EWBURGH SURVEY DEPARTM; SURVE D EXHIBITS R' SAGE FOUNDATION 128 I Price 15 Cents June, 1913 , LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE '" fi *J* L /'&Lr THE NEWBURGH SURVEY REPORTS OF LIMITED INVESTIGATIONS OF SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN NEWBURGH, N. Y. BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYS AND EXHIBITS RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION ZENAS L. POTTER Director Field Wor INVESTIGATIONS : PUBLIC SCHOOLS Franklin Zeiger and Zenas L. Potter 5 PUBLIC HEALTH Franz Schneider, Jr 21 HOUSING Amy Woods 36 DELINQUENCY Zenas L. Potter 43 PUBLIC LIBRARY Frederick W. Jenkins 55 RECREATION Zenas L. Potter 61 CHARITIES Margaret F. Byington 68 INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS Edward F. Brown and Zenas L. Potter 77 MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION D. O. Decker 89 N '6 A Few Salient Facts Newburgh is fifty-seven miles up the Site Hudson River from New York City. The city began to build at the river front and advanced up the abrupt hill by "mass forma- tion," structures elbowing close to each other and land being economized. But once the crest of the hill was reached, building operations scattered and played more freely along the hill-top and down the other side, until the city now covers about three and three-fifths square miles. The present population is estimated at Population 31,242. Rates of increase have been moderate, but steady, the number of inhabitants growing from 23,087, in 1890 to 24,943 in 1900, and 27,806 in 1910. Fifty per cent, of the latter number were native whites of native parentage. For- eign born whites represented seventeen per cent. The birthplaces of the largest numbers of the foreign born in 1910 were, Ireland 1555; England, Scotland and Wales, 856 ; Italy, 675 ; Russia and Finland, 524 ; and Germany 512. The city was settled in 1708 by a band History of Palatines driven from their homes on the Rhine by religious persecution. These were followed about 1743 by Scotch English and the city was christened with the Scotch name Newburgh. In colonial times Newburgh was an im- portant commercial center, being a strategic meeting place for water and stage transportation. Washington made it his headquarters for a year and a half during the Revolution, and it was here that his army was disbanded. In 1909 there were 104 industrial Industries establishments in the city, employing 4066 persons, and turning out pro- ducts worth almost $10,000,000, half of which value was added in Newburgh. The present industries are greatly diversified. As a manufacturing center the city has the advantage of good shipping facilities and nearness to the great New York City market, and its future seems to lie in development along this line. Foreword Up the river which stretches out into a broad piazza before New- burgh, Henry Hudson voyaged in search of a northwest passage to the Pacific ; and, incidentally, standing on the city's present site, remarked it a "pleasant place to build a town on." A century later, up the river came another exploring party a band of pilgrims from the Palatine district of Germany who sought a place of religious freedom. They translated Hudson's suggestion into action and began to "build a town." Three-quarters of a century more, and Washington chose Newburgh as his Revolutionary war headquarters; and for many months the city was thus a center of national interest. The war over, Newburgh also saw Washington disband his army prepara- tory to the constructive work ahead in building a new nation and government. Only a few decades more and Newburgh saw Robert Fulton steaming for Albany on the trip that demonstrated the prac- ticability of steam-propelled water transportation. These events mark high places in the drama of American growth. They show also the unusual advantages for first hand contact with the very fore-front of activity in exploration, invention, religious pioneer- ing and military achievements which Newburgh has enjoyed. In the present decade of exploration into social and living conditions, of pioneering in a movement which places increased emphasis upon the welfare of the common every-day man and woman, of invention of agencies for human advance, and of constructive planning for civic progress in such a decade, there is something peculiarly fitting in Newburgh's being among the first dozen or twenty cities to be "social surveyed", and in its being one of a smaller number to start the project itself. The last point deserves repeating. The Newburgh survey was started by Newburgh people. Outside co-operation was secured, to be sure; but the call for it came from within. Although a few were like that earlier group who feared the steamboat as a smoke-belching engine of destruction, and looked askance at the survey, a large group of representative citizens who were willing to face straight facts for the sake of advancing fundamental things in the city, backed it morally and financially from the very start. They appreciated that Newburgh is different from many other cities, not in its having civic shortcomings, but in being willing to scrutinize them. Early in 1912, Rev. Alfred J. Wilson, minister of the First Unitarian Church, advocated a local survey in a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. A few months later the matter was taken up by Miss Amy Woods, Secretary of the Associated Charities, who requested the co-operation of the Department of Surveys and Exhibits, and among the first steps was a conference of interested citizens who organized a Survey Committee of Fifty. The executive committee of this larger group of fifty consisted of Thaddeus R. Beal, Judge Peter Cantline, H. A. Daniels, Francis J. Gorman, Miss Alice R. Hitchcock, Dr. Frank A. Jacobson, David W. Jagger, Miss Ida C. Leroy, Miss Mary Maloney, John H. Quinlan, William Vanamee, Rev. Alfred J. Wilson, Graham Witschief, and Miss Amy Woods. At the request of the local committee this Department assumed the direction of the survey, delegating Zenas L. Potter to have general charge on the field and Franz Schneider, Jr., sanitarian of the Depart- ment, to take charge of the investigation into health and sanitation. A very considerable amount of valuable co-operation was received for which acknowledgement is made, as follows : Charity Organization Department, Russell Sage Foundation, for investigation of charities by Miss Margaret F. Byington; National and New York Child Labor Committees, investigation of child labor by Edward F. Brown ; New- burgh Associated Charities, housing investigation by Miss Amy Woods ; Franklin Zeiger, investigation of schools; Dr. Leonard P. Ayres, assistance in planning school investigation and criticism of the report; Frederick W. Jenkins, investigation of Newburgh Library ; Mrs. James W. Elliott, Rev. Alfred J. Wilson, Mrs. W. T. Webb, Miss Edith Rock^ wood, housing investigation; Mrs. E. C. Thompson and Mrs. Alfred J. Wilson, assisting in preparation of charts; D. O. Decker, extra work on municipal administration report ; John I. Ihlder, criticism and suggestions on housing report. In the preparation of the exhibit showing the gist of the survey (selections from which are reproduced in the reports which follow) Mr. Potter had the co-operation of E. G. Routzahn and Miss Mary B. Swain of the Department of Surveys and Exhibits. This volunteer assistance enabled the survey to be carried much farther than would otherwise have been possible on the funds available. The purpose of this survey was and is constructive. It was not aimed to humiliate the city but to improve it. The project was under- taken in order to learn significant facts of living conditions in the community, to make recommendations where corrective action is needed, and to acquaint the general citizenship with both facts and needs. The facts and recommendations based on them make up the reports which follow. Follow-up action is now clearly a matter of local not outside responsibility. SHELBY M. HARRISON, Director. DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYS AND EXHIBITS. Newburgh Public Schools FRANKLIN ZEIGER AND ZENAS L. POTTER. Interest in school matters has recently run commendably high in Newburgh. Consequently, though the Newburgh Survey was limited in the amount of time and money devoted to it, special attention was given to a study of the public schools. SCHOOL CREDITS. Among the things found worthy of special commendation are: I. A School Board which has given, free of charge, much time and thought to school matters. II. An unusually fine school building the Broadway School. III. Well kept buildings, showing efficient janitor ser- vice. IV. But little class overcrowding save in the Academy. V. A well equipped manual training school. VI. The promise of installation of courses in domestic science. VII. A teaching force apparently devoted to its work. VIII. Good co-operation with parochial schools in the enforcement of the compulsory education law. SCHOOL NEEDS. Along with these favorable conditions are points on which we believe there is opportunity for improvement; and because it is more important in its possible result, we dwell mainly on them in this report. There are opportunities for: I. Improvement of the physical provisions for children in the way of lighting, air space, ventilation, cloak rooms, toilet facilities and fire protection in old buildings. II. Placing the detailed work of school administration more largely in the hands of the superintendent. III. More frequent and adequate advising with the teachers regarding text books, changes in the curriculum, daily and term programs, etc., and at the same time, more thorough oversight of their work. IV. Increasing teachers' salaries, and adopting better methods for their selection and promotion, and for studying and improving their efficiency. V. Making continuous studies of school efficiency for the purpose of locating and correcting weaknesses in the system. VI. Making special provision for mentally and physic- ally abnormal children. VII. Establishing evening schools for foreigners and others who need special opportunities. VIII. Greater provision for the physical training of children. IX. Opening school buildings out of school hours for wider civic and social uses. BASIC FACTS. Before going into these subjects in detail, it may be said, by way of parenthesis, that Newburgh has six grammar schools, a manual training school, and the Academy, the latter being the high school. The schools are under the manage- ment of a board of nine elected at large. Several of the present members have served for many years. Except for the fact that the amount receivable from taxation is limited by the allowance of the general city budget, the schools are independent of other branches of the city government. Under the city charter a one per cent, levy on the total city assess- ment is guaranteed for school purposes. A larger amount may be levied. The total public school receipts for the school year ending July, 1911, that being the last period for which comparative statistics are available, were $143,969.97, of which $110,815.00 came through taxation, $13,845.52 through State aid, the balance from non-resident tuition and other sources, $16,066.90 being a balance from the previous year. Of these receipts $4,921.21 were for the public library which is under the con- trol of the School Board. The school expenditures for the same year were: Teachers' salaries, $78,362.78; school libraries, $261.70; schoolhouses, sites, repairs and furniture, $16,790.92; free textbooks, $3,536.55; other expenses, $27,282.40; leaving a balance on hand of $17,735.62. IS NEWBURGH5ATISFIED WITH THIS SMALL SCHOOL EXPENDITURE? SCHOOL COST PER PUPIL New forhcllc ^ 61.7* Mt.Vcruon BHHHH^HBBHBn^^^^^HBl^M *5*. 8 7 Auburn ^ Niafeafalls ^^^^ Kingston ^^H^HBBHl >39.85 BHHIBHBBmm^BHHB .36. 18 damestown ^i * 35.4 I Newbmgh ^BBBKBH^HB *34.S9 >aterbwn BBB^HHHH 30. 22, (?ities,25000 to 35,000 People (figures based on average daily attendance) There were, in 1912, 5,917 children between five and eighteen years of age in the city, of whom 4,289 were in the public schools, 703 in private schools, and 925 not in school at all. Public school enrollment increases have been very gradual making the building problem much less difficult than in many cities. All school buildings, except the Broadway School, are comparatively old. One hundred nine regular teachers ninety-four in gram- mar schools, fifteen in the Academy seven special teachers, two supervisors, three substitutes, seven principals, and one vice-principal were .employed in Newburgh public schools in 1912. Regular teachers receive from $450 to $650 a year in grammar schools and from $800 to $1,200 in the Academy. Salaries are regulated according to time of service and grade taught. Five grammar school principals who are men receive $1,400 per year each, one woman receives $1,000. The Academy principal gets $2,000 per year, the vice principal $1,400. The salary of the superintendent of schools, who is also clerk of the Board, is $2,200 per year. The school term in 1912 included 189 days, exclusive of legal holidays. With this general view of Newburgh's public schools we may take up the opportunities for improvement, as already enumerated. PHYSICAL NEEDS. There is need, in the first place, for improving the physical provisions for children in older school buildings. This is revealed when they are tested by the standards for lighting, cubic air space, toilets, fire protection, etc., which the State Education Department lays down in the construction of all new buildings. These are not, of course, required in old buildings, but they furnish an authoritative basis for judging the adequacy of the present equipment. Take first the matter of lighting. The State Department's standard is that window area should equal one-fifth of the floor area. The survey made a complete study of lighting in the Washington and Liberty Street schools, the former being one of the older buildings, the latter next to the newest. In the Liberty Street School but two rooms meet the standard, the other seventeen averaging only sixty per cent, and one room only fifty per cent, of the standard. In the Washington Street School but six of the sixteen rooms comply with the standard, though glass partitions between some of the rooms upset the calculations to some extent. These conditions are typical of all buildings except the Broadway School. Again, the State Department standard for air space requires 200 cubic feet for every pupil to be accommodated. Of the thirty-five rooms in the Liberty and Washington Street Schools, only fourteen measure up to the standard. The average air space provided in the rooms falling below the standard is eighty-one per cent, in the Washington Street School, and eighty-eight per cent, in the Liberty Street School. Four rooms in the two schools had less than seventy-five per cent, of the requirement. The State standard for new buildings requires one toilet seat to every twenty-five boys, one to every fifteen girls, and one urinal to every fifteen boys. In all there are forty-seven toilet seats for boys in Newburgh schools whereas, the stand- ard would call for eighty, and there are sixty-three seats for girls whereas the standard would call for 121. There are forty-four urinals for boys whereas the standard would call for 127. The only school meeting the standard is the Broad- way School. In the matter of desks, too, unsatisfactory conditions exist. Many children are seated at desks of the wrong size, a recognized cause of round shoulders. Except in the Broad- way School there are many rooms having no variation what- ever in the size of the desks, though the size of pupils varies greatly. Fifty-one class rooms are without adjustable desks, and in one school where such desks are provided they are not adjusted to the pupils. One school has no such desks at all, and one has them in the assembly room only, where they are least needed. Adequate washing facilities are not furnished in any of the schools. It is important that habits of cleanliness be taught, and liquid soap and tissue towels, which have been proven practicable for school purposes, should be provided. Wardrobes, too, in many of the schools are inadequate and obstruct class rooms and halls. The State Law makes mandatory the erection of fire escapes on all three story buildings. Two local three-story buildings, the Liberty Street School and the Academy, do not meet this requirement. Classes or assembly are held on the third floor in both buildings, and the School Board is assum- ing a serious responsibility in failing to comply with the law. Heating in all schools seems to be adequate. This investigation was made in the early spring when the matter could not be easily tested for definite conclusions. To furnish proper desks, adequate washing facilities, and fire escapes, is comparatively simple and inexpensive. To im- prove lighting and air space in old buildings is, however, often a difficult and expensive matter, but it is not insurmountable. Many cities have met and solved the problem. Jamestown, N. Y., for instance, a city of approximately Newburgh's size, has just completed remodeling some of her old buildings to meet the same difficulties that Newburgh is facing. Water- town, N. Y., has adopted a plan of improving one of her schools each year. Newburgh might profit by her example. These conditions cannot all be corrected at once, but it is important that the people know how their schools stand in these regards and that some constructive plan be developed for dealing with the problem a plan which will insure that, at the end of a period of years, no children will need to gain their education in poorly lighted, poorly ventilated, over- crowded school rooms. A detailed scientific study in all schools of lighting, air space, ventilation, seating, toilets, ward- robes and washing facilities would be an intelligent first step toward improving conditions. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION. The School Board in Newburgh assumes much detailed work which in many cities is left largely to the superintendent. School adminstration is for the most part a technical matter, which the average layman, unless he devotes much time to it, can hardly be expected to handle in the most effective way. The members of the School Board do not pretend to visit the schools but once a month; generally they do not get around that often, and when they do, it is only for a most cursory inspection. With such small contact with the actual work of the schools, it is impossible for them to manage the details of school administration in the most efficient way. As a general proposition the School Board should pass upon matters of general policy, after advice with the superintendent, but the details of school administration, the selection of text books, the appointment of teachers, minor changes in the curriculum, small improvements in school grounds or buildings, and the 10 like, should be left largely to the superintendent, who is a school expert devoting all of his time to the work. It is our opinion, also, that greater efficiency would be secured if the administration authorities, whoever they may be, consulted the teachers more regarding administrative changes in matters such as text books, programs of work, courses of study and the like; and at the same time more thoroughly supervised their work. In some regards teachers have been given too much, in others not enough authority. For instance, in some schools teachers are allowed to make out their own daily programs without adequate supervision, with the result that some place emphasis on one subject, some on another. It would help toward better results if all teachers of a single grade were to meet with the administrative authorities and discuss common problems, after which uniform daily programs could be worked out and put into operation. Teachers, on the other hand, are continually gathering practical experience which would be valuable to the admin- istrative authorities. Consequently their advice may often be advantageously sought by administrative authorities. Poughkeepsie furnishes an illustration of what may be done in this regard. The school management was dissatisfied with the reading books in use, but instead of buying new books from the agent who could in a few minutes present his system in the most favorable light, the Board secured copies of books in six different systems and put them in the teachers' library. Teachers were asked to study them carefully and meetings were held once a month at which the merits of each were discussed. At the end of a year a vote of the teachers was taken. It was unanimous for one system and that system was adopted. Incidentally, it was not the system which is used in the Newburgh schools. THE TEACHING FORCE, The teacher, next to the child, is the most important part of a school system, and it is especially desirable that every provision be made, not only for securing the most efficient teachers possible, hut for improving their efficiency after 11 appointment. A fundamental requirement for the securing of capable teachers is the offering of salaries which will attract them. Newburgh economizes on teachers' salaries. The amount per pupil spent for teachers' salaries in Newburgh is $22.53. In this respect the city ranks seventh among the ten cities of the State having a population of from 25,000 to 35,000. New Rochelle, the leading city, spends $37.27 per pupil in teachers' salaries, or seventy per cent, more than Newburgh. In all the cities of the State the average expenditure for teachers' salaries per pupil is $34.95, or fifty-five per cent. NEWBURCHtCONOMIZESOlltaFKklliB PaiSi n Teachers Salaries Per Pu pij NewRochdle - ^ MtVernon Auburn Nin&ira Falls! Kingston Amsterdam Newburgh lbu#ikeepsie .Jamestown Vfetertown j-'j.