The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-19
DR. BARRETT GIVES RESUME OF C|TY'S WORK
In Address to Board of Com miSsionerS He Invites Atten- ton to Constructive Work
 of the Administration

city commission, formally presented the auditors report on the examina ton of the city's books. which has just been completed, at a meeting of the commissioners held yesterday at 1 o'clock.
 Dr. Barrett said, in part:
 While this report deals fully and in detail with the financial operations of the city for the last fiscal year, there is one outstanding item that should not only cause intense gratifi- cation to you gentlemen, but to the citizens of our city equally as well. I refer to that particular part of the report which shows that the deficit with which we have contended for the past three years has been entirely wiped out leaving a balance in the current ledger of $6514~e1
 HARD TASK
 "As you gentlemen recall, the end of the fiscal year of 1917 showed a cur rent ledger deficit of $207,071. You were then confronted not only of op- erating your departments within your budget and the city's income but also with the apparently impossible task of reduced this deficit to the sum of we were in the midst of the World war confronted with conditions and prob lems other administration was ever before called upon to solvey with equipment, supplies and labor doubling and trebling in price and difficult to secure you not only lived within your income for tle fiscal year of 1918. but reduced this deficit to the sums of S165, 97S.S9. The fiscal year ending September 30, 1919, this deficit was further reduced to the sum of $S4.- o73,65; and the past fiscal year, as be- fore stated, showed the entire elimi- nation of this deficit. Your expendi- lures for the past fiscal year were $40,5SS.66 less than income.
 T deem it but proper to state that while you have given your best thought and efforts to the final wip- ing out of this burdensome deficit, you have maintained your departments in- tact and have done effective work as the following facts will show.
 PAVING
 Although labor and material were practically unattainable, you, laid 100,- 900 square yards of permanent street paving, 1000 square yards of macadam, 12,00O square yards of gutter paving, and six miles of sanitary sewers. You installed 107 street lights and 35 fire hydrants.
 You built the Acipco. public school at cost of $75,0o0, added a s40,O addition to the Pratt City public school and have started actual construction on the Central High schcool and the Woodlawn High school to cost, when finally completed, $1.700,000.
 You are now acquiring the neces- sary properties for the construction of modern municipal auditorium and there is every prospect that this struc- ture will be completed dudring the coming year
 You, are now installing a modern and complete fire alarm system and constructing new central fire station at cost of approximately $10O000; ana nave purchased and installed 10 pieces of the most modern motor driven fire fighting apparatus, placing two of these at Ensley one at Vivian, one at Norwood, one at Woodlawn, one al Fouhta1n Heights, one at No. sta ton, and water tower, aerial ladder and service truck for the downtown business section. We have every as surance that when the central fire sta tlon ana lire alarm system is com pleted, insurance rates will be reduced saving hundreds of thousands of dol lars to property owners.
 PLAYGROUND SYSTEM
 You revived the playground system throughout the entire city and have purchased additional parks and pJav grouiias at Woodlawn and ,Shadyside ow III hiing pools are under construc- tlon al North Birmingham and EnsIev III Iurtherances of the city's welfare work, you created a municipal emnIov~ ment bureau for the purpose of no. only securing employment for the citv's unemployed and to protect them from VICIOUS system of emplovn,.,t agencies which sprang up during tbe acute labor shortage, but to card in aeA that class of parasites which toile1 nor spun not and compel them to seek oapioyine i. This bureau has secured eHlpioyment for 5,49S men and women
 The department of relief and correc- ton relieved with food clothinp bo,,s. ing and medicine and other means IT. 612, expending $34,22S.
 Tn lsl7 the pay of firemen. anq polcemen was $50 minimum and pay maxlmum per month. This has been ihReased to a minimum of $11O and maximum of $125 per month. In addi- ton to this, the firemen at that time were compelled 10 work the full 24 nours as a days work. This you re- duced by 12 hours. You also provided hospital and medical attention to tbose injured in the discharge of duty and carried on pay roll~ until returned to duty.
 HEALTH WORK
 statistics compiled by the depart- ment of health disclose the gratifying fact that while in 1917 ouy typhoid rate was the largest of any city in the coun- try, our percentage being 65.61, it had dropped in 1920 to the small percentage of ll.22. being as low as that of any city in the United States with a population equal to our own. The number of cases of typhoid reported in 1917 was 719 and IDS deaths, and in 1920. 100 cases and 20 deaths.
 Under your administration, the pub lie schools have secured sound and per manent financial relief. In 1917 the ap- propriation to the public schools was S530,000. The appropriation for the current fiscal year is $1,340,000. You II \ n "