Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/772

 738 PHILADELPHIA ings are the Masonic Temple, the Ridgway branch of the Philadelphia library, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. There are also very many beautiful churches. The two newest build ings of magnitude are the new United States post-office, at the corner of Ninth and Chestnut streets, which is just completed (1884) at a cost of 18,000,000, and the new municipal buildings for the city of Philadelphia at the intersection of Broad and Market streets, which are in course of construction. The post-office, which is Roman esque, is of granite, and was more than ten years in building, from October 1873 to March 1884. It has a frontage of 425 feet, a depth of 175 feet, and a height of 164 feet. The carrier delivery of the Philadelphia post- office covers the greatest territory of any city in the world, excepting London ; it employs 900 men, of whom 448 are letter-carriers. The annual sales of stamps amount to 31,600,000. About half a million of letters, &c., pass through the post-office each day. The new public build ings, as they are called, or city-hall, were begun in August 1871, and when completed will be the largest single build ing in America. It covers an area, including courtyards, of nearly 4| acres, the dimensions being 470 feet east and west and 486 feet north and south. The building will contain 520 rooms, and the topmost point of the dome, on the tower, will be 537 feet 4 inches above the courtyard, or the highest artificial construction in the world. The ex terior structure is now roofed in and completed, with the exception of the tower. The total amount expended on this building to 31st December 1883 was $9,731,488-81, and the estimated total cost is 13,000,000. The archi tecture is rather rococo in character. Population. -Previous to the census of 1830 Philadel phia was the most populous American city, but since then New York has taken the first place. In 1683 it was esti mated that Philadelphia had 80 houses and 500 inhabitants. The next .year the population increased 2000, and by the beginning of the last century there were 700 dwelling- houses and 4500 people. In 1800 there Avere 9868 dwell ings and 81,009 inhabitants, and in 1820, the last census when Philadelphia stood first, she had a population of 119,325. By the census of 1880 the population of the city is placed at 847,170 (males 405,989, females 441,181), while in 1870 it was 674,022, and in 1860 565,529. About one- third of the population in 1880 were foreign born. In 1883 there were 21,237 births, of which 11,102 were males and 10,135 females. The number of emigrants landed in the year at Philadelphia was 23,473, of whom 13,899 were males and 9574 females, a decrease of 9778 from 1882. Of these emigrants 7304 were from England, 6023 from Ireland, 5232 from Sweden and Norway, and 2991 from Germany. The mayor of Philadelphia in his annual message to councils in April 1884 places the popu lation of the city at 1,023,000, while the Board of Health estimate it at 907,041. The death-rate of the city in 1883 was 22 13 per thousand. By the census of 1880 41 per cent, of the population were engaged in gainful occupa tions. In 1884 there were in Philadelphia 1294 lawyers and 1637 physicians. The city has 622 places of worship, viz., Baptist 83, Hebrew 11, Lutheran 32, Methodist 131, Moravian 5, Presbyterian 110, Protestant Episcopal 96, Quaker 15, Reformed Dutch 20, Reformed Episcopal 10, Roman Catholic 47, Swedenborgian 3, Unitarian 3, Uni- versalist 4, and 52 among 23 other different denomina tions. There are 53 cemeteries and burial-grounds in the city. Municipal Government. By Penn s charter of 25th October 1701 Philadelphia was first created a borough city with a government of its own, separate from that of the province and county. Under this charter, with many modifications, the city was governed until the Act of the legislature of the State incorporating the city was passed, llth March 1789. This is the fundamental law governing the city to-day, but with such changes as have become necessary by the altered condition of affairs and the development of the entire country. The most important change was the Consolidation Act of 2d February 1854, already mentioned, whereby the old county of Philadelphia became the city of Philadelphia, the county of Phila delphia being at the same time continued as one of the counties of the State. The city is divided territorially and politically into thirty- one wards, and is governed by a mayor, elected by the people for three years, and by two bodies, called the select and common council. The upper branch is composed of one member from each ward elected for three years, who must have attained the age of twenty-five years