Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/534

NEW ORLEANS. its fine monuments, the tomb of the Army of Tennessee, surmounted by the splendid equestrian statute of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. As it is not possible in New Orleans to dig much below the surface without finding water, the curious custom prevails of burying in vaults, or ‘ovens,’ rising in tiers sometimes eight feet above the ground line. Jews, however, bury beneath the ground, as do some of the poorer classes. On All Saints' Day (November 1st), which is a general holiday in the city, the Catholics visit the cemeteries and decorate the tombs of the dead.

While New Orleans has no such enormous libraries as are found in some of the Northern cities, it is fortunate in possessing several of importance. Among the smaller ones of a quasi-public character should be mentioned those owned by the Jesuits' College, the Tulane Medical College, the Parish Medical Society, the New Orleans Bar Association, and the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College. The larger libraries are the State Library, with about 25,000 volumes; the Tilton Memorial Library of Tulane University, with 20,000 volumes and 2000 pamphlets; the Howard Memorial, with 45,000 volumes and 12,000 pamphlets; and the New Orleans Public Library, with 52,000 catalogued and 10,000 uncatalogued books. The Howard Memorial, which is privately endowed, is a reference library, and has perhaps the best collection in the world of books concerning the history of the Mississippi Valley. The Public Library, embracing the former Fisk and Lyceum libraries, has an increasing circulation, amounting in 1902 to 110,000 volumes. There are also in the city three private libraries containing valuable collections of original documents on American history. In the Howard Memorial Hall are a number of interesting relics of the Civil War. Andrew Carnegie offered the city $250,000 to erect a new library building with branches, and the offer has been accepted.

The city is rich in such institutions. The principal one is the Charity Hospital, built in 1832. It treats about 5000 patients every year, without charge. It receives from the State .$05,000 annually, with additional sums for improvement of buildings, etc., and is controlled by a board appointed by the Governor. The city supports a home for aged and infirm, a house of refuge for boys, and an insane asylum. There is also an eye, ear, nose, and throat hospital, maintained by private contributions. The Jews have several well-organized charitable institutions, among which the principal are the Jewish Orphans' Home and the Home for Aged and Infirm Jews. The Touro Infirmary, endowed by a wealthy Hebrew philanthropist, has a free clinic, where the poor of all sects are treated. The Catholics have the most numerous charitable institutions under their control. The most prominent are the Poydras Asylum, the New Orleans Female Orphan Asylum, Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum, and the House of the Good Shepherd. There are also for colored people a Boys' Home and a Home for the Aged, founded by a colored philanthropist. Of recent foundation is the Kingsley House, modeled after the famous Hull House of Chicago. It is supported by private subscriptions. Finally, the Charity Organization Society has undertaken to organize the many charities of the city, and by the careful investigation of its agents to prevent pauperization.

The organization of the public school system is thorough and complete. A large number of the handsome schoolhouses of the city were built from the income of a fund given by a former citizen. John McDonogh, which now amounts to about $800,000. The city makes such appropriations for the public schools as it thinks proper, but it cannot appropriate less than eight-tenths of a mill for any one year. Besides this appropriation it receives its share of the current school fund collected by the State. There are no ‘mixed’ schools. The number of public schools for whites is 61, and for negroes 12. The number of teachers is 800 white and colored. The total enrollment for 1902 was 31,205, of whom 26,133 were white and 5072 were colored. The public school system consists of one normal, three high, 68 grammar and primary, 18 kindergarten, one teachers' practice school, and one teachers' kindergarten training school. These schools occupy 69 buildings, 32 of which were erected by the city, 28 by the commissioners of the McDonogh fund, and two donated. The total cost of maintaining the schools per annum is $510,573. The estimated expenditure for each pupil is $16.36. Free instruction is also given to young children by six kindergartens, supported partly by churches and partly by private funds. The number of private schools in the city is 145 for whites and 14 for negroes. Among the most prominent colleges may be mentioned the College of the Immaculate Conception (established by the Jesuit Fathers in 1847); the Soulé Commercial and Literary Institute (established 1850); Spencer's Business College and Institute of Shorthand (established 1897); the Blake Institute; and the Home Institute (established in 1883). The last-named institution, besides its regular work, conducts a free night school, in which instruction is given to nearly 1300 men and boys. For the education of the colored youth there are four universities, or more properly colleges: Leland University (1870), Straight University (1870), New Orleans University (1873), and the Southern University (1881). Only the last of these is supported by the funds of the State. For the whites there is only one university, the of Louisiana (q.v.), with the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College for Women.

New Orleans is famous for its French opera. For forty years before the Civil War troupes were brought over from France to furnish this entertainment, and with brief intervals the custom has prevailed ever since. Such is the passion for music and singing, especially among the Creoles, that even in times of great financial depression the city has managed by private subscription to support these foreign companies. No other city in the Union has shown equal enthusiasm. Thousands of visitors are attracted to the city during the winter season by the opera; but a still greater attraction for many years has been the Carnival celebration. As early as 1840 tableaux on floats were drawn through the streets, and, except during the Civil War, the custom has continued to the present day. These superb pageants are now given by four secret organizations—Momus, Proteus, Rex, and Comus—and each is followed at night by a gorgeous ball. Other secret organizations have sprung into being of late years, and the series of masked balls now extends with brief intervals from Twelfth Night