^pr'rsLT 1 #.35J1 *31.OO <29.61 22V75 22.53 >21V75 ' 2ft 2 1 '18.75; A 1 1 Ci ti es.2 5, 000 to 35[000, Peo p 1 e more than in Newburgh. The effect of low salaries is some- what offset by the employment of local persons who prefer to teach here rather than to go elsewhere and get higher salaries, but in the long run low salaries for teachers are pretty sure to tell in the quality of the school work. New- burgh needs to ask herself whether this kind of economy really pays. The present salary schedule is based partly upon length of service, partly upon grade taught. It would be an improve- ment if the grade taught were left out of consideration, for the 12 upper grades are not more important than the lower nor does it require more skill to teach them well. The effect of the present salary schedule is often to tempt teachers to leave the grade in which they can teach most effectively, and to keep less capable teachers in the lower grades, where efficient teaching is, perhaps, most needed. Of equal importance with the salary schedule in its effect upon the grade of work of the teaching force is the method of selecting teachers. In New York State all teachers are required to have state licenses and the requirements for securing them are reasonably high. There are, however, great differences in the teaching abilities of those who secure licenses, and it is eminently desirable that Newburgh secure the best teachers who present themselves. At present teachers are selected by the School Board upon the recommendation of its teachers' committee. This system has resulted in many cities in appointment through personal preferment or political influ- ence. Methods much more certain to assure the appointment of the most capable have been worked out elsewhere. Ex- prience has shown a better plan to be a system of appointment from competitive ratings by some educational authority out- side the city, ratings being based on personality, teaching experience, knowledge of subject matter to be taught and of education principles. Examination to determine physical fit- ness before appointment is also desirable. The struggle for teaching efficiency should not end, however, with adequate salaries and selection of teachers on a competitive basis. The administrative authorities should make a continuous effort to seek out the teachers who are not getting the best results and assist them to greater efficiency. These may be located by having the principals make ratings of the work of teachers under their charge, by comparing standings in uniform examinations of pupils in different schools, and by studies of attendance, dropping out, and non- promotion. Little has been done in this regard in Newburgh. After the less efficient teachers have been singled out definite steps should be taken to aid them. In New York city special teachers are employed for this purpose. In Newburgh if such special trained teachers are not secured the work 13 might be performed by the principals, who might also be sufficiently relieved of their teaching responsibilities to permit it. Less capable teachers should also be sent to study the methods of the more successful teachers, and urged to take special work in summer schools. Moreover, a fair allowance of visiting days to permit teachers to visit other schools at home and elsewhere should be made. Teachers' Institutes, in which leading educational authorities are brought to the city to meet with the teachers and discuss educational prob- lems, have been helpful in many cities. Supervisors of all rather technical subjects are also desirable. Newburgh has supervisors of drawing and music, and has also special sewing teachers. We raise the question of the need for supervision of penmanship and physical training. We suggest also, as a means to improve efficiency, that a special increase in salary, say at the end of five years service, might be offered to all teachers who, in the meantime, had taken work at the summer session of some teachers' training school or university. Ithaca N. Y., a city of less than half Newburgh's size, has utilized all of these methods for improving teachers' efficiency. SEMI-ANNUAL PROMOTIONS. In addition to studies of teaching efficiency, studies of general efficiency will help to locate weaknesses and permit their correction. An investigation of over-age, for instance, will permit the authorities to discover where it is most preva- lent and study to eliminate its causes. One cause in Newburgh is undoubtedly the absence of half-yearly promotions. When children attend regularly and do good work it makes little difference whether they are promoted annually or semi- annually, but when children are out of school several weeks because of sickness or some other cause, yearly promotion often results in their losing a whole year when they would lose but half a year under a half-yearly promotion system. Every other city in the State with from 25,000 to 35,000 inhabitants has semi-annual promotions. Newburgh would do well to follow suit. 14 THE WASHINGTON STREET SCHOOL. Large School Yard Needed for Children's Play. THE BROADWAY SCHOOL Newburgh's Newest and Finest School Building. CLASS FOR BACKWARD CHILDREN. Studies of non-promotion also serve to locate weaknesses and assist in their elimination. Not only do they aid in locating teachers who are not getting the best results, but together with over-age studies they serve to point out children who are unable to keep up with regular classes and need special care. For these mentally backward children many cities provide special classes, both because these children can be better cared for in that way, and because they are a dis- turbing element in regular classes. Amsterdam, Auburn, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Niagara Falls, and Poughkeepsie provide such classes. Jamestown, Kingston, Newburgh and Watertown do not. Non-promotion is not only serious for the child, it is a burden to the school system. It costs the city $17,724.12 a year to reteach the children who fail. Why not put more money into increasing school efficiency? DROPPING-OUT. One of the important tests of the efficiency of a school system is the per cent, of the children in the city which it reaches. It is, therefore, desirable that the authorities at- tempt to discover and eliminate the causes which prevent all children from getting the best education possible. For this purpose studies of dropping-out should be made and no pupil should be allowed to secure a school certificate for working papers until every effort has been made to have him continue in school. Often a conference with the parent will do much. Often, also, a study of dropping-out convinces the authorities that more practical courses in manual training, commercial subjects, and domestic science need to be offered to get pupils and parents to see the value of schooling. The attitude of Newburgh authorities in the matter of keeping children in school as long as possible, is shown in the issuance of school certificates to children who desired to go to work. The law has not required that a certain grade be attained before a certificate is issued, but has defined certain educational requirements which must be complied 15 with. Amsterdam, Auburn, Ithaca and Watertovvn have interpreted the requirement to mean that a child must be through the fifth grade before he or she can get a certificate. Jamestown, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City require them to be half way through the fifth grade. Mt. Vernon and Niagara Falls require them to be in the fifth grade. New- burgh issued nineteen certificates to children in the fourth grade and three to children in the third grade in 1912. Ap- parently the authorities have not taken as much interest in having all children get at least an elementary education as the authorities in other cities. Fortunately, the law has just been amended requiring all children to be in the sixth grade before certificates may be issued to them, and recommenda- tions in this matter are unnecessary. COMPULSORY EDUCATION. In order that the schools may reach the maximum number of children efforts should be made to make the enforcement of the compulsory education laws as effective as possible. The present attendance officer seems to be devoted to his work. We would suggest, however, several changes in administrative methods : I. It would save time and lead to better results if the plan of having the officer call at each school once a week were abandoned and all reports of truancy were telephoned to the superintendent's office. II. It would concentrate responsibility if teachers in all schools were required to report all absences to the princi- pals every morning and principals were required to assume the task of getting children back in school. III. The aid of the police department in reporting all children on the streets during school hours might advantage- ously be sought. IV. Children who secure working certificates should be followed up to see if they obtain work. Two such children were out of school and had been without work for some time when the survey was made. 16 V. The truant officer should be more energetic in seek- ing the co-operation of charitable societies in poverty and sickness cases, and those societies should be more energetic in backing him up so that children already handicapped by poverty will not have the additional handicap of having their education curtailed. The State law wisely provides that no child under fourteen years of age shall be out of school unless he is himself physically or mentally incapacitated. It makes no exceptions and the school authorities have no power to make them. SONEGOODTHINGSINASCHOOLSllSrEN Compare Newburgh With Other Cities (White Nocks indicate possession of the specified Features) Amster- I..L, ' James-] Kings- Mount New- New Nia&ral Pbugh- Water dam AUWm town ton Vernon burgh Rochdfe Fails keepse town tfaJTYcariyfttoiohons Supervisor Physical Training Medical Inspection ! 1 i i i i i i i i 5 i i 1 1 1 1 I I | | i i i i i i i i 1 1 1 1 1 35 am i i 5 55 mm f ss 1 1 School Dodor or tone i i i i i 1 1 i i Supervisors feinanshp m i i i i i 1 1 1 1 mm DomesticScienct i i i i i i mm i i i i 1 1 1 1 \ \ School Yards ustd for Playgrounds i i i i i i i i 1 1 i i tasfrMmttifo Class for Truants and Incorrigibles i i I I = S i 1 1 1 1 asm mm BK \ i Kindergartens I I i i i i i i i 1 1 i i i i Evenin^Schools 1 i i i i i i ! 1 1 I I i i NIGHT SCHOOLS. Schools may also be extended to reach more pupils by the provision of night schools for foreigners, and children who have been forced to leave school but desire to continue their education. Amsterdam, Auburn, Jamestown, Mt. Vernon, Niagara Falls, New Rochelle, Poughkeepsie, and Watertown all make such provision. Kingston and Newburgh do not. 17 KINDERGARTENS. Kindergartens in many cities meet the special needs of children too young for regular school work. Every city in the State with from 25,000 to 35,000 inhabitants except King- ston and Newburgh provide kindergartens. VACATION SCHOOLS. Ithaca, Watertown, and several other smaller sized cities in the State provide vacation schools in which ambitious pupils may forge ahead and where those who have failed may make up work. Newburgh provides no such school. SPECIAL CLASS FOR TRUANTS AND INCORRIGIBLES. Not only should the schools reach as many children as possible, but they should strive to provide for all children according to their needs. It has been found, for instance, that there is, in every school, a group of truant and incorrigible children who get little from the regular work and who are a. disturbing element in their classes. Some cities have seen the advantage both to these children and to the general school work of putting them in a class by themselves under the charge of a teacher especially fitted for the task, and giving them instruction of a practical nature which will interest them anew in their work. New Rochelle and Watertown, for example, make special provision for such children. Newburgh does not. OPEN AIR CLASSES. Investigation has also shown that anaemic and tuberculous children profit both physically and mentally by open-air classes, and the more progressive cities are providing them. New- burgh has no such class, though the Red Cross nurse assures us of its need. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. Perhaps the greatest development in the way of making the schools fit the needs of pupils has been the development of industrial training. Newburgh has made good beginnings in this regard. She has a well equipped manual training school 18 and the School Board has recently voted to institute courses in domestic science. Sewing is already being taught but there are opportunities for greater development of commercial courses. The whole problem of tying education up with life is, however, still in the process of evolution. The develop- ment of part time classes to bridge the gap between the school and the factory is just in its beginnings in this country. Will Newburgh take the lead, or trail in the rear in this develop- ment? PHYSICAL TRAINING. Perhaps more important than a child's education after all is its health, and school authorities are giving more and more attention to it every year. Newburgh has hardly made a beginning. For instance, there is no local supervisor of physical training, although eight of the ten New York State cities with from 25,000 to 35,000 inhabitants provide one. Where there are adequate school yards they are given over to lawns and not used for playgrounds as in many other cities of Newburgh's size in New York State. There are no recess periods, although over ninety per cent, of the cities of the United States provide for them. The Parochial School pro- vides a gymnasium, but there is none in any public school. Every city in New Jersey, all but one in Massachusetts, and more than half of the cities in New York state provide medi- cal inspection in schools. The Newburgh School Board voted down the proposition. Amsterdam, Auburn, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Poughkeepsie and Watertown, all cities of about Newburgh's size, provide a school doctor or nurse. Newburgh does not. In the field of physical training and care Newburgh has not kept up with present day development. SOCIAL USE OF THE SCHOOLS. Finally, there is great opportunity for placing the school buildings at the service of all citizens outside of school hours for study clubs, mothers' organizations, more lectures and concerts, public meetings and for recreation purposes. The peo- ple of Newburgh have $614,500.00 invested in school grounds and buildings which are yielding only partial returns, for they lie idle a large share of the time. It is poor business to have 19 money tied up in an idle plant when it might yield pleasures and profit to the people of the city to whom it belongs. The opening of school buildings for public meetings and for social purposes is recommended for serious consideration. Many cities have already set the example, among them New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York State's leading cities. SCHOOL EXPENDITURES. Before closing the school report, a word should be said about school expenditures. Many of the recommendations we have made call for the expenditure of a considerable amount of money. Alteration of old school buildings to im- prove the physical conditions is expensive. It is not to be expected that all the changes can be made at once. We do believe, however, that for the improvement of these conditions plans should be mapped out which, after a term of years, will put the schools in proper physical shape. The adoption of other of our recommendations would require the annual expenditure of more money for maintenance purposes. One thing, however, the city must recognize, it takes money to buy education, just as it takes money to buy commodities, and in the long run the children of a city will get just about the kind of education that the city pays for. Newburgh has economized on her schools. The annual school cost per pupil has been but $34.89, in which respect the city stands ninth among the ten cities of the State with from 25,000 to 35,000 inhabitants. New Rochelle, the leading city, spends $61.74 per pupil, or $26.85 more than Newburgh. The average for the cities of the State is $50.66 or $15.77 mor e than in New- burgh. Certainly this limited expenditure is the reason for many weak places in Newburgh's school system and more money must be appropriated for school purposes if the city is to keep abreast of the present day educational development. On the other hand the fact must not be obscured that many of our most important recommendations call for a change in organization or method and require the expenditure of little or no money. These we commend to the people of the city for their consideration. 20 Public Health FRANZ SCHNEIDER, JR. DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYS AND EXHIBITS, RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION In considering her public health situation, Newburgh may as well squarely face the question of whether she would remain with the unenlightened many or join the progressive few. Her natural sanitary assets are on the whole, probably good, but her controllable sanitary conditions are not maintained at a reasonably high standard. An analysis of the death rate is, furthermore, not reassuring. In extenuation, it is fair to say that municipal sanitation had undergone tremendous develop- ment in the past few years new methods of saving life and preventing suffering having been developed, and it is unfortu- nately a fact that these methods have not yet found their way into most small cities. Newburgh is still with this majority, and occasion is here taken to point out why, and to suggest the adoption of those procedures which have been attended elsewhere with demonstrated success. There can be little doubt but that many unnecessary deaths now occur in New- burgh each year. The chief organized effort for the protection of a city's health is naturally the municipal department of health; it is important therefore to determine if the department is effec- tively organized, adequately financed, and efficiently operated. The Newburgh department will be discussed here on this basis, after which consideration will be given to the city's status with regard to certain public health problems of a general nature. ORGANIZATION OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. There are serious defects in the form of the present New- burgh organization. The policy of the department, for one thing, is entrusted to a board of seven members, while the health officer occupies a pretty purely executive position. The 21 health officer is now essentially the servant of the board. With the tremendous advances which have taken place in late years in public health science, especially since the rise of bacteriology and the development of the germ theory of disease, it has been found advisable to hire an experienced health officer and give him a free rein in the management of the department's affairs. Health department work now calls for expert knowledge which cannot be expected of an ordinary board. A board may be desirable to advise with the health officer or guard the ordi- nance-making power, but it should not be allowed to cripple the work of a competent official. Another grave handicap to the department's work arises from the part-time employment of a health officer who can give but an hour a day to the work. Newburgh is big enough and her public health important enough to require a full time official. Such a man, with proper authority, would have time to study the entire health situation, and to lay out a constructive program something which Newburgh now sorely needs. SCOPE OF THE DEPARTMENT'S WORK AND ADEQUACY OF ITS APPROPRIATION. It is of course perfectly obvious that a department of health cannot give effective service unless properly financed, and the question of the adequacy of its objects and efforts can- not be considered without reference to the size of its appro- priation. If Newburgh allows her health department less than the minimum amount of money required to cover the situation, she cannot expect that the resulting effort will be anything but fragmentary. That the present effort is fragmentary be- comes evident when we find that the department exercises no sanitary supervision whatever over the city's water supply, its food supply, or the condition of its housing. Of the seven lines of health department activity emphasized by Governor Sulzer's Public Health Commission as definite opportunities Newburgh's department has made no start whatever on three (medical school inspection, venereal diseases and infant mor- tality), while its work against two of the others (tuberculosis and typhoid fever) is decidedly slight. The present activity of the department may be characterized as largely reflex. 