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of wire. The apparatus of the department includes 4 fire-boats, 86 steam fire engines, 4 hand engines, 27 chemical engines, 42 hose wagons, 36 hose carriages, 33 hook-and-ladder trucks, 53 chemical extinguishers, 68 portable pumps, 2 water towers and 175,812 feet of hose. There are now in the service 477 horses. The amount expended by the department during the year was $1,502,942.66, equal to $6 cents per capita of a population of 1,750,000.

The exceptional efficiency of this department is universally admitted, and the value of its services to this city is incalculable. There are 3,395 persons connected with the Department of Police, 2,652 of them being uniformed officers. The force has one Superintendent, one Assistant Superintendent, one Secretary, fifteen Captains, fifty-seven Lieutenants, two-hundred Sergeants and sixty Detectives; it has forty-one Police Stations, forty Patrol Wagons and seven Ambulance Wagons.

Chief Badenoch, a member of this board, has made a splendid record, discharging his delicate and responsible duties with signal ability. Efficiency with courtesy mark the conduct of the department, and Chicago is justly proud of her police force. finer body of men can nowhere be found. Without unnecessary display of power or authority the force has repeatedly shown itself grandly equal to the gravest emergencies.

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An ambitious and successful commercial community must of necessity be one of more than ordinary intelligence. The ability to successfully compete in the markets of the world presupposes, especially in this age, an unusual intellectual equipment. That this city has such an equipment is further proved by the facts which I shall set forth concerning our public libraries and the extent of our book, periodical and journalistic business.

THE PRESS OF CHICAGO-NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS.

As nearly as can be estimated, 600,000,000 copies of daily, weekly, monthly and other publications were issued from the presses of Chicago in 1896. No books or pamphlets are included in this list, as these figures relate exclusively to newspapers and periodical literature, and chiefly to second-class postal matter, which is mailable at one (1) cent per pound. There are 620 publications entered at the Chicago Postoffice which are mailable at the cent per pound rate, and 142 periodicals issued for trade or advertising purposes that are not of general circulation and are therefore placed in the third-class list.

The newspapers and periodicals printed in Chicago may be classified as follows:

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In this list no account is taken of the 3,000 "patent insides " printed wholly or in part in this city for country editors and entered for mailing at outside post offices.

The Chicago Post Office handles an average of sixty (60) tons of newspapers and periodicals daily, and the total circulation of such matter is about 50,000,000 copies per month. Not all of these are handled at the post office, however, as the city carriers and newspaper agents, the railroad news companies, express companies and newspaper train service each do their share of the distribution of this enormous mass of printed matter, which amounts to about 150,000,000 pounds per year.

Of the 38 dailies printed in Chicago 11 are in foreign laguages. There are 79 religious publications, of which 22 are printed in the various mother tongues of our foreign-born citizens. The trade publications and the labor papers are also printed in various languages. Of trade papers there are 39, and of labor papers 7; to medicine and surgery, 21 publications are devoted; law and music each have 5 papers; there are 4 papers devoted to cycling, 3 to sport, 4 to the drama and 14 occupy the literary field. The colored folks have 4 journals devoted to their religious and educational interests, while the various fraternal societies and educational institutions issue 50 publications.

LIBRARIES OF CHICAGO.

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Prior to the fire of 1871 this city had no public library. Chicago Historical Society, the Law Institute and the Academy of Sciences were purely reference institutions, and though valuable in an educational and technical way fell far short of filling the field that the great libraries of Chicago now so amply occupy. Each of these institutions was seriously crippled by the great fire. The old Metropolitan block contained nearly 20,000 volumes which

were owned by the Chicago Library Association, but these were accessible only to members and the fees were $5.00 per year. These books were all burned.

It will be recalled that the Anglo-American Society in London sent to Chicago some 5,000 books, and the English government added a number of valuable documents as the nucleus for a great public library in this city, it being supposed that such an institution had been lost in the general wreck. Hon. Joseph Medill called a meeting of our prominent citizens and apprised them of the intended gift, and the result was a bill authorizing the establishment of the Chicago Public Library, which passed the Legislature, and was signed by the Governor March 7, 1872. The first consignment of books from England was received August 31, 1872, and was placed on a few shelves in a room in the old City Hall, situated at the corner of LaSalle and Adams streets. Several continental nations contributed books and documents, and so a quarter of a century ago was founded the great institution which within the coming year will occupy a magnificent structure constructed especially for its use, and which will rank with the great library buildings of the world.

THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY.

