The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-26
BIG CITY'S BUDGET
Cosrs sai,ooo AN HOUR, on s5oo,0oo | A DAY TO RUN NEW YORK.
Prediction That These Figures Will Be Doubled Tn Ten fears.
 How the Money

Prediction That These Figures VIII
 Be Doubled Tn Ten fears.
 How the Money
 Goes.
 New York, Sept. 25-(Special.) )-The prediction made in 1900 that within twenty years New York would be the worlds first million dollar a day city, seems likely to be fulfilled.
 The tentative budget for municipal expenses during the coming year calls for s1S4.000.0 .0o0. which is at the rate of a trifie more than half million a day or $21.o00 an hour and $36o minute.
 New York has for years held undis- puted title to being the worlds most expensive city, not only so far as It's administrative expenses are concerned' but in many other respects. The in- crease of more than S2S.0o0,0O0 over last year. however. indicates an ex- pansion in city housekeeping ex- penses undreamed of before.
 Of the $lS4,0oo.0o0 asked for next years running expenses. the chiei item is that of $50,0o0.ooo to pay the annual interest on the citys debt which now amounts to about s6oo.000,000.
 In this connection 1t mas just been suggested by & high official that Cen tral Park, the city's chief playground might be sold to liquidate the indebt- edness.
 Legal opinion. however. has decided. that such a sale would De impossible. and so New York seems likely to con tinue to pay interest on the greatest municipal debt which tne world mas ever known.
 Next to this inte, ost enarse comes a demand of $35.000.000 for education, and the most important other items which make up this remarkable pue- get include $16.524,00o for police: ss so 63l,0O0 for strest cleaning; xS,23o'ooo for the fire department. and sS,1oe,ooe for public charities. The most signin. cant increase in all departments Is that which is asked for salaries anu amount to nearly $12.oo0,to0.
 Altogether it seems likely that py 1920 it will cost at least $1.O0O,00O a day to run New York City. thus ma king 1t the first municipality in the world to achieve such an enormous budget.
 Not since the fall of 1901. which marked the defeat of Richard Crocker.. has there been any such indication or an organized attempt to overcome the famous Tammany Hall organization as is promised for the local elections Tn October.
 The chief source of anti-Tammany activities this year is the Committee or One Hundred. but as in every year or municipal elections there are any num- Der of minor organizations. But in spite of all opposition Tammany Hall seems to resemble to a remarkable ex- tent Tennyson's brook. fin that while opposition may come and opposition may go 1t goes on forever.
 All sorts of bodies have been get ting together for the purpose of de- nouncing Tammany, and while the con demnation of the organization has been loud. even from such organizations as the Democratic Union the chances for the success of the famous institution whose emblem Is the tiger seems to be little affected.
 Aside from any question as to whe- ther or not Tammany Hall Is a desirable influence in city politics, To- cal political leader has summed up the possibilities of It's defeat this fall by the paradoxical statement that it's strength lies in the number of its ene- mics. That this Is true. however. can scarcely be doubted after an analysis of the many Tammahy victories, to which the lack of unity of purpose among it's enemies has been a largely contributing factor.
 Whether this condition will be re- peated this year remains to be seen. but 1t Is nevertheless an undeniable fact that the nti-Tammany forces this fall seem 10 be more active than ever before. As a result. New York Is looking forward to one of the liveli- est elections in it's history.
 As result of the installation of the largest organ in the world. with one exception. guests at the official banquet of the Hudson-Fulton celebra- tion at the Hotel Astor ~Wednes- day will be able for the first time on record literally to walk in music.
 So tremendous is the organ which has been installed in the new grand ball room of the hotel in which the possible for guests to walk around in the air chests from which the pipes. varying in length from thirty-two feet 10 the fraction of an inch. receive their pressure. As this may be done while the organ is playing, persons investi- gating the pressure boxes while a tune is in progress. will be actually walking on musical airs.
 The size as well as the intricacy of this remarkable organ, far surpassing in detailed mechanism anything with
 
 acquainted, may be better understood from it's construction details.
 Not less than 139 cables. containing from thirty-two to 160 wires each are used for the transmission of the necessary electrical power. More than 1.640 electro magnets will also be used. to say nothing of 119 miles of i'm sulated wire.
 All the working parts of the organ will be concealed so that the guests who celebrate the achievements of Hudson and Fulton next week will do So to strains which are marking a musical achievement in hotel advance ment almost as great as were the &C., complishments of the two great dis coverers whose conquests they will commemorate.
 With the homeward rush from Europe at its full height and from fifteen to twenty thousand returning travellers arriving in New York every week. the customs examination of bag gage has been made more inquisltorial than ever before.
 It is estimated that no less than 1.00O. 100000 cuss words have been launched at this feature of Uncle Sam's system of collecting revenue by exasperated travellers who have been subjected to delays and tndignities by the operations of the marine police" as somebody has dubbed Collector Loeb's force of examiners.
 As a result of the increased rigidity of the examination of trunks and other baggage and the thousands of separate parcels brought in by every liner It frequently happens that several hun dred persons are held upon the piers for five or six hours after landing.