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Show - NEW YORK OWES HALF AS MUCH AS NATIONAL DEBT C Major McCIjclIcn Points Amazing State. of Affairs; r : Favors Municipal Ownership. -: - r : ' y In v ' MAYOR A'CLELLAN OF NEW TOBK. Mayor George B. McClellan of New" York City, is probably the youngest Chief Magistrate for so huge a city whoever held office. ""Mayor McClellan ... was spoken of as a possible opponent to President Roosevelt, but gracefully yielded the empty honor to Judge Parker of the same State. , four years ago already has been overtaken, over-taken, says the message, and the city has-been pot to new projects to keep pace with its . expansion. In favoring municipal ownership and operation of an electric lighting plant to light the - streets. parks and public bpildlngs of New York the message says: "i do not believe that the Government should engage- in any service which can be done hotter or as well by private enterprise, en-terprise, or should invade business fields in competition, with the legitimate trade of the cltisen. The prices which the city Is compelled (o pay for gas and electric light however, are so out of proportion with the charges In other cities that they must be extortionate." . The message says that the attempt to .administer: the business of a great city through a bi-partisan board has been proven a signal failure in the city's experience ex-perience at a bl-nartlsan police board and m- bi-parttaan -aqueduct commission. In bis proposal concerning the adoption of the-platts" for-n- Increased water supply, therefore, the Mayor will recommend an enactment by the Legislature placing tbe worifin- the hands of a commission, one member to be certified by the chamber of commerce, another by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the third to be cbosen- bv the Mayor. . A statement of the city's financial condition con-dition which was included In the message shows a gross funded debt of lnfig.266,517. Airainst' this there is aJnk!ng fund of $157.3W.3.:2. leaving a net funded debt of J400.935.164. The present borrowing capacity ca-pacity of the city is $68.325.725. The total national debt December last was J1JS2.5SS.573. NEW TQRK. Jan. 3. A gross 'funded indebtedness almost half as great as the total national debt and a yearly average growth and expansion so Immense that every effort to keep abreast of it In nec-- nec-- essary Improvements has failed, is shown in the annual- message of Mayor George B. McClellan, which was submitted to " the Board of Aldermen Monday. In all the great departments the necessity for lm-v lm-v ' mediate extension is shown. In this con ' . nection tbe Mayor says: "The numerous evidences of 'the, city's -J amazing development, which give so -much satisfaction to the people, at the same time suggest important plans for the f u-.- ture. Expenditures in his direction now "wilL I; feel, sure, be regarded asJudi.-S asJudi.-S ' clous, and economical investment when the city of four million shall have attained at-tained ten million inhabitants.'1 The present system of water supply, which baa a capacity of 357,000 gallons per day In tbe boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx alone, is inadequate,' and a plan to expend Immediately J90.000.000 in ' ' acquiring watersheds and building aqueducts aque-ducts and mains is approved Although twenty-two new school buildings, build-ings, among them some of the largest in . the world, .were completed, and many ad- ditions to' existing buildings made during dur-ing the year, affording accommodations for more than 57,000 pupils, many thousand thou-sand children are obliged to attend part-time part-time classes. Contracts have been let for rineteen new school buildings and twenty-pine twenty-pine additions, which will provide 49,500 ' rev sittings, at a cost of nearly 36.000,000; but in view of the average yearly increase, in-crease, part-time classes will be In order text year. Of the police force, which is now made up of 8291 officers and men, the Mayor says: "The police force of the city Is an In- - ferior " organization only in point of numbers. The force has not increased proportionately with the population, property value and the needs of the five boroughs. Jt is almost impossible, tbere-fore, tbere-fore, to afford the people of this city-at . ' ail times the fullest measure of police protection to which they are Justly entitled.' en-titled.' Any application.' therefore, for an latere ase in tbe city's patrol force may be tegarded as timely and most reasonable." ' There la an urgent need also for the i extension of the fire department system. In spite 'of the fact that 419 firemen were ' . added to the force during the past year. The rapid transit system planned . but |
