more complete reports. Of these, 13,596, or 76.8 per cent, were on grade, the corresponding percentage for 1905 having been 78.7. In the cities of Group I, 61.1 per cent were on grade as compared with 65.7 per cent in 1905; in those of Group II, 82.5 per cent as compared with 79.9 per cent in 1905; in those of Group III, 83.2 per cent as compared with 85.7 per cent in 1905; and in those of Group IV, 91.6 per cent as compared with 91.4 per cent in 1905. The most populous cities, therefore, show not only the greatest progress, but the greatest rate of progress in the elimination of grade crossings.

TABLE 60.

Payments for selected highway expenses and for highway outlays. The total highway expenses for each city, as shown in Table 5, omitting those for snow and ice removal, street sprinkling, and miscellaneous purposes, and so including only those for supervision and for repairs, are reported in the first two columns of Table 60, the annual average for the five years from 1903 to 1907, inclusive, being compared with the expense for 1907; the next two columns show the total outlays for highway construction and renewal, the annual average for the same period being compared with the outlays for 1907. The following six columns show the total expenses, total outlays, and total expenses and outlays combined per capita for 1907 and the annual average per capita for the five years from 1903 to 1907. The last six columns show the total expenses, total outlays, and total expenses and outlays combined per 100 square yards of improved streets, and the annual average per 100 square yards of improved streets for the three years 1903, 1905, and 1907, the annual averages for these three years differing in most cases from those for the five years from 1903 to 1907, being in the majority of cases smaller.

An examination of the table will show that the variation between the expenses and outlays reported for the different groups of cities for 1907 and the annual averages with which these payments are compared is uniformly in the same direction, whether the comparison related to total payments, payments per capita, or payments per unit of area. Whichever basis of comparison is employed, the outlays for 1907 exceed the annual average with which they are compared for each group of cities; the expenses for 1907 exceed the annual average for the cities of Group I, but are smaller for each of the other groups; while in the case of expenses and outlays combined the difference is in the same direction as for outlays alone. The exception which the cities of Group I constitute to the tendency which is shown in the case of the other three groups for the expenses of 1907 to be smaller than the average with which they are compared, does not result from the preponderating influence of a single city, for it would not be considerably altered were New York excluded. It

is an accompaniment, apparently, of more moderate increases proportionately in payments for outlays; for while the cities of Group I, with increased expenses in 1907, showed per capita outlays in that year but 1.5 per cent higher than the five-year average, the corresponding percentage for those of Group II was 93; for those of Group III, 58; and for those of Group IV, 34. There is here a suggestion of varying municipal policy in the care of highways, according to which some cities spend comparatively large amounts from year to year for repairs, while others make fewer repairs, allowing damage to accumulate until resurfacing is required, this being denominated "renewals" and treated as outlays. Perhaps also the precise distinction between expenses and outlays has not been strictly observed in all cases, the same work appearing as an "expense" in one city and an "outlay" in another. These uncertainties, joined with the irregularities in group averages of which the high figures for outlays in Group II, resulting from extraordinarily extensive improvements in Seattle, furnish a striking example-render it impracticable to decide whether per capita expenses or outlays for highways increase or decrease with population. The relation appears, allowing for the country road payments included in Group I, approximately constant. On the other hand, the average outlays, as well as the average expenses, per 100 square yards of improved streets, clearly increases with population, as appears by the excess shown for the cities of Group I as compared with the other groups, indicating that either class of expenditure varies according to population rather than according to the street area of the respective cities.

TABLE 61.

Street cleaning.-That the cities for which data are annually reported by the Bureau of the Census are giving more attention than formerly to records of their street cleaning operations is clearly shown by a comparison of Table 61 for 1907 with Table 40 for 1905, a part of which presents the corresponding data secured for that year. The form of this presentation has been changed in some particulars. Table 61 shows the areas cleaned by hand, by machine, and by flushing, under subheads indicating the number of times per week the different methods were applied to stated areas. It also shows payments for the average expenses of street cleaning per 1,000 square yards subject to regular cleaning, per 1,000,000 square yards cleaned, and per capita. The data obtained, however, are not entirely comparable in all cases.

TABLE 62.

Street sprinkling.-Table 62 presents data concerning the street sprinkling done by the cities, either directly by their departments or by contract, and by private parties, and shows the number of employees and the areas sprinkled under each of these systems.

