The times., 1901-04-01
NO INCREASE OF TAXATION.
Not Thought the Carnegie Libraries
VIII Neccssitate One.

NEW YORK, March 31.-Co. John 5.
Billings, Director of the New York Pub
tic Library, is planning the details of the
system of public libraries for the estab-
| lishment of which Andrew Carnegie gave
| IS, 200 900 to this city.
Colonel Billings talked yesterday of the
| immense educational advantages OF such
q system OF free circulating libraries,
and OF the recreation, the simple pleas
ure they will afford To the great masses
Of the people
Colonel Billings, who organized the
great medical library and museum in
| Washington, spoke of the cost to the city
Of maintaining libraries.
This library literature is not the only
literature that people get" said Colonel
/ Billings. by way of a compliment to the
newspapers of the day. The amount of
circulation of books from any branch
library will not be very large In COM
parison with the amount that is circu-
lated by-wen. by any good newspaper
But it is Of different kind, selected for
different purpose. Each Of the two
kinds of literature is a necessity, I
think. or at least demanded by the
people.
THE old view was that the people who
used Libraries, etc, ought to be willing to
pay a small sum, and that those who did
not use them and did not want to use
them should not be compelled to pay
That argument is precisely the argument
that was used in the cases of the public
schools and Of the improvements Of
streets-that those should not be taxed
who did not actually, Immediately. so to
speak personally benefit. But l will not
20 into details; and / do not think that
need to.
Now. i'm this particular case, Mr. Car
negie offers 10 put up properly arranged
buildings provided the city VIII maintain
them.
you may say that you don't want the
library system; mat the expense Is. on
the whole, too sreat But I certainly see
no reason - all-and this is spoken al a
citizen. 2,5art altogether from my library
aSsoct@ lions and connections see no
reason at all to Criticise Mr.. Carnegie's $
giving Of that gift i'm this way. One OBJ
lection that Is made to this library
scheme-as I have seen them stated in
the newspaDerS-is that il requires the
city to establish SiXtY-fiVc libraries and
assume the expense of maintaining them.
and this would be 4 great expense. The
minimum that ought to be allowed for
one of those large libraries should be
sl0On. They ought to have $4,000 a year
apiece. They might require little
more. and some money Will come in by
begging That would be 5000 Geo a year
smaller limits only In Manhattan and
the Bronx. Forty libraries are proposed
for Manhattan and the Bronx; that is
$500 600 a year at this rate.
But remember these forty Libraries
are not to be in addition to twenty
that the city is already maintaining, but
are to take their place. and the greater
number of the twenty-Oue will simply he
provided with new buildings-will have
separate building properly arranged in
stead of grocery store or something for
which they are paying $lOJo or 81 zoo rent
q year.
That practically. VIII not increase the
citys expense for any Of these twenty
one What will be an increase in expense
to the city Will be the additional ones.
But these the city can take ON as fast as
il sees propcr-Air Carnegie makes no
conditions about taking them all on this
year. next year. or in five years The
city can take on five year. for example
$4,000 year more.
I'VE have plenty of examples and OBJ
iect lessons 10 follow in what has been
done in other cities