22 Complaints are investigated and contagious diseases are quar- antined in a fairly satisfactory manner, but the department has failed to initiate constructive programs in most of these branches of municipal sanitation where the greatest saving of lives is possible. Although the responsibility for this state of affairs rests largely with the form of the department's organization and the part-time employment of its health officer, an important contributory factor is certainly the extreme slenderness of the HOWftEWBURGHECONOMIZES ON HEALTH "J\ 'Tale or 'Three Cities." Population of Tfiree Cities North Yakima, Wash. Montelair, N. J. Newburgh e.soo 23,0'O.O 29,000 What G TFiese Cities Spend for Health Department '11,80149 '6,777.36 '3,505.95 What 'iney Spend for each Citizens Health, *.74 t.ia. Newburgji spends less than the least amount , necessary for ef f i ci en t h eal t h s er v ice- health appropriation. In 1912 the total municipal expenditure charged to health was $8,665.18. Of this amount, $1,752.21 went to pay damages in an outstanding legal action, $210.02 was paid for the care of insane persons, and $3,197 went in payments to the county tuberculosis sanatorium. Deducting these items, there remains $3,505.95 for the usual preventive measure of the health department. This sum represents an expenditure of about twelve and one-half cents per inhabitant per year, a figure which is less than the minimum requirement for adequate service. A comparison of these figures with similar figures for .the town of Montelair and the city of 23 Orange two New Jersey communities possessing satisfactory health departments characterized by economy and efficiency, is extremely suggestive. Montclair, a town of less than 23,000 inhabitants, spent $6,777.36 in 1911 for activities in the same field in which Newburgh spent little more than half as much in the following year. The Montclair department's payroll in 1911 was $5,556.20 as compared with $2,232.31 in New- burgh. The comparison with Orange, where unusually low salaries prevail and where the services of two nurses financed by private organizations are available to the department, is somewhat more favorable, the expenditure there being only fifty per cent, greater than Newburgh's. The lesson is entirely clear. The Newburgh department is neither properly organ- ized, nor has it a sufficient force to carry on the essentials of health department work. EFFICIENCY OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S WORK. An estimate of the effectiveness of the present depart- ment's efforts is rendered unusually difficult by the absence of any detailed report for the past year. The only report for that period is the health officer's, six typewritten pages which give but slight indication of the work of the year, or of the needs of the department. A department's annual report should contain its discussion of the existing health situation and its recommendations for the future; and should thus serve as its message to the citizens and as its permanent record for future reference and study. Not only is it the department's declara- tion of principles, but it serves as well as the basis for com- parisons leading to judgments of the efficiency of its endeavors. The present failure to publish an adequate report is therefore additional evidence of the weakness of the present organization. The registration of vital statistics cannot be regarded as entirely satisfactory. The details of filing, and the filing system itself, are commendable, but the present registrar lacks such familiarity with the practice and principles of vital statistics as is necessary to secure proper certification of the causes and the circumstances of death. In looking through the files for 1912, for example, three deaths were certified as caused by marasmus, a term which is descriptive of a symptom rather U than of a cause of death, and which is commonly recognized as objectionable. On four other certificates the primary cause was stated as general septic peritonitis, with acute appendicitis as the contributory cause ; it is entirely probable that in these cases peritonitis came as a complication of appendicitis, and not the reverse, as would be indicated by these certificates. There are also a number of cases in which infectious diseases, as whooping cough and measles, have been certified the second- ary or contributory cause, while the last complications of the disease, such as broncho-pneumonia, have been stated as pri- mary. In the first death registered in 1913 the primary cause was stated as lobar pneumonia of three days' duration, the con- tributory cause as typhoid fever of twenty days. A second death from typhoid in January of this year, dying in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, is registered under shock. Such certification is the exact reverse of the intention of vital statis- tics, and it is the duty of the local registrar to secure from doctors the correction of such returns. A similar defect relates to the statements furnished as to the duration of the fatal illness. Out of fifty-nine deaths regis- tered in January, 1913, the duration was stated in twenty-nine instances ; in thirteen it was excusably absent, while in seven- teen it failed to appear when it might reasonably have been ex- pected. Under the present arrangement it is intended that the halth officer supervise this work of the registrar, but his time is evidently too restricted for anything of this kind. The present policy of the department looking to the vigorous enforcement of the law requiring prompt recording of births and deaths is to be commended. All persons should be brought to a realization of the importance of complete and prompt certification of births. Not only are later property interests, the issuance of working papers and the like, often dependent upon this certification, but any intelligent study and prevention of infant mortality must have its beginning here. Vital statistics is the book-keeping of sanitary endeavor, and must be the guide to intelligent administration ; it is therefore most important that the work of registration be carried out with the greatest care. 25 The sanitary inspector of the department placards and investigates cases of certain contagious diseases, responds to complaints, and makes any original inspections that may come to his attention. There is reason to believe that this work is faithfully performed and that the inspector shows an unusual amount of interest in his work. It cannot be doubted, however, that the effectiveness of his endeavors could be materially in- creased by suitable supervision. Owing to the limitation of the health officer's time, and to the inspector's responsibility to both board and health officer, there is no systematic planning AN HOUR A DAY FOR NEWBUMHS HEALTH Newbut$ishcallh officer devotes one hour aday to guard the health of 29.000 people What He Does in Or\e Hour Jl Day 1- Examine children for. labor,. certificates 2-Take charge of i nsane persons pending commitment S-BominebaderiobJicalspedmensfordiplheriaand tiberaibis 4-Give attention to complaints 5- Supervise the work, of the department What Jin Eight-Hour-a-Day Health Officer Would Do l-Do all of the above and have time to do it better- 2- Supervise his subordinates 3-Study health conditions 4- Organize campaigns against disease Wi II Newbu rh pay for a full-time health officer? of his work. Privy vaults and manure pits are inspected, but no attempt is made to cover the city in a thorough and sys- tematic way, and records of the work are not kept in such form as will be valuable for later studies of the situation. There is no systematic use of the inspector to investigate and study the private wells of the city, or the housing conditions. It is entirely probable that one inspector cannot cover the city in a thoroughly satisfactory way, but it is clear that his work would be far more valuable if systematically laid out. It is 26 perhaps only fair to note that the present arrangement for sanitary inspection has only finished its first year ; the depart- ment should, however, hasten to plan a program towards which its efforts will be cumulative. The health officer, as has already been indicated, cannot do justice to himself or the situation in the time at his disposal. He is deserving of credit for his stand for the enforcement of the regulations relating to vital statistics and the control of contagious diseases, for his opinions and practice regarding the publicity and educational features of the work, and for his appreciation of the shortcomings of the present arrange- ment. As he must examine children for labor certificates, take charge of insane persons pending commitment, examine speci- mens for bacteriological diagnosis, and give attention to com- plaints and the like, it will be seen that the one hour a day which he can give to the work permits of little constructive activity. Of this he is keenly conscious. The present control of communicable disease suffers seriously from lack of contagious disease hospital facilities. Hospitalization is absolutely necessary for the successful treat- ment of many of the severe cases of these diseases, and for those in which proper isolation cannot be maintained at home. The omission is therefore of deadly import. Another improve- ment would be the more frequent use of laboratory diagnosis in suspected diphtheria. Only about half the physicians now seem to take advantage of this opportunity, and as early diagnosis allows of early isolation and early use of anti-toxin, both physicians and laymen should insist that cultures be taken from all cases of suspicious sore throat. The department would also do well to insist on two successive negative cultures from both throat and nose before release in diphtheria. The value of the quarantine now practiced should be augmented by an increased inspection force. The work of the local laboratory is limited to the bacteri- ological examination of specimens for diphtheria and tubercu- losis. As laboratory work is one of the important links in the sanitary chain, it should be maintained at a high standard and extended where possible. A reliable temperature regulator should be fitted to the blood heat incubator. The department 27 makes no examinations of water and practically none of milk, and for any extension of its activities such as is advocated in this report, laboratory facilities will have to be added. TYPHOID FEVER IN NEWBURGH. One of the most serious situations in the city, and one which cries loudly for relief, relates to typhoid fever. The city has long had a typhoid rate far in excess of the average, and has been aptly characterized "a typhoid town." Careful examination of the mortality statistics indicates that there is justification for the opprobrium. Looking through the death certificates on file at the health department office for the last seven years (1906-1912 inclusive) it appears that in this period eighty-six deaths occurred in the city which were attributed to typhoid fever. Forty of these were of residents at their homes, thirteen of residents at St. Luke's Hospital, seventeen of non-residents at St. Luke's, and sixteen at St. Luke's in which the residence was not stated. There were accordingly fifty-three deaths of persons definitely stated to be residents of Newburgh, seventeen of persons defi- nitely stated to be non-residents, and sixteen of persons a state- ment of whose residence failed to appear. Ascribing a fair proportion of the deaths of unstated residence to Newburgh, her total for the period will be sixty, and her corrected rate thirty-one per hundred thousand, as compared with sixteen and a half for the entire state in a comparable period. Even omitting the apportionment of those deaths in which the resi- dence of the deceased was not stated, and taking merely those definitely stated as of residents of the city, the rate is still over twenty-seven. The truth of the matter is that typhoid fever has per- sisted in Newburgh in a way that is entirely inexcusable. The deaths enumerated above were fairly evenly distributed among the seven years, and represent three or four hundred cases of the disease. Taking the Pittsburgh Survey's figures of four thousand dollars for a death and $128.00 for a case, these figures represent an economic loss to the city of something like forty thousand dollars a year. Half of this should be easily preventable. It must not be forgotten that every case 28 of typhoid fever means that the sufferer has swallowed part of the bowel or bladder discharges of a previous patient and that the disease is pre-eminently one of defective sanitation. It cannot be stated too emphatically that the city should tolerate this scourge no longer. Some discussion of the probable vehicles of the disease is in order. Milk can carry the infection, and undoubtedly has "been responsible for some of the typhoid in the city. But the incidence and persistence of the disease is, on the whole, not typical of milk infection. It is interesting to note that of the seventy-six cases reported to the health department in 1912, twenty-nine were attributed to this source. A certain amount of all typhoid fever may be attributed to direct contact with a previous case, and a certain amount may be caused by flies and improperly screened privy vaults. There is, however, nothing to indicate that the care of patients and the disinfec- tion of their discharges has been unusually bad in Newburgh. There remains the possibility that the infection has been carried by the water supply. The Newburgh supply is a surface one, being taken from a series of small streams and a reservoir a few miles from the city. There is no process of purification. Such a supply with a considerable population on the water- shed, is always open to the possibility of occasional pollution or infection. While the city has made no determinations of the sanitary condition of the water, analyses which have been made from time to time by the State Board of Health indicate that the water does, in fact, often receive some pollution. The bacterial content of the water, as shown by these figures, is higher than might reasonably be expected, and organisms of fecal type are almost invariably present. This intestinal pollu- tion may, of course, come from horses or cattle which are known to be on the water-shed, but the possibility of pollution of human origin is certainly also present. It should be noted that the seventy-six cases of typhoid fever reported in 1912 drank, with one or two exceptions, the city water. While it cannot be stated definitely that the city's typhoid is due to the public water supply, it is only fair to say that the circum- stances call for a prompt and thorough investigation of the latter. 29 Comparison with the treatment of New York City's water supply may carry a lesson for Newburgh. This water, though giving a better analytical indication than Newburgh's, is now all disinfected in order to preclude the possibility of any occa- sional pollution. Such disinfection of a supply with chlorine, if properly perforced, in entirely uninjurious of itself and unobjectionable from an aesthetic standpoint. The expense is, fortunately, trifling. The existence of such a process offers the city the opportunity to easily and cheaply test out the water theory of infection, and to eliminate this possibility of danger to the citizens. The seriousness of the persistent presence of this pre- ventable infectious disease cannot be minimized. The typhoid rate is assuredly one of the most dependable criteria of the status of municipal sanitation in a city, and its high position in Newburgh is certainly a vigorous argument for improving the city's public health service. SEWERAGE. It would appear that the city is on whole well sewered, and possesses a comprehensive sewer plan for the future. The present policy of extending sewers and compelling connection should be continued, and should go hand in hand with the cam- paign for the elimination or regulation of all privy vaults. The present trunk sewer stops short of the river by a few hundred feet, the sewage being conveyed over this distance in an open, canal. The undesirability of this feature must be admitted. MILK SUPPLY. The serious point about the city's milk supply is that no> one actually knows the quality of milk delivered. There has been no examination of the milk itself, and no adequate super- vision of the places of production or handling. Dealers are licensed and inspected yearly, but as the strength of inspection lies in re-inspection, much more frequent visits are necessary. Chemical and bacteriological examinations of milk should be instituted, and the results, with the dealer's name and all dairy scores, should be published in the newspapers for public in- formation. Pasteurization should be encouraged or required- 30 INFANT MORTALITY. As one of every eight infants born dies in its first year of life and as this mortality represents fifteen per cent, of all deaths, the saving of infant life should be one of the most important objects of a health department. Seventy-one New- burgh infants died in their first year in 1911, and sixty-six in the following year. Judging by the experience of other cities where proper preventive measures have been initiated, a considerable number of these deaths, possibly a fourth or a INFANT MORTALITY 66 Newburh infants under one_year of ae died in 1912 Most of them should have lived for theHealth Department to Save Babies I -By popular health education 2~ By control of midwives 3-By advice tomothens 4- By a. pu.re milk supply 5" By a.n infant welfare station Shall we Prevent this needless have city water 95% have opportunities for home gardens 75 % of houses have sewer connections Most of tenements are 3-story or less Cellars 'usually dry Ashes regularly collected in order that responsibility may be readily placed, and that comparison may be drawn from year to year in regard to the change of property, the increase in improvements and growth in building. 41 II. The placing of the construction and inspection of all sewers, both public and private, under the supervision of the city engineering department ; and placing the construction and inspection of all cesspools and privy vaults, as well as the con- nection of houses with sewers, and the investigation of com- plaints, under the city health officer. III. The changing from discretionary to mandatory the power of the health officer to order the abolition of all privies within a reasonable time on streets having public sewers ; also the abolition of untrapped water closets and outdoor water closets which freeze up or become filthy and unsanitary. IV. A yearly inspection by the Fire Department of all tenement houses within city limits and a record of all such houses filed by card system in the City Hall. This would supply information on the city's fire liabilities, and should be made the basis for enforcement of proper laws for adequate fire prevention and protection. V. An investigation of lodging house conditions with a view to regulating their sanitary conditions. VI. The encouragement of home gardens through some kind of organized effort; and perhaps, by the offering of prizes and the co-operative distribution of penny packages of seeds by private societies of the city. To these we invite serious consideration. 