit which will distribute the population 

 will also bring these great institutions within reach of the people of a 

 wider radius. For example, the American Museum is now within 25 

 minutes of Borough Hall, Brooklyn; it was formerly over an hour from 

 Borough Hall. The Brooklyn subway connection has increased enor- 

 mously the attendance at the New York Aquarium; it has undoubt- 

 edly affected the American Museum also; the proposed East Side 

 subway will similarly affect the Metropolitan Museum. 



Foreign Population. We Americans are under the impression, 

 which is not altogether justified by the facts, that our native popula- 

 tion is superior to our foreign and foreign-born population, and that 

 one of the greatest arguments for public education is the Americanizing 

 of the foreign elements. Undoubtedly there is a great deal of force in 

 this idea. Those who closely observe the attendance at our great 

 public institutions are impressed by the very large foreign or foreign- 

 born element. Unfortunately we have not the statistics for 1910. In 

 1900, when the population of New York was much smaller than at 

 present, namely, 3,437,202, the foreign population was as follows: 



Of German parentage 786,435 



Of Irish parentage 725,511 



Of Russian parentage 245,525 



Of Italian parentage 218,918 



Of English and Scotch parentage 204,109 



Of Austrian parentage 113,237 



Of Polish parentage 53,469 



Of Hungarian parentage 52,430 



Of French parentage 29,441 



Of Swedish parentage 44,798 



Of other foreign countries 170,084 



Total foreign-born population 2,643,957 



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