The Chicago Public Library is the second largest institution of its kind in America, having, in round numbers, 220,000 volumes, covering almost the entire field of human thought and research. Though ranking second as to number of books the Chicago Public Library easily leads all others in this country in circulation. As there are nearly forty important libraries in Chicago, available for consultation and reference, the fact that the circulation of books and periodicals from the public library for the library year ending June 1, 1896, aggregated over 2,542,000 tells a story that needs no elaboration in this report. A summary of circulation in all departments for the calendar year just closed shows a considerable increase over even these surprisingly large figures. Taking into account the fact that Chicago publishers print and sell a greater number of books than issue from the presses of any other city in America, and that this city is a large buyer of books published elsewhere, we are warranted in the conclusion not only that Chicago is a literary center but that its citizens are eager for studious research along the path of literature.

Less than 12,000 books were added to our public library during 1896, as all available shelf space has long since been exhausted and purchases have been confined to current literature needed to keep the collection up to date.

Mr. Frederick S. Hild, Librarian, reports that the library has 31 delivery stations and that from these 1,200,000 volumes-about half the books drawn in 1896 for home reading—were issued. Several new sub-stations will be opened after the library is finally settled in its new building. There are six branch reading rooms in which 300,000 readers consulted books in 1896, while over 750,000 persons availed themselves of the reference department of the main library, and the numbers in the reading rooms were often limited by lack of seating capacity. The salary list was $79,981.29 and the total maintenance account $138,559.20 for the library year. The latest report shows available resources of $1,086,246.02, of which nearly $949,000 belonged to the new building fund. The salary list, which was $37,878.36 in 1888, has more than doubled in eight years and the fact is an index of the steady growth of and the demands made upon the library.

The best obtainable information as to book circulation in other cities shows that New York from all its public libraries circulated but 1,500,000 books last year and received but $65,000 from the city. The Boston Public Library received $175,000 and circulated about 850,000 volumes in 1895-figures for 1896 not yet being obtainable. St. Louis, in 1895, spent $60,000 in a circulation of 331,000; Milwaukee, $36,000 on 284,000 and Cleveland $60,000 on 595,000 volumes.

THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY.

The Newberry Library was founded in 1887 under the provisions of the will of the late Walter Newberry, and on July 1st of that year, the bequest was valued at $2,149,201, largely in realty. The Newberry is a reference library containing almost 145,000 volumes. Medicine, Music, Religion, Americana and Bibliography are its particular fields; neither juvenile works nor fiction are found in the collection. A magnificent new granite structure in Walton Place, fronting Washington Square, in the North Division is owned by the Library, and is a model library building. The building and grounds cost $750,000 and it is supposed will meet all requirements for at least twenty years, but the land fronting north will be built upon whenever more room is required. The "Newberry"

stands alone among Chicago libraries in the matter of binderies, it having a complete plant under its own roof. The great Probasco collection was recently placed on exhibition in the museum and those interested in the art of bookmaking from its beginning will find this unrivalled exhibit extremely attractive and instructive. Mr. John Vance Cheney, late of San Francisco, is the librarian at the "Newberry" and the demands upon the institution necessitate fifty employes.

THE CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The treasures of the Chicago Historical Society are now safely stored in a perfectly fire-proof structure, an edifice of granite, glass and steel, in which even the tables, desks and furniture are of iron. This elegant building cost $175,000, and after two disastrous fires which caused really irreparable losses the latest collection is now on view in the new home of the society which was dedicated and formally opened to the public on December 15, 1896.

The great fire of 1871 and another conflagration in 1874 swept away two large collections, among which were priceless manuscripts, impossible to replace. Nevertheless the shelves are now lined with 20,000 volumes and nearly 40,000 pamphlets and to these are added valuable portraits, relics and curios. The society was organized in 1856, and has ever been active in in the way of collecting such material as would be most highly prized in such an institution, and more especially by Chicago and the west.

THE JOHN CRERAR LIBRARY.

By the will of the late John Crerar of Chicago, who died October 18th, 1889, the residue of his estate, after the payment of numerous bequests both private and public, was given for the creation and endowment of a free public library to be called "The John Crerar Library", and to be located in the City of Chicago. In 1891 the validity of the will was attacked in the courts, but was sustained by a decision of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois rendered June 19, 1893. The administration of the estate in the Probate Court was closed July 13, 1894. The library was incorporated under the laws of Illinois, Oct. 12, 1894, and was duly organized January 12, 1895.

Having carefully considered the library facilities and needs of the city, the directors decided unanimously to establish a reference

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