42 Delinquency ZENAS L. POTTER. DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYS AND EXHIBITS, RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. The chief machinery for dealing with those who break the law in Newburgh consists of: the city lock-up, the probation system, the courts, and the county jail, the latter being pro- vided through the county. This report presents the findings of a quick study of the work done by these agencies, with recommendations based on the findings. The first contact of lawbreakers with the strong arm of authority is usually through the police. They must do a very large share of the gathering-in of offenders. In order, there- fore, that life and property on the one hand, and the present and future interests of the suspected lawbreaker, on the other hand, shall be well protected, increasing emphasis is being placed both upon the efficient organization and personal make- up of the police department. POLICE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION. The Chief of Police is appointed by the Mayor, and is directly responsible to him. Under the Chief are two ser- geants, two roundsmen and sixteen patrolmen, also appointed by the Mayor, a proportion of one policeman to about fifteen hundred inhabitants. The general standard set up in police circles is that there should be one policeman to every one thou- sand in the population. This would indicate that the New- burgh department is under-manned, a conclusion that is borne out by the opinion of the present Chief, and by the Mayor, who recently recommended the addition of four new patrol- men to the staff. The matter is worthy of careful investigation by the City Council. The salaries of patrolmen and roundsmen are $90.00 and $95.00 per month respectively. The figures compare favorably with those in many cities, some of them larger and more difficult to patrol than Newburgh, and the city may be congratulated on being willing to pay .enough to get good men. 43 The Mayor's appointments are from lists submitted by the Civil Service Commission. Standings are graded upon written examinations and physical fitness. When promotions are made past efficiency is also taken into consideration. In these regards the system is good. The discipline of the department is largely in the hands of the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Policemen disobeying department rules are subject to fine or dismissal. For minor violations men are reprimanded by the Chief. For more serious violations they may be fined or dismissed. Removals are made by the Mayor after a hearing, and are subject to court review. Four fines have been imposed during the past year, the penalty ranging from ten to fifteen days' pay, and one patrolman was dismissed from the force. The success of such a plan of appointment, promotion, and demotion is contingent, however, upon the keeping of full records of the different men. This is not now done. Recently, for instance, when an examination was held to fill the position of roundsman, the Civil Service Commission requested such records, and the Chief compiled the number of arrests made by each man from the time of his appointment. What would have been more valuable, both to the Commission and the competent men, would have been not merely the record of arrests, but a record showing also arrests made without war- rants, classified according to the character of the crime, and according to convictions and acquittals. In order to make this test fairer to the patrolmen, however, the instruction section of the old book of rules adopted in 1869 should be revised, in order to include subsequent laws which the police are required to enforce. A number of cities have found it wise to carry record keeping still farther. They have required daily written reports, by patrolmen, on conditions observed on their beats ; written reports by roundsmen on conditions on each man's beat, and written reports by roundsmen as to whether patrolmen are on duty according to orders. The value of these is obvious. Al- though the first of these is required in the Newburgh Police Manual, only the third has been observed. 44 A still further means of checking up patrol service is the installation of call boxes in different parts of the beats, and the requirement that patrolmen ring in from them at specified times. Such boxes also serve for call purposes in times of -emergency. The mayor, in his message, strongly recom- mended that such a system be installed, and we heartily second his suggestion. Incidentally it may be stated that the city of Milwaukee, which formerly had separate police and fire alarm systems, has now combined them at a considerable saving to taxpayers. POLICE DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES. Some of the department needs already suggested have distinct bearings upon the character of department activities. Several additional matters should at least be touched upon. One is the absence of an adequate system of identification of prisoners. The finger print system is simple and inexpensive. The Bertillon system is now in use in several cities no larger than Newburgh. There are men at police headquarters who have plenty of time which might be devoted to the purpose, and who could fit themselves for such work. It would seem desirable that identification records be kept. Again, the records relative to law violations are deficient. Although a ledger is kept at headquarters showing the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each prisoner, name of the officer making the arrest, names of witnesses and complainants, character of the offense, disposition of the case, and articles found on the prisoners, that part of the Police Manual is not complied with which requires a record of the places and circumstances of all larcenies, burglaries, and other offenses, a record of suspicious places and persons, and the amount and disposition of all stolen properties. The line of division between the parts of the record kept and that not kept is rather suggestive of the kind of work which has received most attention by American police depart- ments. They have been working chiefly for cure rather than prevention; they have given but little attention to the causes of crime, assuming that their duty begins when a criminal act takes place. Probably no agency of government is in a position 45 to do more in blotting out the causes of criminality and depend- ency through co-operation with the schools, churches, charitable agencies, playground directors, probation officers, and other organizations and individuals, and it is one of the serious mis- takes of city government that such functions have not been considered a prime purpose of every law enforcing agency. THE CITY LOCK-UP. The city lock-up is both a detention place for persons under arrest and a lodging house. It contains five cells, three for men and two for women. In addition there is a large down- stairs cell which will accommodate six or eight men, used for lodgers, and also an upstairs room of about the same size, where children are kept. The latter is also used for lodgers, when there are no children. The lock-up, when visited, was in a clean and sanitary condition, and bore evidences of watchful care. The walls upstairs had been quite recently painted. A new coat of paint downstairs would further improve its sanitary condition. The women's cells and the large cell upstairs have windows opening to the outside air, and the light and ventilation are excellent. The plan of these cells is good, they being separate from one another, and from those where the men are kept. The men's cells have no window opening to the outside air. The only ventilation comes from a door, which is probably closed in the winter, and a window half-way upstairs at the farthest end of the room from the cells. When this room is filled with prisoners and lodgers the air must be decidedly unwholesome. We would recommend that the Police Depart- ment consider the advisability of putting in barred windows at the back of the cells through which light and ventilation may be secured. No bedding is provided in any part of the lock-up all prisoners being required to sleep on bare wooden shelves. This is in keeping with the old idea that the sole purpose of jails and penitentiaries is to punish prisoners, not to reform them. The State Prison Commission is continually recommend- ing adequate bedding in city lock-ups, but has made no inspec- tion of the Newburgh lock-up in recent years. In 1911 the Commission reported conditions in eighty-eight city lock-ups. 46 Sixty-nine or seventy-eight per cent, provided bedding, so that Newburgh stands with the negligent minority in this regard. We would recommend that some kind of cheap washable bed- ding be provided for all prisoners. Suggestions along this line may be had at the County Jail in Newburgh. Last year thirty-five women were held over night in the lock-up under the care of male keepers, for no matron is employed. This practice is condemned by penal authorities. The number of women is not great and the occasional expense for a matron's services would be light. In 1912, counting each lodger each night as a separate lodger, there were 1,720 at the lock-up. This, of course, does not represent 1,720 different men, for many stayed there a number of nights. One man stayed as many as forty-nine nights. The majority of these men who thus secure free lodging from the city are right at the height of vigorous man- hood, three-quarters being between twenty-one and fifty years of age. The need of a lodging place where penniless and homeless men may be kept over night is widely recognized, and in the absence of something better, the lock-up offers reasonably good accommodations. Lodgers should, however, according to the Prison Commission's standard, be kept as far as possible from prisoners. Furthermore they should not be kept indefinitely, and they should be required to do some work in payment for their lodging. We should recommend that the Police Depart- ment investigate the possibilities of a wood yard, or similar work by which lodgers might pay for their keep. The import- ant thing of course is not so much to make money as it is to furnish lodgers with work in order to prevent their becoming idlers with the co-operation of the city. Such a work require- ment at the lock-up would undoubtedly make Newburgh less popular with unworthy tramps. Twenty-five minors under eighteen years of age, twelve of them children under sixteen years of age, were brought into court in 1912 and appear upon the police records. Just how many of these children were detained over night in the lock-up the records do not show, but the number is not large; for it is the enlightened policy of the 47 authorities to let children go home, when possible, upon the promise of parents to produce them in court when needed. Occasionally, however, children get into court who have no home and have to be detained over night in the lock-up. The police department has at its disposal several large rooms in a part of the municipal building away from the lock-up. In the absence of a better place, it seems desirable that one of these rooms be fitted up for children, since their detention in lock- ups is very generally condemned. THE COUNTY JAIL. Orange County provides two county jails, one at New- burgh, and one at Goshen. Most of Newburgh's short time and some of her longer time prisoners are confined in the Newburgh jail, which is located in the rear of the court house. The jail is a model of cleanliness. From the top tier of cells to the basement it fairly shines with scrubbing and fresh paint. For this the management deserves commendation. In the jail are thirty-six separate cells, most of which accommodate one prisoner each. They are arranged in two double tiers, divided by a hallway. One side of the top tiers, which is partitioned off from the rest of the jail and offers considerable privacy, is used for females exclusively. The other top row is used for boys. Each cell is provided with a flush toilet in good condition and at the end of each row of eight cells is a shower bath. None of the cells have windows opening to the outside air but all face large windows which run to the top of the ceiling, and light and ventilation seem good. Each prisoner is provided with a cotton mattress with a removable cover, and a woolen blanket. The beds look com- fortable and the bedding is changed once a week. Each prisoner is provided with outer clothing, and a clean suit of underwear when he enters the jail. Formerly, prison- ers received suits of dark gray, but at present prison stripes are provided. Most penal authorities condemn the use of stripes, and it is disappointing to find the authorities here adopting what is elsewhere given up. It is explained that some prisoners work around the court house and its grounds, and stripes are a precautionary 48 measure to prevent their escape. In this day of organized police and detective service this plea is not convincing. If emphasis is to be put upon the regeneration of prisoners, instead of their humiliation, prison stripes will be abolished. Only eighteen women were detained at the Newburgh jail in 1912, and they were kept there but a short time. Twelve stayed one night, five two nights and one three nights. There is no matron at the jail, but it is the policy of the authorities to send all women, as soon as possible, to Goshen, where a matron is employed. Section 486 of the Penal Law prohibits the placing of children in any place of confinement with adults convicted of crime. In 1912 ten children under sixteen years of age, all boys, were detained at the Newburgh jail. They were kept apart from the adults in the top row of cells, but in the same room, where there is all the atmosphere of the jail, and where the conversation of other prisoners reaches them. Most of the children were detained awaiting transportation to the reformatory. One was kept thirty days as a witness, one twenty-two days for being a truant. These children now detained at the county jail form an additional reason for the recommendation that rooms be fitted up elsewhere for the detention of children. The great lack of the Newburgh jail does not consist in a failure to provide proper physical comforts for the prisoners, for in this it reaches a high standard. It fails in providing reformatory influences. No religious services are held and the authorities have discouraged the holding of other meetings. They have, however, welcomed individual work among the prisoners and some ministers from time to time call for that purpose. Moreover, the jail has no library, this in spite of the fact that a library of fifty volumes was offered to the authorities free by the New York Prison Association, on last March 5th, and to date has not been accepted. Apparently those in charge have not seen the value of surrounding prisoners with any uplifting influences. Perhaps the most serious lack in the way of reformative influences is the absence of work for prisoners. Aside from the few who work about the court house and its grounds 49 the prisoners are idle and spend most of their time lying around their cells and playing cards. Were prisoners detained not more than ten days the necessity for some kind of manual labor would not be so great ; but last year 163 prisoners were detained more than ten days, 101 twenty days or more, 72 thirty days or more, 22 for sixty days or more. One man was detained one hundred and eighty-two days, and one one hun- dred and eighty-three days. To spend such periods in almost pure idleness certainly does not fit a man to take up regular duties of life upon his release. The sheriff in charge himself realizes what is happening and agrees that instead of being helped to their feet, the prisoners are likely to leave the institu- tion a little worse than they entered. To say the least it is poor community economy to allow a condition which furthers crimi- nality, instead of correcting it, to continue. Unfortunately, no great improvement in this regard can be made as long as the jail is in the rear of the court house. There is no possibility of providing proper work for prisoners, and although the jail is commendable as a place of detention, we seriously raise the question of the desirability of its aban- donment and the transfer of all prisoners to Goshen. At Goshen the jail has recently been reconstructed. There are seventy-four cells, with provisions for 148 prisoners. At present there are but thirty detained there, and not over fifteen were in the Newburgh jail when it was visited. While the aqueduct was being built the number of prisoners in both jails was increased, but it seems doubtful that there will be more prisoners in both jails in the near future than can be accommo- dated at Goshen. At Goshen work in a stone crushing shed is provided, and although breaking rock is not the best kind of work for prisoners, it is infinitely better than idleness. If possible, however, more suitable work, as farm work used in Oswego County might be provided. Only four of the fifty-three counties in New York State, one of them Orange County, maintains two separate jails, and one of the four does so to give prisoners a chance to work on the roads. A careful study of this matter would probably show a saving in money by this transfer. The cost in salaries of persons connected with the Newburgh jail is $6,200 per year, 50 leaving out of consideration the caterer at $5 per week. Not all of this amount could be saved by the abandonment of the jail, for criminal work in this part of the county would still need attention, but certainly a considerable amount might be saved. CHILDREN'S CASES. When brought up for trial in Newburgh children are kept entirely apart from the atmosphere of the court room, an enlightened practice instituted by the present Recorder. Most hearings are held in his private office. It is also his policy to keep the children's docket entirely separate from the police docket. The names of twelve children under sixteen years of age were entered upon the police docket last year, a practice which should be discontinued. Full details of juvenile crimes are published in the news- papers. The result is that children too young to be responsi- ble for their acts, and who need every opportunity to over- come the stigma of being arrested, are still further handi- capped by the general publicity of their entanglements. The court records contain the following statement in the case of a boy of fifteen years, "the mother said she could not secure work for him because he was known to have been arrested." Un- doubtedly in this sentence is summed up the story of many children who have suffered because of the publication of the misfortune. The press in many cities, upon request of the authorities, has agreed not to publish anything regarding juvenile crime. The loss to the papers is small, but the gain to a few children can hardly be estimated. PROBATION. Neither Newburgh nor Orange County has a paid proba- tion officer. The Recorder finds time to act as probation officer for about a dozen men on suspended sentence for non- support; and probation has been quite extensively used in children's cases, through the services of a volunteer officer. There are, however, great opportunities for progress in this field. Adult probation has hardly been touched, and the char- acter of juvenile probation has not been altogether satisfac- tory. 51 One of the most valuable services a probation officer can perform is the investigation of children's cases before they come up in court for the purpose of laying before the Recorder all the essential facts regarding the children's families and surroundings so as to permit him to deal intelligently with each case. This need has been met to some extent in New- burgh through the Recorder's acquaintance with local con- ditions and people and through the police after probation begins. It is also desirable that the probation officer be present when cases are tried, so that he or she may be familiar with the PROBATION A BETTER INVESTMENT THAN JAILS THESE CITIES HAVE PAID PROBATION OFFICERS Amsterdam Mt.Vernon Jl ubixrn Poughkeepsie Kingston Water town THESE CITIES HAVE NOT Newbu rh Niagara Falls New Rochelle damestown case and know how to deal with the children later. Often in Newburgh the probation officer has not been present when cases were tried, and has first learned of children being placed on probation from the children themselves. Not only has organization of juvenile probation work been unsatisfactory, but the work of volunteer officers in the past has not been efficient. A single instance will serve as an illustration. A year ago last spring a mother brought her daughter into the Police Station complaining that she was getting wild and staying out late nights and upon her 52 request the girl, then fifteen years of age, was placed on probation. She was ordered to report to the officer once a week. Late in the fall, upon the mother's complaint, the girl was arrested and brought into court. She had driven out to a roadhouse with another girl and two men and stayed all night. It appears upon the court record that the probation officer was present and testified that she "did not consider it a good case of probation" for the girl had been ordered to report weekly but had only reported twice. It certainly did the girl no good to be placed on proba- tion, if, when she failed to report as ordered, she was not followed up. Its only effect must have been to create dis- respect even for the authority of an officer of the law. It cannot be proved of course, but it is conceivable that if she had been followed up by a woman who showed sympathetic interest in her and at the same time gave her to understand that she was under an authority which would enforce its demands, she might have been saved. Good probation often accomplishes wonderful results : bad probation is worse than none. Young girls, however, are not the only persons who may profit by more efficient probation work. Of the 14,687 persons placed on probation in New York State last year, but four per cent, were girls, twenty-six per cent, were boys, twelve per cent, women and fifty-seven per cent. men. Newburgh has no probation work with women and almost none with men. It is estimated that seventy-nine per cent, of the persons placed on probation in New York State last year, improved in their conduct. The Newburgh Recorder gives many persons who are brought into court a chance to mend their ways by placing them under suspended sentence. Thirty-one per cent, of the 526 persons brought into court last year were thus placed. Undoubtedly the number could be increased if there were a full time probation officer provided, to whom reports would be made once a week, and who would follow up reports by friendly visits and advice. Experience has demonstrated the superiority of paid probation work over volunteer work. Of the ten New York State cities of approximately Newburgh's size, six Mount 53 Vernon, Amsterdam, Poughkeepsie, Kingston and Watertown provide paid probation officers. Under present conditions it would seem most desirable to secure a male officer, for much work is needed among men and boys. As large a salary as possible up to $1,000 should be allowed, for a man is needed whose personality is such that he could impress those under his charge. The day has gone by when we employ those who have not themselves made a success of life to care for those who have made a failure. The women and girls might be handled by the paid agent of the State Charities Aid Association, whose work is along much the same lines, or divided between her and the secretary of the Associated Charities. It will be noted that throughout this report we have laid stress upon the need of placing emphasis upon the reformation of prisoners rather than their humiliation and degradation. Except in minor suggestions for improving efficiency in the police department, every recommendation rests upon this principle. To this end a recommendation is made that the lock-up facilities be improved, a matron be provided, children be removed, and work be furnished for lodgers. It is suggested also that the free library offered by the State Prison Association be accepted for the County Jail, that religious services be encouraged there and that such changes be made as will insure suitable work for all county jail prisoners. To achieve this latter result the abandonment of the jail in Newburgh may be advisable. Finally the need of a paid probation officer is placed before the people as probably the greatest need in the chari- table or delinquency fields. 