and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State for four years next before his election, and the last year thereof an inhabitant of the ward for which he shall be chosen. Each ward has a member of common council, elected for two years, for every 2000 taxable inhabitants ; he must be twenty -one years of age and have the other qualifications required for the upper body. The mayor is the executive head of the city and the councils are the law-making power. The mayor has the right of veto upon the acts of the councils. Councils in joint meeting appoint all heads of depart ments not elected, establish the rate at which all taxes shall be levied that are authorized by law, and fix the salaries of all muni cipal officers elected by the people, as well as those they appoint. The city can make no binding contract or incur any debt unless authorized by law or ordinance and an appropriation sufficient to pay the same be previously made by councils. The sanitary care of the city is vested in a board of health composed of nine members appointed by the judges of the Courts of Common Picas of the county, who have charge of the sanitary condition of the city and citizens. Among the duties of the board is that of keeping an ac curate record of all births, marriages, and deaths. The poor of the city are under the charge of a board of twelve guardians elected by councils. These several bodies, councils, board of health, and guardians of the poor all serve without pecuniary compensation. Edward Shippen was named in the charter of 1701 as first mayor of the city. The last mayor under the English crown was Samuel Powel, elected 3d October 1775, and he was also the first mayor under the United States, being re-elected 13th April 1789. During the interim of the Revolutionary War the municipal government was suspended, and the affairs of the city were carried on by the councils of safety and other local bodies. Police, Fire, Water. The mayor is the nominal head of the police of the city, and all the appointments and removals are in his hands. The force consists of 1415 men, of whom 1225 are patrolmen. There are four captains and one chief of police ; and the fire marshal is attached to the police department. The number of arrests made in 1883 was 45,612, and the number of commitments to the county prison 23,245. The fire department is governed by a board of fire commissioners elected by councils, and consists of a chief engineer, six assistant engineers, and four hundred men. They are divided into twenty- nine steam-engine companies and five hook and ladder companies, with the addition of hose and hose-carriage to each. In 1883 there were 804 fires. The largest portion of Philadelphia is supplied with water from the Schuylkill, and it was in great part for the preservation of the purity of this water-supply that Fairmount Park was created. The park has not, however, served its purpose in this respect, and the water supplied to the city is most impure. The supply also is hardly adequate to the demand, and many other sources have been suggested. The capacity of the present waterworks allows a daily average pumpage of 90,000,000 gallons, and the seven reservoirs have a total capacity of 191,224,560 gallons. The total number of gallons of water pumped in 1883 was 25,182,775,641, or a daily average of about 69,000,000. There are 78 4 miles of pipe under ground to supply at least 170,000 buildings, of which 151,096 are (January 1884) dwelling-houses. The dwellings are charged for water according to the number and character of appliances in use, irrespective of the amount of water used or the number of the occupants of the house. The streets have a number of fountains, erected by the Philadelphia Fountain Society, for the use of horses, dogs, and men ; and there are also 5752 hydrants for the use of the fire department ; but these are wholly insufficient to protect the city. Finances. On 1st January 1884 the funded debt of the city of Philadelphia-was $66, 365, 591 24, and the floating debt 689, 355 36 or a total indebtedness of $67, 054, 946 60. The city assets at the same period were $28,096,394 75, so that the excess over assets was $38,958,551-85. This is a reduction of the city s debt from its highest point, 1st January 1880, when it amounted to $72,264,59576. The assessed valuation of real estate in the city of Philadelphia, 1st January 1884, was $583,613,683, and the annual tax for the year amounted to $10,383,381-84. In 1883 the receipts from all sources for municipal purposes were $13,632,842-38. The various trust funds of the city are under the control of a board of directors of city trusts, composed of twelve prominent citizens appointed by the judges of the Courts of Common Pleas. The board has charge of the