This report is far from complete, because in many cities property owners make their own arrangements for street sprinkling, the cities having no detailed record of the work done.

Some of the apparent irregularities in this table are explained by conditions peculiar to the individual city in respect to street sprinkling arrangements. In Baltimore, for example, the city sprinkles the entrances of parks only, while the streets are sprinkled by the street railway company by means of car sprinklers. The system of sprinkling by street cars prevails in a number of other cities. In addition to the area reported for Chicago, there are more than 50 private associations making contracts with individuals for sprinkling, from which no statements could be secured.

The plan of using oil to lay the dust, which has been inaugurated in the parks of several cities in recent years, is reported as being successfully applied to streets to a limited extent. For Kansas City, Mo., it was reported that the entire system of parkways and boulevards was oiled in 1907 by the city park board. There were two applications of oil on 375,415 square yards, and one application on 259,730 square yards. In New Bedford, Mass., the city, as an experiment, made one application of an oil preparation on an area In San Francisco of 63,117 square yards of streets. the driveways in Golden Gate Park were oiled; and in Chicago many boulevards and park roads were oiled macadam.

The method of sprinkling employed in the cities reporting the same, exclusive of the large amount of sprinkling done by private arrangement, is here reported by groups of cities:

TABLE XLV.-Number of cities, by groups, reporting agencies for street sprinkling: 1907.

not included. There are some factors which enter into the expense of sprinkling which materially affect the result, as shown by the computed expense per square yard. Thus, in some cities not having municipal waterworks systems, the payments for water greatly increase the reported expense. Furthermore, the financial reports in a number of cities include expenses for sprinkling with highway expenditures in such a way that at best only a partial segregation is possible. In many cases no accurate figures for sprinkling can be secured. The sprinkling by street cars also tends to lessen the expense.

The table shows a number of pronounced variations in the relation between the areas sprinkled and the number of men employed. Some of the most marked are shown in the following statement:

TABLE XLVI.-Number of men employed in street sprinkling and area sprinkled in specified cities: 1907.

Street lighting.-The scope of this inquiry was extended in 1907 to include the price per year for lamps and lights, and a statement of the total and per capita expense of street lighting, and the expense of lighting per acre of land area in the city. In a few of the larger cities where the parking and boulevard systems have independent lighting equipment their lights were considered as forming a part of the street lighting system. In Table 41 will be found data relating to the and gas electric lighting plants operated by cities for street lighting purposes. It is impossible to determine the | relative efficiency of the lighting systems of different cities merely by comparing the number of street lights in each, owing to the great diversity of conditions which exists. The expense of such systems can be compared, however, with some degree of accuracy by reference to the statements of per capita expense and expense of light per acre of land area.

The rate per light per year is governed largely by local conditions. In some instances the lighting companies install a specified style of supports for the lamps, or keep their wires underground, or perform some other service which affects the yearly rate

charged the city. The rate for gas lighting is affected by the cost of coal and labor in the cities. Sometimes the city pays the expense of lighting the lamps, and in other cities these expenses are included as a part of the contract covered by the yearly rate. The yearly rates per light are, however, of interest regardless of the minor fluctuations caused by the conditions mentioned. In using the yearly rates for lights as the basis in comparing the payments of one city with those of another, it would be well to know the rates paid by private consumers in these cities. It is possible that in some of the cities enjoying low rates for street lighting more than the average rate is charged for private lighting, the city being allowed a low rate for its street lighting as partial compensation for the franchise, and private consumers being charged a rate higher than would otherwise prevail. The rates charged private consumers are not available for the purpose of demonstrating to what extent this system prevails, but they are essential to an exact statement of the relative merits of the lighting systems of different cities.

Some cities have a system of lighting the business districts which is particularly effective, the credit for which is due to the local merchants, who realize the advertising possibilities of the plan in addition to its utilitarian advantages. Under this arrangement clusters of three and four inclosed incandescent electric lights are installed upon heavy pedestals 8 to 10 feet in height, which are established three and four to the block on each side of the street in the business section of the city. The first city to install this system was Los Angeles, and since then Minneapolis and St. Paul have adopted it and other progressive cities have it under consideration.