54 Newburgh's Public Library F. W. JENKINS. LIBRARIAN, RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. The careful and critical examination of an old institution is not a pleasant task for either the examiner or the examined. The courtesy of the staff of the Newburgh Public Library, has made this particular task easy, and I regret that my report on conditions can not be more commendatory. I have tried to show the conditions as they exist with their causes, and suggest plans for their amelioration. The Newburgh Public Library is working under severe handicaps, the most serious being : first, control of the library by the local Board of Education; second, inadequate, under- paid and overworked library staff; third, lack of space; and fourth, an antiquated system of administration. CONTROL BY BOARD OF EDUCATION. The library should be governed by an independent board, and not by the Board of Education as in Newburgh. Librarian- ship, like teaching, is a recognized profession, and the func- tions of the two are too widely divergent to make it advisable to place the schools and the library under one board of control. Other local boards of education have tried this plan of directing the public library but always to the detriment of the library. Naturally the Board of Education is interested first in the schools the library is of secondary importance, in some cases a mere appendix. If the board has any extra time above the claims of the schools, some thought is then given to the library; if the general appropriation is insufficient and in these times of increasing demands for greater school facilities it is very likely to be chronically insufficient the library is likely to suffer. Under such circumstances the local Board of Education usually quiets its conscience with the thought that since school attendance is compulsory the schools should, 55 therefore, be given first consideration ; and that since the library, on the other hand, offers only optional education, the latter must get along with what is left. But the argument is fallacious. The library has just as definite and real a place in the educational scheme of the community as has the school. Moreover, if the correlation between the schools and the library is what it ought to be as in Newark, N. J., for in- stance the library will be a great aid toward improved work in the school. This correlation, however, can be secured as well or better by independent action. Evidences of the unwisdom of this plan of a double- functioning board are easily found in Newburgh. For instance, funds for the purchase of books come from the tuition of stu- dents in the Academy. This is indefinite and makes planning ahead difficult. The library should have a definite appropriation just as the schools have. Again, the library has no space for at least six important pieces of work which every library should perform, and yet the Board of Education takes for its own use a large room in the library building. There is no children's room, no reference room worth mentioning, no documents room, no periodical room, yet the Board of Education claims this large room for use only twelve times a year. My first recommendation is, therefore, the permanent separation of the library from the Board of Education. Of New York State cities with 25,000 or more inhabitants only Mt. Vernon and Newburgh have the library under the management of the school board. QUALIFICATIONS OF BOARD MEMBERS. As a general proposition it may be said without hesitancy that a board made up almost entirely of men with only a local and limited education is not suitable or competent to direct a city library efficiently. If the library is in reality to be a people's university, aimed to exert a broadening influence upon the community, its directors should have some acquaintance with the fields of science, art, religion and history. The selection of books in the Newburgh Library for recent years, does not show such acquaintance by the board. 56 THE STAFF. Whether the conditions under which library work is per- formed are entirely due to the Board of Education I cannot say ; however, the Board has certainly tolerated some of these conditions for many years. The library has a commendable circulation of about 75,000 volumes per year, although it is not as high as formerly. Three persons a librarian, paid $1200 annually, and two assistants paid $800 and $600 respec- tively do all the work. The librarian and first assistant have THE PUBLIC LIBRARY NECESSITIES Management independent of School Board New Building Re-classification and re-cataloguing Two additional assistants Adequate salaries for employees Annual expenditunefor 5years- '8,000.00 been in the employ of this library for twenty-five years. Whether it is the policy of the Board to employ low grade workers at low salaries, or high grade workers at low salaries, it is certain that the library is not paying salaries comparable with other similar institutions. Moreover, the assistants work fifty hours per week and upwards. The New York Public Library and other public libraries, after careful investigation, have decided that forty hours per week is all that should be expected. Certainly no human being can give high grade library service for any length 57 of time, and work the number of hours required in Newburgh. As I have said, the circulation is commendable, but the library is reaching only a part of those it ought to reach. At least two more adults should be added to the staff, and still others as the work demands. My second recommendation is the careful consideration of the whole problem of staff efficiency. I suggest the following schedule of salaries for present needs : Librarian $ 1,800 Assistant Librarian 1,100 Cataloguer 800 Children's Librarian goo Assistant at desk 500 $5,100 LACK OF SPACE. The library is overcrowded and a new building should be secured as soon as possible. No amount of enlarging and improving could make the present building adequate or adapt- able to the purpose. The Board of Education should give up its space at once, and the room should be used for a children's room, periodical reading room, reference room, teachers' room, document room, or for any other real need. There is a small room in the building next door occupied by the local historical society which has a limited, but valuable collection. The library should co-operate with this society, furnishing space and working with it in developing a rich collection on historical subjects, especially local history. The splendid traditions of Newburgh should not be lost sight of in the development of the library. The industries of the city demand recognition in the way of a technical collection for its workers. A start has been made in the patent reports and they are much used even though at present under great difficulties. A teachers' room is needed. A few shelves of unarranged and, for the most part, out of date material on pedagogy is now set aside for teachers. No tables are provided, and small opportunity is given for the use of the books. In its present form the collection is of little value. 58 If the children of Newburgh prefer the moving picture shows to the library, the city fathers may be held responsible to the extent that they have not provided a children's reading room. Little children may be seen daily in the library sitting in chairs designed for their elders trying to read at tables on a level with their chins. The library is doing little for this important class of readers. No adequate reading room or reference room is provided ; present facilities are too limited to claim other comment. New- burgh has 30,000 inhabitants. Accommodations for less than fifty adult readers are provided at the library none for chil- dren. Until the new building could be secured, the library should make the most of present conditions. I should suggest, along this line, not only the use of space now occupied by the Board of Education but the removal of one of the large desks preferably the one at the left as one enters the library and the placing there of additional tables. Other needs could be met in rooms outside the main building if fitted up for the purpose. These collections thus brought together in the children's room, technical library, reference room, etc. could be housed later in one central building, while the rooms vacated by this removal might be used for branches of the main library if the work demanded. LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION. The library is not classified, and the books are arranged on the shelves in the order received, beginning always with the bottom shelf, and filling a section from the bottom up. The only cataloguing done is, author, title, and subject cards, on which is put the accession number. The books are then arranged on the shelf with no consideration of class or contents. A book of travel may be followed by a work on medicine, and that in turn by a collection of essays. The public can, there- fore, neither use the shelves, nor see what the library has on a given subject except by a most laborious process. To find the books on a subject one must get the accession numbers from the card index, and then find the books some are in the gallery, some in one place, some in another. It would take all day to get together the books on certain subjects, which the 59 ordinary library by its classification, brings together in one place. Think also of the time required to put all these books away after they have been consulted. Until the library is classified and recatalogued, the city of Newburgh has no way of knowing the value of its collection. It is also impossible to build up certain collections in which the city's interests should be strong. This condition makes all administrative systems slow, cumbersome and inaccurate ; makes impossible an up-to-date library, doing a piece of up-to-date efficient work, I should therefore recommend the immediate extra appropria- tion of $2,000 annually for the next five years for the recata- loguing of the library. This may seem a large amount, but it is relatively small compared with the amount spent recently on out-of-date, dust catching book shelves, which could not be used in a new build- ing. Hundreds of dollars were spent on worse than useless equipment, simply that the wood of the new shelving, black walnut, might be like the wood of the old, which will of neces- sity soon be given up. The library with an independent board, could certainly show better judgment in the expenditure of the city's money than has been done in the past. I would make as my fourth recommendation, an annual appropriation of $10,000 for the next five years, $8,000 for the running expenses of the library and $2,000 for the recataloguing. At the end of that time the public library will have justified the expense, will be a credit to the community, and a great educational asset to the city of Newburgh. 60 Recreation Opportunities ZENAS L. POTTER. DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYS AND EXHIBITS, RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. Newburgh is endowed with unusual recreation possi- bilities. Nature has been liberal in her allotment of scenic variety, in river, mountains, hills and trees, that in them- selves have value in refreshing and re-creating where the stresses of daily routine have tended to tear down. Some of the recreation possibilities bound up in these natural gifts are taken advantage of; some not. In the matter of parks, for instance, these natural assets have meant much. Situated on the topmost part of the hill on which the city is built, with a wide angle of river view and mountain view, Newburgh has an unusually beautiful scenic park, where flower bed and shrubbery vie with each other to please the visitor. Moreover Washington's Headquarters is not only a historic spot of national interest, but also a refreshing breathing space for the adjacent parts of the city. Both of these places are kept up splendidly, and are civic assets which, though they cannot be estimated in dollars and cents, yield valuable dividends to the community. Moreover, the band concerts in Downing Park during the summer add to its attractiveness and pleasure giving powers, and at the same time show a commendable purpose to help citizens get the most from their park facilities. The installation of children's play apparatus and a few swings back of the hill and north of the lake might still further serve this purpose. It is also very desirable to have the park better lighted at night. PLAYGROUNDS. As to playgrounds Newburgh is not so fortunate, particu- larly in view of the fact that the city has an unusual recreation problem for a place of only 30,000 people. In a large part of the city the lots are only 25 feet wide and are built upon 61 from lot line to lot line, often flush also with the front side- walk, thus allowing practically no front yard spaces, and no method of reaching back yards except through the houses themselves. The result is that children who meet on the street stay there for play instead of using what yards there are. The process of building the city upon a steep hillside contributed toward congestion ; and in some districts one may walk for many blocks without finding a vacant lot. This, too, has tended to keep children upon the streets and sidewalks for their play. A walk through Mill or Ann streets on almost any Saturday would be both instructive and illustrative of the extent of some of Newburgh's problems in providing children with proper places for play. On one such walk through this section the writer took note of where children were to be seen and what they were doing. Five hundred and ninety-one children were counted. Of these seventy-five were working, some washing windows, some delivering washing for parents, and some were on delivery wagons. Of the remaining 516, 226 were engaged in some active play, while 290, con- siderably more than half, were apparently idling the time, sitting, standing or walking about the streets, doing nothing in particular. Play, of course, may be justified on other grounds than entertainment and the occupying of chil- dren's time, and in the light of the educational and physical value of well-directed play, this is a more important matter than might at first be imagined. As to the play spaces used, 385, or three-fourths of the 516 children not working, were on the streets; twenty-four were in yards; and 107 were in vacant lots. Of the 385 who were on the street, only 104, or twenty-seven per cent, were engaged in active play, while over sixty per cent, of the twenty-four children in yards and all of the 107 children in the vacant lots were found in active play. Turning the state- ment around, of the 290 children, mentioned in the previous paragraph, who were found doing nothing, all except nine were on the streets. The suggestion, backed up by the findings of more extended studies of play needs under fairly similar circumstances, is that the streets are no where near as usable for nor conducive to play as vacant spaces even when unsuper- 62 vised; and further the indication is that a rich opportunity is being missed by the city in not taking advantage of the play instincts of its children, and directing them toward better physical and mental development. A beginning, however, but only a beginning has been made. Two well supervised playgrounds were managed last year by the Mothers' Council, one on Grand Street, serving the children of the North end, and one at Washington Heights, serving the children of the South end of the city. The City Council appropriated $500 for these undertakings, and the LAWN Vs PLAYGROUND WILLIAM STREET How One Newburgh SchoolSaves; the Grass at the "Expense : of the Children |WM-K SCHOOL BUILDING Mothers' Council raised $200 for their maintenance. Even these, however, have their shortcomings. Both are situated on land owned by private parties and are, therefore, likely to be only temporarily usable. Moreover, neither of the playgrounds is open except during July and August while the need of play- grounds during the spring and fall, and of skating rinks during the winter, is urgent and thus unmet. 63 It would seem to be fairly obvious that the play program of the city will not be on sound footing, even as a beginning, until these two playgrounds, or two serving the same districts, are owned by or otherwise assured for the city, and until play directors have charge of them the year round. This is a conservative proposal. Other cities have far out-distanced Newburgh in this particular: Auburn, N. Y. for instance, a city of about the same size, provides seven playgrounds with play directors. In addition to Newburgh's two, facts already cited indicate the need of another playground somewhere in the West end, to serve the crowded sections of upper Wash- ington and Ann Streets and the part of the city back of Downing Park. At present the driving park is used for play purposes; but it, too, is private property, and may be lost to the children at any time. It could be made more useful as a playground by the employment of a play director and the installation of apparatus. Every city is inclined to put off the purchase of play places because of other financial demands. Whether this is real economy is very doubtful. Year by year, as the city grows, property values increase and make future playgrounds more expensive. New York City paid almost as much for a .small park in the lower East Side as for the great area of Central Park. It is a safe prediction that sooner or later more playgrounds must come in Newburgh. The question now is whether the city will settle, the problem soon, while land is comparatively cheap, and have the advantage of play- grounds in the meantime, or whether the matter will be put off until the few remaining vacant spaces in congested sections are built upon and playgrounds will be still more expensive and difficult to secure. Two years ago the proposition of purchasing a large plot of ground back of Downing Park for a playground at a cost of $20,000 was defeated by a small majority in a very light vote. It is to be hoped that some organization or group of individuals will see to it that Newburgh citizens are so acquainted with the usefulness of play facilities that the playground proposition, when again put before the voters, will carry. 