The Portland daily press., 1896-05-02
TWELVE PAGES.

ton facilities for passengers are loaded to
the last gasp already. The transportation
of freight through downtown streets is
/ already greatly hampered. How much
longer this hampering may be endured
is question not easily answered, but
one who is suffering from it told reports
or TINT the result would soon be to drive
all ffe1ght-goods, storage and trans pOr-
tat1on-out of the lower part of the city.
In his opinion the loading of ships below
the bridge on the East River ana below
Chambers street ON the North River was
an unnecessary nuisance that sooner or
later would have to be ebated By berthing
the vessels elsewhere. For time out of
mind the citizens of old N ew York have
boon Watching the growth of population
upon the island. There are plenty Of
men living who remember when Lafa-
yette Place and Blocker street were CEN
tres Of aristocratic residenoes-when the
| City Hall was somewhere near the CEN
tire of the city. With The building of the
ell eyated roads and the annexing Of the
Twenty third and Twenty-fourth wards
the centre Of the city leaped away north,
until 125th street was very near the geo.
graphical centre. A more remarkable
effeca has been produced by the LAST
union of the municipalities of The metros
politan centre, for now the geog raphicaJ
centre Of the metropolis is ct the head
of the cycle path and Boulevard, ems
block south Of Prospect Park.
| A rough estimate Of the cash value OF
the new city may be had by reference to
the tax rolls New York city real eatats
is assessed at 81, 646. o2S. 655 on basis OK
80 per cent. Of its cash value. Brooklyn
real estate Is assessed at $40, 809, 346 on d
basis of 70 per cent. Of it's cash value.
New York is assessed $3.50 49, 007 on per
| sonal estate, and Brooklyn $23. 627, 446s
But when one considers how much pers
sonal property escapes the assessor it is
not very extravagant statement to say
that the actual value of the Greater New
York real estate is S., 600, 900, eco, while
the personal property should double this
| sum.
In view Of the wealth and intelligence
Of this metropolitan centre, it is an in-
teresting fact that we have in Brooklyn
and New York alone 269.62 miles of cob
BILE stone pavement that for rugged SIM
plicity and destructive tendencies in the
matter of wheeled transportation is not
TO be matched outside the gorges of the
mountains of the interior.
| Of asphalt pavements in the two larger
municipalities there are but 96.07 miles.
However, there are soma hundreds of
miles Of dirt roads that make very good
bicycle trails in the summer after rain
has laid the dust.
| If the system Of street paving is not a
matter of pride there are a number of
bridges within the metropolis we'll worth
the study of the engineer and the at ten
ton of the lover of the picturesque. No
city in the world has such exhibits as
those afforded by the Easu river suspen
sion bridge and the steel arches
of the bridge over the Harlem.
Nor are the stone arches of Highhridgs
over the Harlem, Macomb's Dam bridge,
and the other small bridges across the
Harlem to be omitted in mention of
engineering works. Moreover, these are
but the beginning of vast system which
within couple of decades will be found
here. One Of the chief arguments of the
advocates of union was that " consolida-
ton means more bridges-more facilities
for travel.'
And then there are the systems by
which this vast urban population is SUPP
piled with potable water. The huge tun-
mel which was needed to bring the Croton
water to the city is one of the engineers
ing wonders of the worl d, while the Gu
rious system of driven wells by which
Brooklyn has hitherto drawn at least
one-third of her water supply from ths
earth is at least novelty, and a remark.
able one at that That city could be
supplied by driving tubes less than three
inches in diameter into the earth at in>
teryals of a few feet and connecting them
with pumps Is not infrequently supposed
to be an impossibility by the uninfermed
when the matter IS mentioned. One of
the improvements In administration
which is certain TO bs effected by the
consolidation is putting an end to the
waste of water in Brooklyn. The supply
runs up to eighty gallons for each head
of population there, but because of waste
there are often complaints Of famine.
The report of the factory inspectors for
1894 contains most interesting table for
tho citizen of the greater New York. In
that year the inspectors visited 1,547 sep
arate factories on Long Island and Staten
Island, of which practically all were
within the Greater New York. In these
vera employed SO, 100 hands. In old New
York the number of factories visited was
G, 294 and the number of hands III. 943.
This is not the total number of factories
by any MEANS bat it gives an inkling Of
the number if not the varieties Of indus
tries that flourish in the metropolis.
While on the subject of in dustries it may
be worth while to recall the fact that
New York was once great shipbuilding
centre. 1t would be one now but for ths
fact that strikes inaugurated fifty years
ago or so drove the industry away, while
4t,, Eco, oe +bay,, kaepc IL AWAY No r1nca