The following table indicates the number of cities which in 1907 had lights of the kind indicated:

TABLE XLVII.-Number of cities, by groups, using specified kinds of street lights: 1907.

Of the 5 additional cities reported for 1907, all used arc lights and 3 reported incandescent lights. The statement here given indicates that flat flame gas and vapor and oil lights are being superseded by the other styles. All the cities had arc lights and there was a net increase of 14 in the number using incandescents. There was an increase of 6 in the number of cities using Welsbach lights. An even better comparison is a table giving the total number of lights for the 154 cities reporting in both 1905 and 1907:

TABLE XLVIII.-Number of street lights of specified kinds in 154 cities: 1907 and 1905.

Average number of street lights to 100 miles of streets.— In Table 64, which is supplemental to Table 63, the average number of specified kinds of street lights to 100 miles of improved and unimproved streets is shown. The street mileage of the cities will be found in Table 59. Owing to the great length of their unimproved streets, the average number of lights to 100 miles of streets is very small in some cities. Of the cities using Welsbach lights, largely in the residence districts, Boston leads in the number used in proportion to street mileage, followed by Washington, St. Louis, Cleveland, New York, and Baltimore.

TABLE 65.

Municipal almshouses and hospitals.-Only almshouses and hospitals controlled by the municipalities are considered in compiling this table. Since the county system of poor relief prevails in many states, a number of the cities reported no almshouses, while others show a comparatively small number of patients in proportion to population. All institutions for the care of indigent poor, regardless of the local designation of such institutions, are here reported as almshouses. The average number of patients during the year has been reported for the almshouses, while for the general and contagious disease hospitals the total number of patients treated during the year has been reported.

TABLES 66 AND 67.

Public libraries and school libraries.-The Bureau of the Census has not collected statistics on libraries since those presented for 1903, but during 1908 the Bureau of Education prepared an exhaustive report on public, society, and school libraries containing 5,000 volumes and over. Through the courtesy of that

bureau, statistics on public libraries and on school libraries in cities of over 30,000 population are presented in Tables 66 and 67 of this report. These tables are limited to those libraries which are supported in whole or in part by the city governments, thus excluding all society libraries and such public libraries as are wholly maintained by individual subscriptions or by income from endowments not under city control. In preparing Tables 66 and 67 the object has been to present data showing the library facilities supplied by the city governments and to correlate these tables with the others presented in this report. The Bureau of Education's report on libraries is limited to those having 5,000 volumes or over, and but little effort was made to obtain data from the smaller libraries. Ir preparing Table 67 all available information on school libraries was used by the Bureau of the Census, regardless of whether the library had more or less than 5,000 volumes.

TABLE 68.

Public parks and grounds.-This table differs from the corresponding table in the 1905 report in distinguishing "parks" which are maintained by the city or other division of government as places of recreation from all other governmental grounds and from privately owned parks and grounds which may be used by the public. The absence of an exact terminology for parks and public grounds causes confusion of thought and makes the collection of reliable statistics difficult. Until a definite nomenclature is generally adopted by students of this subject, the Census Bureau will employ the word "parks" in referring to those grounds which are set apart and maintained for the sole purpose of providing, free of charge, a place for outdoor recreation for the general public. All other grounds which were reported as open to the public have been tabulated under the title "public grounds." This term is not wholly satisfactory, but is tentatively employed as a general title for those general recreation and ornamental grounds not coming within the classification of "parks" as here explained.

In connection with the area of public parks, a statement is given showing the percentage of the city's land area which is given over to parks. This includes only those public parks which are within the city limits, and does not include areas under "private ownership." The cities of Group I report, on the average, the highest percentages. Of the individual cities, those showing the highest figures are Lynn, Mass., 15.3 per cent; Rochester, N. Y., 11.9 per cent; and Boston, Mass., 10.4 per cent.

Included under the head of "public grounds inside city limits" are street railway parks, which in some cities compare in size and attractiveness with the city parks. For public grounds outside the city limits, which frequently are of greater extent than public grounds inside the city limits, no data are reported in Table 68. The grounds outside the city include military reservations, street railway amusement parks, parks operated by breweries, etc. The area of public grounds inside the city is the more important, since such grounds relieve the congestion and afford open air places to the most crowded portion of the city's population.