64 DOWNING PARK. Looking Down the Hudson Toward Storm King. WASHINGTON HEIGHTS PLAYGROUND. The City Needs Permanent Public Playgrounds. In addition to the regular playgrounds, small localities might be served if the School Board should follow the example set in Amsterdam, Auburn, Jamestown, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Poughkeepsie, and Watertown, cities of approxi- mately the same size as Newburgh, by opening the school yards as playgrounds, installing play apparatus, and employing play directors. This would be especially valuable in the case of the Washington Street School, which is located in a con- gested section having no play spaces. Here a large school yard is nine-tenths given over to lawn and gardens. The esthetic plea will hardly carry weight in this case, for children line the streets in every direction who might be stimulated physically and mentally and kept out of mischief by well directed play. ADULT RECREATION. Out-of-doors recreation is enjoyed by only a part of the Newburgh people; chiefly by children of school age. Older persons, whose leisure hours are mainly restricted to evenings, find their recreation for the most part at theatres, motion picture shows, lodges, dance halls, pool rooms, bowling alleys, and saloons, and in the summer at amusement resorts. Save for summer band concerts and a limited number of concerts and lectures in the Broadway School, the community has done but little toward meeting the entertainment needs of adults. This deficiency is especially notable in the case of women and older girls. The lodges, pool rooms, and in bowling alleys, are meeting places of men. The fire companies and the militia also serve as recreation resources for men. In addition a large number of men not members of lodges, and in moderate circumstances, find their social gathering places in the saloons, which exist in the astonishing ratio of one to every seventy- seven men of voting age in the city. In providing inexpensive recreation place for these men the saloons have few competi- tors. The majority of the churches are not in the field, although one of them does maintain a mission and a night school for men, if these may be regarded in any sense as recreations. The Young Men's Christian Association with its splendid new building supplies wholesome recreation for many young men, and is a big recreation as well as civic asset for 65 the city. But the majority of its members do not come from the large worker groups of the city; and thus in providing them with recreation the Association is not a serious competi- tor with the saloon. In fact, the moving picture shows seem to be the chief and greatest competitors; and where the pictures are of good grade and proper attention has been given to lighting, sanitation, and fire protection, these enterprises deserve the moral support of those who believe the saloon is an undesirable place for social gathering. Thus it appears that the opportunities for inexpensive and wholesome recrea- tion for working men are far too few, and that there is much RECREATION DESIRBOF MEM Men seek light, warmth and a common meeting place Many men find these things chiefly, in the saloon WHAT THE COMMUNITY CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR THE SALOON Use of school buildings as recreation centers Establish ment of settlement houses or other neighborhood centers Use of parks andopen spaces for organized recreatio n Public provision of music and other entertainment I saloon toevery 25t persons in Newburgh vs I saloon to not more than 750persons, acconditWto State taw for newly established saloons.emphasiTCsthe itcrealivrandolhrr phase room for constructive effort. The field is almost virgin for the churches or other organizations to establish social settle- ments, which are bearing fruits in many cities. The band concert might be employed more extensively and especially is the field open to the School Board for the provision of more concerts and lectures, and for throwing all the school buildings open to all the people to be used out of school hours as a recreation ground for the whole family, father, mother and children. 66 For girls and women there are few meeting places. The Young Women's Christian Association reaches a considerable number. The Camp Fire Girls do splendid work among a few and might advantageously be extended. In view of the insufficient opportunity for home social life shown in Miss Woods' housing report to exist in certain parts of the city, these provisions, good in themselves, are not sufficient. The court records show that a few young girls, at least, drop into tragic by-paths in Newburgh every year. Lack of well ordered recreation places without doubt enter as a causal factor in many cases. The wider use of school plant, already suggested, could contribute to this phase of the leisure time problem. Finally, mention has already been made of commercial recreation places. There are two vaudeville theatres, two motion picture shows, and two amusement parks which are open during the summer. The city has no public dance halls, but frequent dances are held by different social organizations, most of them in Turn and Columbus Halls which are fortu- nately entirely separate from any place where liquor is sold. As far as our information, gathered in a quick inquiry, goes the amusement places for men and women are of good char- acter. The amusement park which is to open under new management this summer, in deciding not to allow liquor to be sold on the grounds, makes another step toward clean and wholesome recreation. In one motion picture house the emergency exit was observed to be obstructed by seats, and no exit sign was in place. These conditions could be easily remedied. In the light of the foregoing, the suggestions are strong that Newburgh should give serious attention to the following: 1. Permanent public playgrounds. 2. Play use of school yards. 3. Recreation use of school buildings out of school hours. 4. More free public lectures and concerts. 5. Settlement houses in the more crowded sections. 6. A final suggestion is the better utilization of the natural recreation resources, the river, the hills and the rugged back country. 67 The Charity Situation in Newburgh MARGARET F. BYINGTON. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CHARITY ORGANIZATION DEPARTMENT, RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. It is an axiom of modern child welfare programs that we can render our best service to individuals only if we consider them as parts of a family, and if we include as the most essential part of our service to the individual the strengthening of his home life, the removal from that home of conditions which may have injured him, and the building up of those factors which might help him to overcome his weakness. To increase the number of wholesome homes, to remove or help to overcome the obstacles to normal home life in indi- vidual families, this is the charitable problem of Newburgh. Many agencies are making splendid efforts to accomplish this, the visiting nurses by curing sickness, the day nursery by caring for children whose mothers must go out to work, the children's institutions by providing homes for children who must be removed from their own, the city outdoor relief by helping to keep families together, the churches by building up the religious life of families in danger of disintegration, the Associated Charities by its efforts to strengthen and rehabili- tate dependent families. Each of these agencies has a high ideal of the service that it can render to individuals and to the community, and in its definite sphere is doing valuable work. Their weakness, however, is a tendency to consider the individual as a unit and not as part of a family, and to act with- out due knowledge of the family situation. The hospital makes practically no effort to understand the home conditions under which the patient has been living, the part that these conditions have played in causing the sickness, and how they can be removed before the patient returns. The Elks give a generous Christmas gift of clothing to many children, but do not know whether these gifts really 68 tend to build up a sense of independence and self-respect on the part of children who might otherwise suffer, or whether they cause these families to take the first step toward depend- ence, or what other and greater needs for constant and ade- quate help in these very homes are being left untouched. The same comments apply to the shoe fund contributed by the children in the schools. The Day Nursery takes children so long as their mothers are at work, but does not make any direct study of home condi- tions. When the mother must work, the Nursery is a real help in seeing that the children have proper care in her absence, but it has been found in other cities that the Nursery can also be a factor in breaking down a man's sense of responsibility for his family by encouraging the wife to earn when this is unnecessary, making thereby a poorer home for both man and children. The same comment may be made on both of the insti- tutions for children which, homelike as they are, cannot provide the equivalent of real home life. The Home for the Friendless does not make a thorough enough investigation of the home conditions of its children, in order to be sure that the institution is after all a better place for the children than their own homes. The institution keeps children only until they are ten and then sometimes returns them without supervision to homes from which they had been taken, although now they are older and more in need of wise oversight. The State Charities Aid Association investigates all cases that are accepted for the Children's Home, but there are in the Home at present some children, a casual knowledge of whose history indicates them not to be proper inmates. One woman, for instance, earns $5 a week and pays the city $6 a month board for her three children. Her mother cared for one for a time but as the mother was unable to control her, she too was put in the home. It cost the city last year $3.89 a week for each child in the institution, or $11.67 f r tne three. If this woman had $10 a week as a pension, she could take care of her children at home instead of allowing them to be separated from her. There are thirty-nine children in the 69 Home, which is supposed to accommodate only twenty-seven. It would be economical as well as kind to work out plans by which some of these parents might, with help from the city, keep their children at home. The relief now given by the town itself is casual and in- sufficient. The Poor Commissioners give relief only from November ist to April ist and rarely more than $2 a week to one family. Last year $3,617 was given in outdoor relief to 204 families, an average of about $17 per family. Contrast this with the $11.67 a week or over $600 a year which the city pays for the care of the three children of the widow in the institution, and you will see how much more recklessly the city spends money for institutional care than for keeping homes together. Undoubtedly, many of these 204 families should have little or no relief. Some of them have been receiving from the city for several generations, until it has become almost a family tradition that they shall receive help from the city during the winter months. This demoralizes the family and wastes the city money. In some of these families rigorous action should be taken to break up the home and save the little children from this tendency to degeneration. On the other hand the Commissioners might well adopt a more liberal policy toward those families which really need the city's help, including, if need be, expenditures for rent, for board in a tuberculosis sanatorium, or for whatever else may help the family to increased health, efficiency and self-respect. In the long run it would be better for the city to make a thorough study of the history and home conditions of each family receiving any relief and base its decision as to whether relief should be given or withheld, not on the month when they apply or on any preconceived scale of relief, but on the actual needs of the family. The superintendent has his hand* full in running a farm and caring for his family of 273 alms- house inmates and cannot possibly have time for this detailed work. Aside from the city relief only a small amount is given by any organization and this with almost no knowledge of what other agencies are doing, and without a plan. Churches, the Jewish charities and the St. Vincent de Paul give some relief 70 to their own members ; orders like the Elks, Odd Fellows and Masons give generously to those belonging to their organiza- tions when they are in trouble ; the tuberculosis nurse and the visiting nurse give relief in diet, clothing, etc., to sick people; the Elks give $2,000 in their Christmas donation; and the Associated Charities gives a total of about $1,500 in relief. But all this taken together probably does not meet the genuine needs of the dependent families in Newburgh, and some of this is worse than wasted in gifts to families who do not need it. But even with the relatively small amount thus spent, the number of people affected is considerable. As an indication, for instance, a recent summary of persons aided by several agencies between December i, 1912 and April i, 1913 showed over fifteen hundred. The details are shown in the table : DEPENDENCY IN NEWBURGH. December i, 1912 to April i, 1913. Persoi is aided TVvtol Aid given by Adults Children Out Door Poor Relief 172 165 W7 Indoor Relief 27-* 3Q T.I2 Associated Charities 281 2S7 538 State Charities Aid 114 214 *28 Total 840 67=; ICIC A liberal estimate of the population, based upon its growth in recent years, places it at about 31,240. Thus the Poor Commissioners, the Associated Charities and the State Charities Aid Association in the four winter months aided almost five per cent (4.8) of the city's population. This shows something of the importance of the problem. So many people are now being influenced by the way the charities are now being administered that it is worth while seeing that these five per cent, are well taken care of. 71 A careful investigation of the needs of each family, the securing from organizations or individuals of adequate relief when that is needed, and most of all the task of discovering the fundamental cause of the poverty of each family and taking steps to remove that cause so that the family may again be self-supporting this is the task of the Associated Charities. The conditions that I have outlined are indications that this society has not fulfilled its function of organizing the charitable work of the community. It has done in some cases extremely good work and has been of genuine service to the Commissioner of the Poor and others. Charity organization societies stand for two forms of activity, one the rehabilitation of individual families, the other the consideration of those conditions in the community that tend to keep people dependent, and the removal of them. This society has done some genuine service in both these lines of endeavor, but in neither is the service adequate. It should be a vital and central factor in the efficient charitable work of the city and it is, therefore, to the interest both of the community and of each other charitable agency that it should be equipped for thorough service. At present its staff is inadequate to carry out this work. Especially should it help to create joint action in behalf of certain families who are known to more than one agency. Such agencies as the Day Nursery, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the church agencies state frankly that they rarely inquire of the Associated Charities whether a given family is already known to any other agency. One widow's plight was described to me by the workers in four different organiza- tions, all of whom had been giving her advice about her problems but whose views as to the solution were very diverse. It would have been more helpful for the widow and more economical of their time if they had talked it over together and on the basis of their combined knowledge worked out a plan which they could jointly have helped her carry out. The Associated Charities has a Confidential Exchange under way, but has not as yet made its possibilities fully known to the other agencies. It also has a committee for the discussion of such difficult and complex problems as the one which this 72 widow faced. If this committee included the representatives of those other agencies which are serving needy families in their homes, its value in creating wiser plans for these fam- ilies would be greatly increased. If such organizations as the Elks, which now use their funds for temporary relief of families of whom they know little or nothing, would allow this committee to call upon them for funds for carrying out some definite constructive plan for a family, the value of their help would be greatly increased. For instance, would not the $2,000 given by the Elks be more serviceable if it took the form of pensions for the entire year for ten widows who A CONFIDENTIAL EXCHANGE Needed in New burgh ^o Help the Helpers Be More Help-full 'Visiting Nurse St Vincent de Paul Society Red Cross Associated Charities Gty and Town Home CWches Hospital Police Department Health Department would thus be enabled to keep their children with them instead of having to put them in an institution? That such giving should be helpful it must be done under careful supervision aimed to help the mother spend the money wisely and to see that the children are being well brought up. Such supervision could be given by volunteers under the general direction of the committee. There are homes, however, which are not fit to be kept together and from which the children should be removed that they may have a chance for future development. This work 73 is nominally the task of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, but they have no paid agent always ready to undertake the difficult and trying task of investigating con- ditions carefully and bringing the matter before the court when necessary. I was told of many cases of degeneracy in Newburgh where stern measures were needed, but where no one was prepared to carry them out. At present no clear line is drawn as to the treatment of those families whose suffering results from poverty and those where there is moral degeneration. In any individual case we can judge of the real effect of the home on the children only after a careful investigation, after securing the combined knowledge of their minister, their teachers, their doctor, or others who have really watched their development. Children should not be put into a home nor should relief be given in the home until after such careful study. When this has been made, it will not be necessary to be niggardly with relief in order to prevent the city or organization from being imposed upon ; nor shall we hesitate so long about breaking up the degenerate family. I should like to speak one final word in regard to condi- tions in the almshouse. It is a pleasure to be able to say that I have never seen an almshouse so clean, so well ordered, or one in which there was so kindly a spirit toward the aged and crippled and infirm gathered there. It is the kind of home that a city may well be proud of having provided for its old people. There is one bad factor in the situation, however, namely, the number of people who ought not to be there, as the superintendent himself knows well, but for whom no other place is at present available. There are a number of advanced cases of tuberculosis which cannot be cared for at the sanatorium but which may be sources of contagion in the almshouse. There are a number of feebleminded women there for whom custodial care should be provided. One of them left the almshouse twice and each time came back to bear an illegitimate child. The superintendent is now making her stay there just by force of will, but he has no power to hold her if she chooses to go. There are also a good many able-bodied and intemperate men who come there at intervals, 74 especially in the winter. Obviously they need more strenuous treatment than the almshouse can give. But the jail will not make better men of them and there is as yet no farm colony where they can be sent on an indeterminate sentence for hard work. The presence of these people in the almshouse is, therefore, not a criticism of its management but an indication that even to solve its own local problems, Newburgh citizens must take a hand in urging state or county provision for various groups, and it is a time when such interest is needed. In regard to the organization of charity, therefore, may I make briefly the following general recommendations? J\s shown by <1hree Months' Observation in Newburgh Prink Many of these causes are removable through co-operative effort i. There should be a paid probation officer who should be responsible for all court work. He should have charge of all probation work and to him should be referred for investi- gation and action any families known to any of the chari- table agencies of Newburgh in which there is indication of neglect. He could use the secretaries of the Associated Charities or the State Charities Aid Association as volunteer assistants in the cases of girls or women. 75 2. The Commissioners of the City and Town Home should employ temporarily a trained investigator to study the home conditions of all families receiving outdoor relief from the city. This would probably take three months. It should show which of the families have become pauperized and need to be especially stimulated to self-support, which are degenerate and should be broken up and placed in insti- tutions and which should properly be relieved in their homes. Such an investigation would probably cost $300 but would save the city from wasting its funds in certain cases, and would be most surely a permanent economy through raising some families to self-support and saving others from continuing a tradition of dependence on the city even for temporary help. After such an investigation had made thoroughly clear the extent of the need for help from the city, the Commissioners might decide to secure an assistant superintendent to continue this work or might ask the Associated Charities to investigate thereafter all families applying for relief for the first time. 3. There should be more effort on the part of all agencies to study the conditions which have made families dependent and more co-operation in removing these conditions in individual families or in the community. 4. The staff of the Associated Charities should be in- creased in order that it may further develop the Confidential Exchange, its committee on families and its work in carrying out the rehabilitation of individual families. 5. The citizens of Newburgh should work for more county or state organizations to care for the feebleminded, inebriates, the tuberculous ; as without such help even the local problems are insolvable. Our social problems are closely interrelated. No one society in Newburgh can do its work well unless it works in close co-operation with the other agencies and community activities, nor can Newburgh solve its own problems without knowing and helping in the working out of the state wide treatment of sickness and poverty. Such a recognition of our common social problems, such a willingness to work together in their solution is the essence of sound charitable activity. 76 Industrial Conditions in Newburgh ZENAS L. POTTER. DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYS AND EXHIBITS, RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. To those familiar with methods of industrial investiga- tions it will be obvious that time limitations made an intensive local study of the whole industrial field quite beyond the possibilities of the present survey. An adequate study of wages, hours of labor, industrial injuries, occupational dis- eases, unemployment, factory sanitation, or the relation between employer and workers, for instance, not to mention a dozen other phases of industrial conditions would alone require the ten weeks allowed for this survey. It seemed best, therefore, to devote what time was at our disposal to obtaining a general bird's eye view of local conditions at the same time centering attention upon a few specific subjects with a view to pointing the need of more specialized study later. The subjects touched upon are: (a) wages of skilled and unskilled workers, (b) hours of labor, (c) child labor, (d) unions. Newburgh may claim considerable distinction as a resi- dential city. In the early days it was the exchange point of shipping up the river and stage transportation to the west; and played an important part as a commercial center. With the development of railway transportation, however, this advantage was taken away and today the future of the city seems to be chiefly in growth as a manufacturing center. In this regard the city has shown a fairly rapid and steady growth. In 1899 according to the U. S. Census reports, there was $4,519,000 invested in manufacturing enterprises, in 1904 $6,508,000, and in 1909 $8,020,000. In 1899 tne product of Newburgh manufacturing establishments was valued at $5,358,000; in 1904 at $7,036,000, in 1909 at $9,928,- ooo. Of this latter figure over $5,000,000 was added in Newburgh. The number of factory wage-earners has like- 77 wise increased from 3,074 in 1899 to 4013 in 1904, and 4,344 in 1909. Of the number employed in 1909 one-third were women. It is estimated that in addition to factory workers there are approximately 2,000 workers employed in the build- ing and printing trades, mercantile establishments, on street cars, etc. There were, in 1909, one hundred four manufacturing establishments in the city. These range all the way from the manufacture of patent medicines to tombstones. Among the larger factories are those making lawnmowers, overalls, shirt- waists, children's clothing, laces, yarns, silks, plush, felt men's hats and caps, stationary engines, boilers, boats, worsteds, and agricultural implements. The number of workers per estab- lishment divides evenly at about 200, half of the shops and plants employing more than that number, and half less. There is, however, no one industry over-shadowing all others, a situation which is usually considered of industrial and com- mercial advantage since it tends to prevent wide fluctuations in local prosperity brought on by unusual general depression in any one industry. Especially is such a condition advan- tageous to the merchant and shop-keeper. So far as surface indications go the future of the city as a manufacturing center seems promising. Shipping facil- ities are good and it is near the greatest market in the country. Its nearness to the large labor supply in New York City is of undoubted advantage. The absence, however, of more recent, and more detailed information on these industrial matters lead to our first recommendation, an economic study of Newburgh. In addition to gathering facts along the lines just mentioned, such a study would seek to discover any new local resources and business opportunities, which, if developed, would add to the city's commercial, industrial, and financial advantage. Two such investigations have just been made in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, one of them initiated and financed by the City Council. WAGES. Few things in a study of city conditions are more im- portant, both from the community and the individual stand- 78 point, than the matter of income ; and in an industrial popula- tion it resolves itself practically to a question of wages. Our three sources of information are the union wage scale in the more important occupations, the data collected in connection with our housing investigation, and the Federal report already quoted. The figures are offered not as proof of general wage conditions in the city, but as indications of what some of Newburgh's workers are paid. What several hundred workers get is a matter of importance, quite regardless of what any of the others get. At the same time, since the figures obtained in connection with the housing investigation were collected from workers in many industries, they have a further value in suggesting general wage rates for unskilled work. The skilled trades in Newburgh are almost entirely organized, and the wages generally good. From a table show- ing the weekly earnings in some of the more important skilled occupations, it was found that the lowest union wages were $7 per week for some of the textile workers, and $10 for barbers. To the latter amount some addition should probably be made for tips. From these amounts the weekly rate runs up to $27.50 for masons and $35 for a few musicians. Many of these trades, however, do not give steady work the year round, and thus the average weekly income is reduced. Never- theless it must be said that most of the skilled trades pay wages sufficient for the workers to support their families in a reasonable degree of comfort. The situation with regard to the unskilled workers naturally is much less favorable. From a detailed classification of the wage figures obtained from 227 adult male workers, a few skilled, but most of them unskilled, it was found that fifty per cent, received less than $10 a week, and seventy-five per cent, less than $12. When only the unskilled workers were considered, it was found that sixty-seven per cent, of them were paid less than $10 per week. Figures showing the wages of fifty-nine women workers scattered through a dozen trades were obtained ; and sixty-seven per cent, of these work- ers received less than $6 per week. All but seven of the women received' less 'than $8, the wage which has been set 79 by law in several states as the minimum for women. Of course, the figures deal with only a small number of workers, but, as already indicated, they represent a number of different factories, and men and women coming from sections of the city where unskilled and semi-skilled laborers make their homes. They give an inkling of how very low the wages are of many men and women in the city. Moreover, the figures are corroborated by the Federal report already quoted, which shows that the average weekly wage of over 4,300 Newburgh workers is $9.65. Studies of family budgets in Buffalo and New York City in recent years have revealed the fact that it takes from $750.00 to $850.00 a year to supply an average family of five with the bare necessities of decent living. Even assuming that the cost of living in Newburgh is one-eighth less an allow- ance that seems ample it is still clear that many workers .and most unskilled laborers, as is the case elsewhere, get less than enough to support an average sized family in decency. Such a condition leads to at least one of three results. Either the family is not supplied with the necessities of life, and its members become moral or physical wrecks, sooner or later dependent on the public for support; or the mother goes to work, thus breaking up the unity of home life, and the children as soon as possible, follow suit, crippling their oppor- tunities; or else the family, in every emergency, falls back upon charity for relief, and the public in called upon to make up the discrepancy between living and less than living wages. It should be noted, however, that the wage problem is not essentially a local problem. It is nation wide, if not world wide; and the responsibility of local employers can hardly extend much beyond providing the facilities and adminstrative equipment for efficiency on the part of labor, in other words, the opportunities for increasing their capacity. That, however, is no small responsibility. Furthermore, it is highly important that the average citizen, in order to do his part in a state or national handling of the problem, should become much more intelligent regarding the human consequences of low wages. For that reason we should recommend a more intensive study of wages, together with hours, and general work conditions discussed in this report. 80 HOURS OF LABOR. Hours of labor in Newburgh are, on the average, good. The hours of women in factories are fixed by the labor law at 54 per week. One large Newburgh factory has worked women sixty hours during the past winter. Another violates a section of the labor law by allowing but thirty minutes, in- stead of an hour, for the noon meal. In some cases women's unions, in agreements with employers, have reduced the hours below fifty-four. The state law limiting in mercantile estab- lishments the hours of female workers between sixteen and twenty-one years to ten per day and sixty per week seems to be pretty generally complied with, not, however, because of the activity of the Health Department, the enforcing authority. In all of the larger stores of this city and in some of the smaller ones employees are given a half-holiday during July and August. The agreement between the Clerks' Union and the Merchants' Association under which this is guaranteed has still two years to run. Some of the factories, also, allow employees a half-holiday each week during part of the year. Newburgh may congratulate herself upon these attainments, which have not only industrial but human significance attain- ments for which the struggle must yet be made in many cities. Hours of men, both skilled and unskilled, are not regu- lated by law except on public work. The local unions have, however, in many cases succeeded in reducing the hours for their members, and in many cases the restriction of hours of women in factories has acted to restrict the hours of male workers also. From figures showing the hours of labor fixed by the unions in sixteen of the more important occupations, it was found that, with the exception of the barbers, who work seventy-five hours, and the bakers, who work sixty, all men work fifty-six hours or less per week. While there is still room for improvement, the unions and employers may be commended for these conditions. The hours of unskilled male workers are entirely unregulated either by law or agreement, but in general they are set at ten hours per day and sixty per week. 81 CHILD LABOR. Under the labor law no child under the age of sixteen years may be employed or permitted to work in any factory before 8 a. m., and after 5 p. m., for more than eight hours a day, or more than six days a week. Further, no child may be employed in any mercantile establishment before 8 a. m., after 7 p. m., for more than nine hours a day, or for more than fifty-hours, or six days a week. In a limited investigation by Mr. Edward F. Brown, chief special agent of the National Child Labor Committee, it was found that these laws are frequently disregarded in Newburgh. This statement is based upon the hours worked by fifteen children, or about a quarter of those between fourteen and sixteen years of age at work in the city. Nine of these were employed in factories, and six of these worked eight hours a day, as permitted by the law ; while one worked nine hours and two ten hours, in violation of the law. Of the six children at a kind of work covered by the mercantile law, three worked, legally, nine hours a day or less; two worked nine and a half, and one eleven hours in violation of the law. The latter, a boy, is employed by a milk company and begins work before 4 a. m. every morning. Had time permitted a thorough investigation of mer- cantile establishments, it is probable that it would have shown that not only do children work illegal hours, but that children under the legal age of fourteen years are frequently employed. This statement is based upon answers to inquiries made in the public schools as to the work of children. For instance, ninety-eight children were found who worked in mercantile establishments after school hours and on Saturdays. Out of this number one was in the first grade, three were in the second grade, ten in the fourth grade and eighteen in the fifth grade. It is more than likely that the majority of the children under the sixth grade and some of those above it are under fourteen years, the age below which children may not legally work in mercantile establishments. It is not surprising to find the mercantile law violated in Newburgh, for the officials of the Health Department, who are charged with its enforcement, were unaware that its en- 82 A SECTION OF THE WATER FRONT. Showing Some of Newburgh's Industrial Establishments. WATER STREET A Mercantile Center of the City. forcement was their duty. Investigation in other third-class cities has shown a very similar condition. To make the enforce- ment of this law more effective, Newburgh should unite with other third-class cities in asking the legislature to transfer the duty of its enforcement from local Health Departments to the State Department of Labor. In the meantime the health department should enforce the law as best it can with its limited force and employers should familiarize themselves with its provisions. To be legally employed children between fourteen and sixteen must secure working certificates, to obtain which they must present a school certificate, showing that they have attained certain educational proficiency, and they must produce documentary evidence to show that they are fourteen years of age or over. School certificates are issued by the educa- tional authorities and, as pointed out in the school report, (Page 16), these authorities have interpreted the law's provisions regarding their issuance much more laxly than they have been interpreted in many other cities of the State. The working certificates themselves are issued by the Health De- partment; and there, too, methods have been grossly lax. In some cases children have received certificates upon the pre- sentation of documentary evidence which, instead of showing that they were entitled to them, shows that they were pre- cisely not so entitled, and in many cases upon insufficient proof of age or educational proficiency. Space will not permit us to go into the details. A full report will be furnished to the Health Department. One illustration serves to reveal the gross carelessness in this respect. The law provides that a child must have attended school 130 days previous to the time of application for a cer- tificate. One boy, however, was given a certificate upon the presentation of the following note as proof of required schooling. "To the Health Officer, The bearer of this note was a pupil of our school and attended regularly till he was taken ill. His mother says that the Doctor who attended him does not advise his being in S3 school. He has not been in school the regular number of days since he was thirteen. Respectfully, The note specifically says that the child has not attended school the required number of days. Moreover, from the note the authorities have no reason for assuming that the child has attained the education demanded in the law. Still further, the Health Department must sign a statement that each child securing a certificate is physically able to go to work. That a child forced to stay out of school because physically unfit, is physically fit to work, may well be questioned; yet a working certificate was issued in this case. We would recommend that the Health Department instruct those who issue certificates to familiarize themselves with the exact provisions of the law and observe them in every detail. A new law has recently gone into effect which regulates newspaper selling by prohibiting work by boys under twelve years of age or by boys under sixteen years after eight p. m. Inquiry in the schools revealed one hundred and forty-seven newsboys in the city. Out of this number two were in the first grade, eight in the second, seven in the third and fourteen in the fourth. Judging from the way ages and grades usually run, the majority of those are probably under twelve years of age; and they would thus be working illegally. The pro- visions as to selling after eight p. m. will not affect Newburgh for papers are seldom sold after six o'clock at night. The police and attendance officer are charged with the enforcement of this law but nothing has been done to date to secure com- pliance with its provisions. Mr. Brown's investigations of the occupations of children between fourteen and sixteen years of age shows that the opportunities for children to gain industrial proficiency and advance under present industrial organization are few. The tasks at which they were employed were mainly mechanical, requiring little skill ; and most employers stated that they had no time to devote to training children to proficiency. Some frankly said that there were no opportunities in their factories 84 for children to rise above the grade of unskilled or semi- skilled labor. These facts emphasize the need for such indus- trial training in the schools as will permit children to gain fundamental training for industrial life before they enter upon it. From both this investigation and that made in the schools we feel that a study of industrial processes and oppor- tunities, perhaps initiated by the School Board in co-operation with the manufacturers and labor organizations of the city, would be of great value in showing how such education could best be adapted to the needs of the city and the child. Several employers stated that they employed no children between fourteen and sixteen years of age, some because they did not believe in child labor, some because of the special restrictions put upon the hours of labor of such children. INDUSTRIAL HAZARDS. Newburgh has a number of industries which are recog- nized as generally dangerous to health and limb, unless care- fully safeguarded. This is particularly true in the making of hats. The danger comes from the inhalation of particles of hair by the workers before the carroting process, and the chance of mercury poisoning after the carroting. In