The sun., 1897-01-20
MAYORS MESSAGE, CHAP.II.
HE PRHIs.Ts mrs DEPARTMENT.
OF DUC<iJION AND HEALTH.

anys Lack OF spHciept Schools IL Due 90
Fast NEGLECT Pitches into Past Manage
nest or the tusv Record snd Provoke-
Ez.Supervisor Kenny TO n Retort.
Tho second installiuent of Mayor Strong's an
nual message was p csentcd TO the Aldermen
yesterday. There are other instanments TO
comc. so tho Aiderme decided not to have any
copies printed until IL cy get It all. Yesterdays
installnnent deals with tho public schools, the
Health Depai tmont, nj Vi the Citu Record. or
the schools tn. Mayor says:
ut IL n fact that for t. number of years there
has not been q sufficient and proper school ac-
oommod alton IN this city. IL is fact that there
10 not now such an accommodation as the stand
ing of New York city and the character of Its
population demands. 1t is not u fact that any
effort has becn left u,,made during tho past
rear or 10 now being left unmado to meet all
the requirements Of this great municipality. or
that the needs vi education are denied to as
large O portion OF tho c,ty's school children rs
many who serve tho city only AS critics
would have the public believe. l seek to
avoid no responsibility in tho matter Of
tho present condition OF our public schools
whether rs to their iaanaeemont or as to the
suflcency Of their number. The present con-
ditions arc the result of lack OF proper action
for number Of years past. My present on
deavor Is to place before your honorable body.
and thus before tho public. in detail an exact
statement OF tho present condition OF affairs.
that no ono may properly err in his judgment
and that no ono may properly say either that
sufncicnt appropriations havo not been given to
our public scht OILS, or that proper effort Ia not
being made to meet all the requirements OF the
situation"
The Mayor then gives q list of tho new school
buildings In course Of construction or recently
completed and says they will accommodate 1890
pupils. He also gives q list OF school sites ac-
quircd in 1895.
As an illustration of the difficulties under
which tho Boa-d Of Education has heretofore
tory OF the acQuirsrnent OF the site OF the new
school Just coLtx scied for In the Fourth ward.
Nav is. 1894. ths Committee on Sites, reported
10 tho fun board N favor OF acquiring the above
mend alton the So pc day. the Commissioners Of
Estimato were .Sly nppointed. and the re-
NO report from the Com mi..ioners Of Estimate
At the ipstigation OF the Board OF Education
same cam ' q law on the, 70 III day q May, 1895,
compelling Commissioners OF Estimate ap;
TO r.SS9s sss fef after
appontment or forfeit All fees @ that % they
.onsa DC app.s TO al Il ss. sna will
prove of great bcueht. On the goth of June last,
more than twenty, i've month. after the board
mentioned site, notice was given OF Its acquire
ment. The school reterred to VIII cover about
sobooihouse ia the world. aud is to be built in
fourteen months. as shown by tho figures above
Herewith present q brief summary show.
ing the school populati on and ensnllment OF
ssss!s;ts-. Ssassi ssss. s%Tsl',
::s: ''; $$$ sss::s sss:ss ;ss
From the first list Of buildings submitted.
including two COMPLETED In sho month Of De-
eember last 1t was shown that school buildings
nsiSnF S4 Dsn the Of
buildings completed, the nnmher Of buildings
In 70, o, @ Ss.s
bio the amount OF work has. been done during
period OF time 10 meet the Increased require
insp,s OF the c:ty,s school pol ulnt:on. l.,
city OF New York recsive inst ruction in Roman
Catholic schools aud over thirty Thousand more
OF kind.rssrten teaching TO eIlstnr conditions.
In the solution of the problem Uf manual train
experimental test. of great public utility have
been made under the patronage OF church and
esting feature Of the school census to have
specified tho various schools other than the
ehildren OF school age. thus more clearly speci-
flying the number who are without school In
aoa thus r the ndasr sss
pr,ysd OF the benefits OF education.
r.s .uthoraed to issue Sonds in tn. ' amount %T Of
i've million dollars for the acquisition of school
sites and the erection OF 5uildings thereon The
already provided for the issuance Of 5000
7O7.53 Of this amount, and of this last-named
.,"The foregoing fact. ana figures. showing
public education. commend TO your careful
confederation. Instead of summarizing the
for badnss or o Of ad
ministration. have gone into detail that each
citizen might clearly understand the exact con-
The final appropriations made by the Board
Of Edacat,on FOR the years 1855 1895. and 1897
Sre, as d follows; 1922 - ;962 SO. H.; 1890.
SS.g;sos,S9; = 1897; S.03l:ssS S,r,, These In,
the citizens through taxation. ! take IL how.
ever, IN be an established proposition that 1t is
real economy 70 try to meet all the demands for
public education. and that money expended
thereon Is an Investment that will make TO the
increased intelliasnce aud good Government
or the Health Department the Mayor says:
"rhs WORK of the depart ment during the year
Serve. special notice. AZ appears from the fol-
lowing table tho death rate has largely and
ihs Board OF Health in 1865. and the death rate
for 1895 Is the lowest in the history OF the city
being 2l.o4 per thousand:
isssS.....:.:...ssYi 1850
Only three cases of smallpox were reported
Seipg Of local origin. Three cases OF typhus
fever were reported during the mast year. but no
secondary cases occurred. The city Is TO be con-
graduated npon its comparative freedom from
these fatal Diseases"
Tho Mayor goes over in detail the work of the
or the Citv Record he says:
"On the lst of January. 1898, there were bills
In arrears to printers and book binders aggre
eating nearly $93, 900. extending back as far AS
1900. For several years the estimates OF the
CITY Record had been made to include the pay
mont OF all arrearages; nnd yet In this small
department Whose entire annual appropriation
ID less Than 100000. there were arrearages
equal to almost one-third OF the cost OF its
annual maintenance. Besides this the City
Record had on hand Jan. l, 1895, a large ac-
cumulation of documents from tho various city
departments held over. so that tho expense OF
their publication fell upon this administration
Estimating the cost of this publication at rea-
sonAble figures and adding to IL the ar
Iearages OF bills unpaid. would bring the
total deficit in the Department OF the City Rec
ord on the date mentioned to an amount con-
eIderablY in excess Of $lOO. 600 | am pleased