Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1906-08-09
CITY STATISTICS.
ABulletin from the Census Bureau
Gives Some Interesting Fig
ures and Information.
WITH POPULATION OF 10000
In 1905. the lS1 cities Considered, Spent
eS54.AAO.e1S and Thev
Have a Debt Of
o1,B31. A09,0B5.


Washington. Aug. S.--The census
bureau Tuesday issued bulletin Oh
statistics for 1904 Of cities having o
population Of over $4,000, the cities
covered numbering 151. OF these
New York held the largest land area,
209,11S acres. New Orleans with 1885,
600 acres. and Chicago. with 1882,
ranking next. Hoboken, with S2E
acres, had the smallest land area.
The total corporate expenditures Of
the Isl cities for the fiscal year 1904,
exclusive Of payments BY one depart
nient Of the city to another were 1884,
l40.21S Of which those Of New York
constituted $167.060.171, or three
tenths. The total expenditures showed
an increase Of s27,1OS,Tl3, Of IS per
cent over 1903, and Of 9SS.040,5s0. or
1871 per cent over 1909.
OF the total running expenses Of the
161 cities, 61.7 per cent went for sal
aries and wages, and 3s.S for all other
objects.
4 Total receipts were SBS4.17B.99s, Of
which $47S,42S,S5 or TBS per cent
were from taxes and other revenues,
and $121. 752.140, or 20.6 per cent from
loans increasing Indebtedness.
The receipts from municipal indus
tries, such as gas and waterworks and
other commercial revenues amounted
to S112,2S6,S27.
OF the municipal industries, by far
the most important are the water
works. They are reported by 1903 Of
the 151 cities and their value consti--
tutes 1913 per cent of the aggregate
value Of all municipal industry prop
critics. The cities Of over 100000 pop
tllation not owning waterworks were
San Francisco, New Orleans, Omaha,
New Haven, 81. Joseph, Scranton and
Paterson. OF the 100000 invested
in electric light works, Chicago re-
ported about one-half.
Nearly all Of the $S1 100000 invested
in gas works was reported by Phila-
delphia,
-Four cities were shown to be IN the
irrigation business Denver, Los An
geles, Salt Lake City and San An
tonic; three had toll bridges-New
York, Covington and La Crosse; ana
two were operating municipal ferries
Boston and Portland, Ore. The only
city running a stone quarry and
crusher was Auburn, N. Y, and the
only one having a municipal asphalt
plant was Detroit.
The aggregate value Of the proper
ties Of all municipal Industries as here
reported was $79O,57O,796. The ISL
cities have already met from general
revenues nearly onehalf the cost Of
their Industrial plants but still owe
1874 per cent Of the total value. Out
lays for permanent improvements are
met from current revenue In Ameri-
can cities more generally than in
British.
The aggregate debt Of the 151 cities
at the close OF the year was $1,531,s
49,. 655 and debt less sinking funds
8, 226, 216, 1888, more than one-fourth
greater than the national debt. The
per capita debt less sinking funds was
b56.97. OF the individual cities, the
largest per capita net debt was re-
ported by Newton, Mass, S125.50; the
second largest, New York, S113.25; the
.hird, Boston, s1OS.17; the fourth,
s104.19.
Only ten other cities had a per
,apita net debt of over SIS. The tax
evy per capita was largest for Bos-
on, S30.16.