the cut- ting room there is some danger of mercurialism, and the blow- ing room contains dusty air from mixing and feeding. In the finishing process silica dust from operating the pouncing machine, humidity, and the use of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide raise further questions of health hazards. In addition to mercurialism, the fight against tuberculosis tendencies is greatly handicapped by work in places where dust is uncon- trolled. The woolen and other textile manufactures, because of the likelihood of working in dust-ridden air, also carry with them danger of respiratory troubles unless precautions are taken and observed. Moreover, reports have come to us of cases of lead poisoning due to certain processes in the manu- facture of lace. Much of this is preventable. On the side of accidents, Newburgh contains a consid- erable number of factories which, throughout the country, are regarded as fairly hazardous. Seven hundred and sixty-seven 85 persons were killed in New York State factories last year, and 60,554 were injured more or less seriously. The statistics of the Labor Department show that many of these were due to unguarded machinery, and might have been prevented by a little precaution. Some of these accidents occurred in New- burgh. Since every accident is proof of how accidents can and do happen, the large proportion of those in the State which occurred in industries represented in Newburgh, shows the possibility of still other accidents in local plants where ma- chinery is unguarded. In a number of industries throughout the country, em- ployers have found it economically justifiable to employ safety engineers as regular members of their working forces, their functions being to study accident and disease hazards and invent preventive devices. We recommend for the favorable consideration of local employers, or groups of employers such a study of the whole problem as might be made the basis for constructive action either by individual firms or groups of firms. UNIONS. The skilled workers of this city are quite thoroughly unionized, reliable estimates placing the union members be- tween 4,000 and 4,500, about one-fifth of whom are women. These same estimates indicate that from eighty to ninety per cent, of the skilled workers are union members. In addition to the Central Labor Union, with which most of the locals are affiliated, there are unions among the street railway em- ployees, lace operators, musicians, bartenders, block printers, brewery workers, masons, electric workers, painters and dec- orators, steamboat employees, cigar makers, cutters, gas and electric employees, hat finishers, hod carriers, sheet metal workers, stage employees, machinists, truckmen, pressmen, moulders, steam engineers, bakers, barbers, printers, plumbers, carpenters, clerks, garment makers, textile workers and sta- tionary engineers. The main membership need lies in the direction of more unskilled workers. These needs are not 86 peculiar to Newburgh but constitute a comparatively general problem of the unions. The chief medium through which Newburgh workers may show a united front and thus voice their needs forcefully, is the union. The soundness of the general principles of unionism among workers is not much questioned at present. The questions which are likely to arise are more often related to the methods of working out these principles. In so far as the methods have to do with violence, Newburgh's unions may take very high standing. Their past records carry little in the nature of "direct action," the unions seeming to rely chiefly upon educational methods and wide local understand- ing for results. Facts already presented show that these methods have been fruitful both in the improvement of hours and the increase of pay. Moreover, the unions have been a very serviceable instrument, both from the workers' and the employers' standpoint, for negotiating collective and long time labor bargains. This kind of service needs and deserves intelligent support, not only by workers and employers, but by the citizenship generally. SUMMARY. Finally, to sum up, this study has tended to point the need of: I. A general study of economic and commercial condi- tions and resources in the city; II. A general study of the human side of industrial con- ditions, wages, hours, unemployment, etc., with a view to knowing and improving conditions such as will make New- burgh a more desirable place for workers to live in ; III. Better enforcement of child labor laws ; IV. Transfer of the duty of enforcing the law in mer- cantile establishments from local health departments to the State Department of Labor ; V. Greater care in the methods of issuing working cer- tificates to children. VI. A study of industrial opportunities and processes to enable the schools to supply the kind of industrial education which will best meet the needs of the city and the child ; 87 VII. An investigation of work hazards with a view to preventing accident and disease ; VIII. Measures for acquainting citizens generally with the methods and advantages of well conducted labor unions. 88 Municipal Administration D. O. DECKER. Fifty years ago and even later the chief solution offered the citizen who desired improvement in municipal conditions came from the party out of power, in the familiar slogan, "Turn the rascals out". This answer, however, was not altogether convincing. Baffled, but not discouraged, the taxpayer began to inquire why it costs more to run a city than a private enterprise of like size. The answer to his inquiry has been much more reassuring both to the taxpayer and to the believer in ultimate municipal efficiency. It is merely that sound business methods have not been generally applied to municipal administration. Moreover, an examination of the nature of municipal business leads to the conclusion that there are but few, if any, phases of it that differ enough from private business to make the application of tried methods either unprofitable or inadvisable. The administration of public business in Newburgh should be studied and changed with this constantly in mind. The purpose of this report has been to make clear the community needs of Newburgh and present such constructive recommendations as to methods and organization as will increase economy and efficiency. If Newburgh is satisfied with the standards of the average city, there is little necessity for this report, for much was found to commend in the various departments and much excellent work is being done. This investigation was made upon the assumption that Newburgh will be satisfied with only the best. Each year increases the demands which must be met by municipal taxation. To make possible increased expenditures, the necessity for which is measured in terms of the safety and welfare of the community, the city can increase its tax rate to only a limited extent. Whether Newburgh will decrease her death rate and the occurrence of preventable disease, will 89 depend to some degree upon the extent to which the city can increase her economy and efficiency in municipal administra- tion. THE BUDGET. Certain financial information is necessary in order that officials may properly administer, and that the public may intelligently criticise and commend. The nature of this in- formation differs only slightly from that necessary in direct- ing a private business. The first essential is an intelligent and constructive program for the year. Such a program should be expressed in a budget ; and the budget, if properly arranged, lays a foundation for proper bookkeeping, as well as con- structive and efficient administration. The present budget is not made until August, which leaves the city entirely with- out a program for the critical part of the year. This delay also discourages city planning, encourages over-drawing appropriations, and increases the tax rate without corre- spondingly increasing the results accomplished. By charter amendment completion of the budget should be required not later than March ist, and it might be advisable to fix the budget before the fiscal year is begun. The items should be classified under proper groupings, and each appropriation itemized. That is, in place of "$15,000 for machines, horses, paving blocks, etc.", a schedule should be prepared showing approximately how many horses will be bought and the sum appropriated for their purchase, what "machines" are needed and the amount allowed for them, and so on with each item. This automatically insures a study of the work to be per- formed and the adoption of an intelligent program of expendi- ture; it prevents "log rolling" later in the year; makes possi- ble comparisons with results and expenditures of prior years; and insures a certain amount of cost accounting. PREPARING THE BUDGET. In preparing a budget substantially this procedure should be followed. Itemized requests should be submitted by the departments to the board of estimate; these requests should be classified and analyzed by the board and then made public for discussion at public hearings before the budget is finally 90 adopted. The following suggestions on procedure are also in order. The Mayor should have power to veto any item of appropriation. Balances at the close of the year should revert to the general fund for the reduction of taxation. It should be illegal to exceed an appropriation. (This is now the law but it is not enforced.) It should be possible for the council to increase an appropriation found to be inadequate, by a transfer of funds from another appropriation. ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING. No idea of the city's financial condition can be gathered from any report published. This is pertinent and sweeping criticism which must be made of the present method of report- ing and accounting. It will be more satisfactory to suggest what accounts should be kept and in what form reports should be made, than to criticise the present system of accounts and reports, which, while apparently accurate and possibly all that is required by the charter, falls far short of picturing the condition of city finance or guiding the public in its study of administrative conditions. Every business whether public or private should show separately the operation of the current year. That is, revenues and taxes due during the year, should be compared with the expenditures incurred for the year. This may be called an "Operation and Maintenance Account." These accounts should be kept by the city clerk, and to give him the necessary information he should receive monthly reports from all departments showing revenues collected or accrued, and dis- bursements and liabilities incurred. While cash payments are now accurately recorded, no record is kept of liabilities incurred, without which the cost of the year's administration can never be known. Entirely separate from this class of accounts is another known as "Capital" or "Permanent Improvement" accounts. These show moneys collected or due from benefit assessments, sale of bonds, etc., as contrasted with expenses for permanent improvements, retirement of bonds, etc. Another balance sheet should show the status of sinking funds, and the investments made with them. Although the 91 Newburgh charter provides for a sinking fund commission, it apparently has never exercised its duties and this fund has no investments, although there is a book balance to its credit of $22,338.47. Other balance sheets suggested would be "Trust Funds", as pension funds, etc. A GENERAL LEDGER. While a fund ledger is now kept showing the disburse- ments charged against particular appropriations, there is no general ledger. A general ledger should be opened showing the current balances which make up the balance sheets sug- gested. For example, when the tax warrant is delivered to the collector, "Taxes Receivable General Account" should be debited. On the other hand, as taxes are collected and paid to the treasurer, "Taxes Receivable" should be credited and "Cash" debited. From this general ledger a balance sheet can be instantly drawn showing the condition of all city funds. A similar system of accounts is fully explained in "Theory of Auditing and Accounting" by R. H. Montgomery, and in "The Handbook of Municipal Accounting" by the Metz Fund, 261 Broadway, New York City. THE FUND LEDGER. The present fund ledger should be revised so as to show outstanding liabilities, as well as cash payments. Liabilities plus payments, when deducted from the total appropriation, will give the unencumbered balance of the appropriation ; and it is desirable to make monthly reports showing the condition of appropriations. A simple method of preventing the exceed- ing of appropriations is to direct that no order or purchase shall be valid until the clerk certifies that there are unencum- bered funds sufficient to meet it. COST ACCOUNTING. Some attempt at cost accounting has been made in the street department, and the few accounts kept have already proven their value. Keeping adequate records of cost will indicate whether it is better to do certain work by contract or through the city department; whether certain laborers are 92 efficient or inefficient; what methods of pavement repair and road improvement give the best results for the money ex- pended, etc. No modern private business is without a system of cost accounts. CLERK'S OFFICE. The system of records and indices in the clerk's office is excellent and compares favorably with that in use elsewhere. More clerical help will soon be necessary in this office, particu- larly if the accounting system is revised. The provisions for making the office fire proof seem inadequate. ADVENTURES OF NRTAXPAYER With a Municipal Budget and Without How One City Now SUPPOSES the Money is Speint How a <\ty KNOWS where the Morxej/ Goes TREASURER. The treasurer is made by the charter the depository of city funds. It is more desirable, however, to make him a fiscal officer, and permit the council to designate banks of deposit. Under the present system his bond is, in theory, inadequate. There is no reason why the treasurer should keep as many detailed accounts as are now kept. He is merely a cash depository and is fesponsible only for totals. It would be 93 sufficient to have him open an account for current revenues and expenditures, a permanent improvement account, a sink- ing fund account, trust fund accounts, etc., and have the classification of the payments under budget appropriations a matter of bookkeeping shown only in the clerk's office and in the clerk's report. It would be advisable that the funds of each of the particular accounts should be deposited separately and in a separate bank account, although this could not be required under the present charter. This would effectually prevent a confusion of funds, such as now exists in the case of the sinking fund, which is supposed to have a cash balance, but apparently only has a book balance. The treasurer's report, while required by the charter, is in effect a re-statement of the clerk's accounts and adds nothing to the information of the public. A statement by the treasurer of the balances on hand, total receipts and disbursements, and an audit of his books by a committee of the council, would be sufficient to protect the public and the treasurer. TAX COLLECTIONS. The city has now three tax collections, state and county taxes, water rents, and city taxes. By legislative change all three taxes should be made collectable by one tax roll and warrant, part of the total taxes being payable in the spring and the remainder six months later. No collection fee should be charged on any tax, as the office of collector is salaried, and such fees are in any event paid to the city. "Back taxes" and tax sales should be handled by the collector under the advice of the Corporation Counsel, rather than by the Corporation Counsel, as is now required by the charter. This would permit all inquiries regarding taxes to be answered by one office, and is in other respects advisable. It is suggested that the collector's books may be greatly simplified by opening a card index of all uncollected taxes. The original roll would still contain the original entries of payments and would in any event constitute the official records in case of dispute. A most desirable feature in tax collection is a pre-billing of taxes. That is, all receipts are prepared on official forms in advance. These receipts total the amount of 94 the warrant turned over for collection, and the collector's accounts are then audited by crediting him with unused receipts and collections paid to the treasurer, which together must always total the amount of the warrant. This system will be an actual saving in clerical work, and is an absolute check on returning any taxes as unpaid, which have already been paid. This system is suggested because it has proved so successful in other places ; and the integrity of the present collector is too well established to make it necessary to explain that the suggestion is impersonal. TAX SALES. The present charter procedure for tax sales might be improved upon. If extensive changes are made in the pro- cedure, the system of the sale of a tax lien, a system now used in New York City, should be carefully considered. ROAD IMPROVEMENT. Newburgh is contemplating considerable paving and road construction in the near future. It would be unfortunate to begin this without a definite constructive program which would outline for a period of five to ten years what work will be undertaken, the order of the construction and the methods of financing. Such a program should be mapped out and adopted by both public officials and citizen organizations. With such public support and acceptance, the proposition can be studied from a much broader standpoint and adherence to the plan adopted may be more definitely assured. Other suggestions related to this are made below under the head of "Bonds". The plan should include care of unimproved dirt roads ; for both dirt and macadam roads can be placed in a most satis- factory condition if an annual appropriation for their main- tenance is set aside and properly administered. Since most of the population reside along either macadam or unimproved roads, these roads should receive more consideration than usually has been given them. Without expending one cent for gravel or stone, much can be accomplished by the continuous use of a roller in the spring. One rolling at that time is equal to two later. It is not always economy to neglect a road with 95 the idea of making more extensive repairs another year. This is particularly true of macadam, which becomes valueless if not repaired immediately; and re-surfacing it after the top surface is worn through in places is usually impracticable. STREET OPENINGS. At present private individuals are permitted to make street openings for gas connections, etc. Although a bond is filed, the whole principle is wrong, and an enforcement of the bond is unsatisfactory. Street openings should always be made and filled by the street department, and by cost account- ing the actual expense can and should be charged to the proper person. This fixes responsibility, and is a method that every city will come to in a few years. The charter salary provided for the Superintendent of Streets is inadequate for retaining the type of man necessary for this position. CITY ENGINEER. Newburgh should investigate whether it would not be more desirable to put the city engineer on the basis of a paid officer. This would need a careful study, and should take into consideration the amount of engineering services which will be required in the near future, the office force which will have to be provided, and whether reductions in salary and office force can and will be made in slack periods, etc. SUPPLIES. No really satisfactory plan for efficient purchasing can ^e reached until all supplies, including those of the water department and the board of education, are purchased through one permanent bureau, officer, board or committee. This can be accomplished without charter amendment by agreement of representatives from each principal department, on such board or committee, although a charter amendment would be more satisfactory as a permanent arrangement. Certain supplies, such as coal, stationery, tools and im- plements should be bought on annual contracts. In some cases 96 the contract should provide for delivery upon request, in other cases the supplies should be purchased for the year and stored. When needed, they are given out by the store-keeper upon an order, which passes through the city clerk, who charges the proper account and credits the storekeeper's ac- count. Coal should be bought on specifications based on its heating qualities, standard of heat calories, etc., being specified. If the coal on analysis is below standard, an appropriate deduc- tion from the price can be made. The purchasing board, by familiarizing itself with prices, and by open competition (not IS THE HIGH TAX CRY JUSTIFIED? Tb ta 1