The mere statement of area, of course, does not indicate the improvements which are being made in the parks. Data regarding the cost of park maintenance and extensions are given in those parts of Tables 5, 9, 34, and 35 which relate to expenditures for recreation. The expenditures for acquiring additional lands and for beautifying the tracts already owned are being supplemented by expenditures for the entertainment and amusement of the public; for example, there have been established, as part of the park systems of the larger cities, athletic fields, bath houses, gymnasiums, and boating and skating ponds.

TABLE 69.

Playgrounds.-Playgrounds are maintained in 76 of the 158 cities covered by this investigation, the cities. in Group I, which have the greatest congestion of population, reporting the largest number. The playgrounds included in this report are limited to those equipped with special apparatus. In many of these cities the children are directed and instructed, in order that they may secure beneficial exercise from their games and contests. The average area of a playground for all cities was 3.7 acres, while for the four groups of cities the averages were 3.6, 6.3, 1.9, and 4 acres, respectively.

The largest number of playgrounds are those for public schools, while the greatest area is reported for the playgrounds situated in parks owned by the cities.

In many of the cities for which no supervisors of playgrounds are reported, supervision is vested in the park board or the school board. In Boston, for instance, 18 playgrounds are in charge of the school committee and 5 are under direction of the park depart

ment.

Out of 73 cities reporting, 12 have regulations that boys and girls shall play separately, 3 have such regu|lations for a part of their playgrounds, and 58 have

no such regulations. In 10 out of 72 cities reporting, the smaller and larger children are separated; in one city they are separated in certain playgrounds only; in one city only children under 12 years of age are admitted; and 60 cities have no such regulations. Kindergartners are employed in 21 out of 73 cities.

The city appropriations for playgrounds show an increase of 43.7 per cent for 1907 over 1906. An increase is reported by each group, except Group IV. The large increases for various cities are explained by the fact that the appropriations reported include provisions for outlays as well as for maintenance. In Washington, for example, $75,000 was expended in 1907 for the purchase of additional land for playgrounds. Private contributions for the maintenance of playgrounds and contributions of private associations toward the salaries of supervisors, directors, or leaders are of material assistance to the cities.

TABLE 70.

Baths, bathing beaches, and zoological parks and collections.-Table 70 shows the number of baths and bathing beaches, together with the attendance at the same, and the data gathered on zoological parks and collections. From 1905 to 1907 the reported number of bathing beaches increased from 44 to 53; swimming pools, from 56 to 61; and all-the-year baths, from 15 to 78; while the reported number of floating baths decreased from 47 to 39, and the number of gymnasiums from 52 to 48. These changes are doubtless due partly to differences in classification for the two years for which statistics are reported. The total bathing attendance increased from 19,158,562 in 1905 to 29,204,838 in 1907, an increase of 10,046,276, or 52.4 per cent. The number of cities reporting zoological parks increased from 42 in 1905 to 52 in 1907, but this increase is due partly to the fact that some parks were reported in 1907 which were omitted in 1905.

TABLE 71.

Building permits issued.—Table 71 shows separately the number of permits issued and the proposed expenditures for new buildings and for alterations and repairs. The figures here reported cover the fiscal year and thus vary somewhat from commercial figures based on the building operations for the calendar year. Owing to some variation in the method of reporting in a number of cities, and the lack of complete records in other cities, it is not possible to make accurate comparisons between all the municipalities included in this investigation. The following summary of building statistics is based upon the complete reports from 87 cities:

The decrease in the number of building permits issued in 1907 as compared with 1905 in the cities of Group I is due largely to the different method of reporting in New York for the two years. There were reported for New York 16,181 permits in 1905 and 9,696 in 1907. The figures for 1907, however, give the actual number of permits issued, while the figures for 1905 show the number of houses authorized in the permits. The increased expenditure for 1907 as compared with 1905 would have been much greater but for the financial stringency which prevailed during the last quarter of the year 1907. Of the individual cities in the respective groups, not including Group I, those in the West, and especially those of the Pacific coast region, made the largest expenditures during the year.

In compiling Table 71 the number of permits issued was reported for each city, but in some cities the permits provide for the construction of two or more buildings. The better basis of comparison would have been the number of buildings authorized rather than the number of building permits issued, and this method will probably be followed in the next collection of general statistics. For certain cities both the number of permits issued and the number of buildings authorized were reported as follows: