The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-02-15
THE GREATER NEW YORK.

The city of New York has followed the
example of London and Chicago and has
applied to the Legislature to organize
metropolitan district embracing the city
and its suburbs. A bill granting the city's
request has passed the Assembly. is sure
of passage in the Senate and will almost
TO certainty receive the Governors sig
nature; so the change may be regarded as
a thing accomplished. The new district
will be known as the greater New York"
1t will embrace the present city, Rich
mond County, Kings County and the west
ern half of Queens County as far as
north and south line drawn through Hemp
stead, thus covering an area OF nearly 31S
square miles, with q present population of
1866. 1872. 1t will be the second largest
city in the world, London, with a popula-
ton of 8, 291. 7O3 in 1891, being the only one
ahead of 1T, and Paris, with a population
of 2,447, 957 in 1891. being the one which
follows it, The size of Paris is very much
less than that of the other metropolitan
cities; it only covers about thirty square
miles, while London covers 2S3, and the
greater New York, az stated above. will
cover 49, The tendency of the French is
TO raise lofty buildings and to plant COL
ony in each house, whereas people of our
race prefer a house of their own with
yard and garden if possible. If Chicago
were as densely peopled as Paris it would
be the most populous city in the world.
The object of including the suburbs of a
city within its municipal area is to SIM
plify their administration and TO abolish
local Jurisdictions. At present the four
counties which are to be included in whole
or in part in the greater New York have
separate local governments which fire.
quently clash and interfere with each
other. Kings County, which is Brooklyn.
has its own government and its own set OF
officials. who are independent of New
York. Queens and Richmond are still run
on the old county plan with Boards of Su-
pervisors, which are generally so ineffi-
cient that the officials are practically indie
pendent. Yet all these counties are peopled
in the main from New York Their lead
ing citizens do business in the city. They
establish their domicile in the suburbs be-
cause it is cheaper to live there; but they
regard their homes simply as sleeping
places and they leave the county admins
tgation to their rural neighbors, which
does not conduce to wise or farseeing
policy.
Under the con solidatfon act the town.
ships and wards will elect delegates to a
Council which will be held in New York,
and it will become more difficult to carry
corrupt schemes through that body than it
is at present, because the Council will be
larger and more varied in origin. The in
f1uence of the city corner GROCERY will be
less and the power of Tammany will be
reduced. At the same time such scandals
as the one which lately occurred at Graves
end will be rendered more difficult through
the possible interference of the central
authority at New York. Local self-gov-
eminent is the basis of free government.
but where power rests with very small
aggregations of people it is difficult 10
bring the force of public opinion to bear.
The ignorant man believes that the world
is bounded by his own horizon.
New York is city of which all intelli-
gent Americans must be proud. 1t is the
center of American wealth, and culture,
and commerce, and industry, and letters,
and art. But it is handicapped by al in
fusion OF foreign blood to the extent of
one-third of its numbers. Among these
foreigners are some who turn out valuable
citizens, and thoroughly identify them
selves with the country of their adoption.
But the great bulk Of those who have ar
rived within a score of years are ignorant
and stupid; many are disorderly; and as
they are as good as Americans at the polls
they enable knaves to grasp and retain
power, and they constitute an obstacle to
wholesome government. The effect of the
new consolidation will be to diminish the
weight of the foreign vote. Americans
dominate Queens and Richmond; they are
in large majority in Kings; the only
portions of the greater New York which
Tammany will still be able to call its own
are those wards in the city where the
poorer classes live.