The chronicle=news., 1912-11-23

New York. Nov. a3.--Thc public
debt OF New York City is now great
ar than tn. national debt Of the
whole United States according Ia
figures Just compiled here by tho
Merchants association. According
to them. Father Knickerbockcr now
owes $l.O37 100000 or "a few mil.
lion dollars more than the sum for
which Uncc Sam Is liable. thus max
ing this city the first billion dollar
debt municipality In the country.
Just what this swollen Indebtedness
actually means is better Indicated by
the fact that New York now owes
more than five times as much as Chi
cago. Philadelphia aud Bostcn com
hincd, Grca, ms Is this debt thcs.
interesting figures indicate that the
development OF the city II even more
remarkable. The daily average of
new buildings completed and put
into use Is now 30. or one new build
Ing IN approximately every fifiy min
utcs. As the avcraH. number OF
persons which each Of these build
borhood Of :a. this means that every
month accommodations sufficient
TO house the population OF town
oi more than $4,000 inhabitants ar.
CONSTRUCTED here. New business
however Is In advance even OF tn.
rccord-brcakinE figures for new
buildings as the figures show that
there is u ncw business corporation
every forty minutes. More rapid still
is 'h" Increase Of population since
the stork brings now New Yorker
cvcy six minutes. or manufacture
crs this novel census Indicates that
there are :6.o0O who produce an
nually more than $2.OOO. 100000
worth of goods. In contrast to these
remarkable figures OF development
there are still more than $1,000
acres OF vacant land In the city. a
fact On which statisticians base their
prediction that New York's municip-
n sfaieih,eer6dinesss i,e diesss xk'im II rttttnnfis rearm
the 35.o0O.O00.OOO mark. or five
times tho indemnity paid by France
to Germany ms the result OF the
Probably one OF the most surpris-
Ing bits OF news which has come to
this country from England In many
to have free farms. Coming from
country where land rents for years
have been n bone OF contention, the
announcement Is all the more sur
prisig. even though this novel move
10 not n general one hut Is initiated
only by single large land holder.
Sir Fortcscue Flanncry by name. Ac-
cording to the report brought over.
Sir Fortescuc has announced that on
his large Essex estate he will charge
no rent for any portion OF his land
which his tenants plant to sugar
bects. Whether or not this IL the
result of the anti-German feeling in
England about which 80 much has
been heard lately is not reported. but
students OF international relations
here are inclined to think Il n de-
tensivc move in this connection. Not
only does Germany produce all her
own sugar from the beet. with n sur
plus for export amounting to $6O.-
100000 annually. they point out,
while England IL dependent for her
supply on foreign countries. but the
crops secured by the use OF the sugar
beet in rotation in the land of the
Kaiser are double those where the
beet is not used. Gcrmany's success
in securing great yields is now ack-
nowlcdgcd to be due to the cultiva-
ton of the beet and as the factor of
food supply is always important in
the case of war. this step to encour-
age the use of the beet In England
is regarded in some quarters as hav-
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