Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/511

BALTIMORE. Wilmington and Baltimore to Philadelphia and the north and east. The Western Maryland Railroad, constructed largely through municipal aid, and extending in one direction through the fertile valley of the Shenandoah, and in another into the rich Cumberland Valley, has recently been acquired by the extensive Wabash system and made possible another great trunk line connection.

Regular communication between Baltimore and foreign ports is afforded by the North German Lloyd to Bremen, the Neptune Line to Rotterdam, the Atlantic Transport Line to London, and a number of other lines offering frequent service. The city is the largest corn exporting port in the United States. Other important articles of local export are wheat, flour, cotton, tobacco, copper, and coal. Importing activity centres about iron ore, bananas, pineapples, cocoanuts, sugar, and general merchandise.

The manufacturing enterprises of Baltimore are most varied, scarcely a single important industry being unrepresented. It is the largest manufacturing centre in the United States for ready-made clothing, shirts, fertilizers, straw goods, cotton duck, fruit canning, and oyster packing, while in other important fields its operations are of absolutely greater magnitude. The shipbuilding industry of Baltimore has recently undergone marked development. Sparrow's Point, with its great steel plant, Curtiss Bay, Locust Point, and Woodberry are busy industrial centres.

The closer proximity of Baltimore, by several hundred miles, to the great cotton belt of the South, to the grain-growing sections of the West, and to the wood, coal, and iron wealth of the interior, affords cheap and easy access to the raw materials of industry. The proximity of a rich and productive country, the low cost of water transportation, and the economy of domestic distribution through municipal markets, render the cost of living in Baltimore much less than in many cities of smaller size. The largest of these markets, Lexington, when in full activity, is one of the characteristic sights of the city.

. The Original municipal charter, granted in 1796 and repeatedly amended and modified, was replaced in 1898 by a modern reform instrument of government. Under its provisions the government of the city is vested in a Mayor, who holds office for four years, a bicameral city council, and various administrative departments, boards, and commissions. The municipal officials, with the exception of the city register and printer (elected by the city council), and the comptroller, surveyor, and president of the second branch of the city council (elected by popular vote), are appointed by the Mayor, with the consent of the higher branch of the city council. The Mayor, comptroller, city register, and president of the higher branch of the city council constitute a board of estimates, exercising essential control of municipal finances. The board of awards is of similar composition, with the register substituted for the city engineer. The Mayor, comptroller, register, and two other persons appointed by the Mayor serve as commissioners of finance in the administration of the municipal debt.

Baltimore spends annually, in maintenance and operation, about $9,500,000, the principal items

of expense being: police department, $1,000,000; charity and corrections, $337,049; street lighting, $325,000; fire department, $550,000; parks and squares, $388,911; schools, $1,500,000; interest on debt, $1,000,000. The waterworks, representing a total construction expenditure of nearly $15,000,000, are owned and operated by the city. The entire system now includes some 634 miles of mains and nine reservoirs. The city has a gross bonded debt of about $40,000,000, and the assessed valuation of property, real, personal, and corporate, is $440,000,000. The city parks are maintained by a franchise tax upon the receipts of the street railways.

. The twelfth census (1900) of the United States gives the total population of Baltimore as 508,957, divided into 105,584 families, occupying 89,442 dwellings. Of this number 243,280 are males and 265,677 are females; 440,357 are native born and 68,600 are foreign born. The total number of whites is 429,218, and of colored 79,739. Of the whites 361,278 are native born, 67,940 are foreign; 236,053 of the native whites have native parents and 125,225 have foreign parents. The total illiterate population ten years old and over is 29,148, of whom 12,111 are white and 17,037 are colored.

The foundation of Baltimore is associated with the emergence of the proprietary Government of Maryland from an era of troublous times toward the close of the first quarter of the Eighteenth Century. With the expansion of commerce and the increase of population, it was not long before the need of a port near the head of Chesapeake Bay began to be felt. Attention was directed to a remarkable site on the north side of the Patapsco River, 14 miles from the waters of the bay, offering easy access and safe harbor to vessels of large size. On July 14, 1729, a petition was presented to the Provincial Assembly praying for the erection of a town at this point, and three weeks later a bill to this effect was passed.

The early life of the settlement was a race for supremacy in trade with older towns of the province, in which Baltimore slowly but surely forged ahead. The history of the city immediately before and during the Revolutionary War forms a familiar chapter in our national history. From Baltimore largely came the zeal and energy with which Maryland entered into the War of Independence, and which has made the valor of the Maryland Line immortal. The events of the war interrupted foreign commerce and cut off all continental supplies; but it stimulated local manufactures and shipping thereafter. Local merchants engaged extensively in the world's carrying trade, and ‘Baltimore clippers’ became famous. During the War of 1812 the city was attacked by land and water, but successfully defended in each case. During the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, while detained on board a British vessel, composed the national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.” The introduction of new industrial methods succeeded the reactionary depression following the War of 1812. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad were projected and carried forward by local enterprise. The first telegraph line in the United States was constructed between Washington and Baltimore. Industry, trade, and commerce suffered heavily from the events of the Civil War.