The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-01
NO INCREASE OF TAXATION.
Not Thought the Carnegie Libraries
VIII Neccssitate One

NEW YORK, March 3l.-Col. John S.
Billings. Director of the New York Pub
| lie Library, is planning the details of the
system of public libraries for the estsb-
lishment of which Andrew Carnegie gave
| IS, POO, 900 to this city.
Colonel Billings talked yesterday OF the
immense educational advantages OF such
a 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
I great medical library and museum in
! Washington, spoke OF the cost to the city
IF 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-well. by any good newspaper.
/ But it is of a different kind. selected for
a different purpose. Each of the two
kinds of literature is Il necessity 1
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 aetit"!!v, Immediately, so to
speak personally benefit. But | will not
20 into details; and / do not think that 1
need to.
Now. in this particular case, Mr. Car
negte offers to put up properly arranged
buildings, provided the city Will maintain
them.
you may say that you don't want the
library system: fhat the expense is on
the whole too -reat But | certainly see
no reason ., dll-and this is spoken as a
citizen, yl5art altogether from my library
associ" lions and connections see no
reason at all to criticise Mr. Carnegies
giving of that gift i'm this way one OBJ
lection that Is made to this library
schome-as | have seen them stated in
the newSpapers-is that it requires the
city to establish siNty-lve libraries and
assume the expense Of maintaining them
and this would be great expense The
minimum that ought to be allowed for
one of those large libraries should be
$1,000 They ought to have $4,000 a year
apiece They might require a little
more. and some money will come in by
begging. That would be $685.. coo "a year
Let us consider the subject In its
smaller limits. only In Manhattan and
the Bronx. Forty libraries are proposed
for Manhattan and the Bronx; that is
800 000 Il year at this rate.
But remember, these forty libraries
are not to be in addition to twenty-one
that the city is already maintaining hut
are to take their place. and the greater
number of the twentY-1ne will simply he
provided with new buildings-will have a
separate building properly arranged. in
stead of grocery store or something for
which they are paying Sl.0r or 81 200 rent
year.
That. practically. viii not increase the
City's 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 i've years. The |
city can take on five a year for example |
-S5n.raH a year more
we have plenty of examples and OBJ |
ject lessons to follow in what has been |
done in other cities.