Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/128

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BOSTON

series of years, in the three leading wool mar- kets of the country, was as follows:

YEARS. 1862 1868 1864 1865. 1866 BOSTON. HEW YORK. PHILADELPHIA. TEAKS. , bl lb lbl . 1868. . 7,400,000 6,100,000 8,000,000 1869. . .. 11,850,000 11,200,000 6,600,000 1870 8,900,000 8,780,000 8,900,000 1871. . 6,725,000 7,070,000 4,779,000 1812 ......... 7,100,000 6,814,000 2,702,000

The receipts of cotton in 1871 were 313,000 bales, all of which, excepting about 8,000 bales exported, was for consumption in the manu- facturing towns of New England. The number and value of packages of domestic dry goods exported from the city has been:

Packages. Value. 2,065 $261,128 488 85,447 245 42,217 841 58,854 4,746 670,285 1867 ....................... 10,822 1,084,966 1868 ....................... 11,948 1,298.242 1869.... ......... 6,665 720,834 1870 ....................... 7,486 788,865 1871 ....................... 11,254 979,669

The hides received in 1871 were valued at $14,800,000; 1870, $11,385,000; 1869, $13,- 225,000 ; 1868, $11,500,000. The value of the leather manufactured for the Boston market in 1871 was $36,900,000, against $33,038,574 in 1870 ; and the whole amount of sales for the year was $53,479,000, against $47,881,991 in 1870. The aggregate sales of boots and shoes for 1871 amounted to $64,500,000, and for 1870 to $63,188,255. In 1871 1,251,223 cases of boots and shoes (average value, $66 75 per case) were shipped from the city ; in 1870, 1,213,129 cases; in 1869, 1,182,704; in 1868, 1,041,472. The receipts of fish in 1871 amounted to $4,199,872. The elevators of Boston have a capacity for 1,000,000 bushels of grain. During the year ending March 1, 1872, there were received 1,408,325 barrels of flour, 4,179,911 bushels of corn, 475,500 bushels of wheat, and 2,431,272 bushels of oats, a large portion of which was for foreign exportation.

According to the la- test returns of the industry of Massachusetts, the chief manufacturing establishments of Bos- ton were 49 cabinet ware factories, 38 manufac- tories of machinery, 38 book-publishing houses, 89 printing establishments, 31 hat and cap fac- tories, 30 bookbinderies, 29 manufactories of watches, 28 of cars, carriages, &c., 17 of pianos, 17 of upholstery, 12 brass and 7 type and ste- reotype founderies, 9 glass factories, 4 of organs, melodeons, and harmoniums, 4 of paper collars, 3 of sewing machines, and 2 of chemicals. There are 51 national banks in Boston, with an aggre- gate capital of $49,400,000. The number of savings banks in 1871 was 16, with a total of 180,480 depositors, and deposits aggregating $49,944,206. The two most extensive were the five-cent savings bank, which had 58,568 depositors and deposits amounting to $9,984,- 068, and the provident institution for savings, with 33,528 depositors and deposits reaching $12,405,954. In 1872 there were 37 insurance companies, of which 6 were life, with a com- bined capital of $28,632,778; while 92 insur- ance companies belonging to other cities had agencies in Boston.

The government is vested in a mayor (salary $5,000), elected annually on the second Monday in December, a board of 12 aldermen, and a common council of 64 mem- bers, 4 from each ward. The police are ap- pointed by the mayor and aldermen, and are under the immediate direction of the mayor and a police committee. There are 11 police districts, a chief, 11 captains, and 11 lieutenants. The maximum number of the police force is 500, of whom 60 are officers. In 1871, 10,837 dis- turbances were suppressed and 25,201 arrests made, 17,794 of foreigners ; 15,089 arrests were for drunkenness, 2,213 for assault, 1,372 for larceny, 98 for robbery, 18 for house break- ing, and 8 for murder. The amount of prop- erty reported stolen was $60,018 ; amount re- covered, stolen in and out of the city, $71,159 ; fines imposed, $60,370. There were 2,952 places where intoxicating drinks were sold 1,428 groceries, &c., 1,121 bar-rooms, 327 jug rooms, and 76 hotels. The whole number of persons taken into custody by the police was 17,107, of whom 15,089 were taken to the sta- tions, and 2,018 were taken home. The fire department comprises a chief, 14 assistant en- gineers, and a secretary, all elected annually by the city council, and 450 members; their aggregate salaries amount to $215,163. They are divided into 21 steam engine companies, 10 hose companies, and 7 hook and ladder com- panies. About 46,000 feet of hose are used, and there are 2,375 hydrants and 96 reservoirs where water can be obtained in case of fire. The number of fires in 1871 was 549 ; the losses by fire amounted to $704,329, being $297,722 on buildings and $406,606 on stock; total in- surance, $534,991$168,757 on buildings and $366,234 on stock. The fire-alarm telegraph is in charge of a superintendent and a corps of operators, who keep constant watch at the city hall day and night. Here is the central office to which alarms are transmitted from the signal stations or boxes, of which there are 146. From this office 42 bells and 55 gongs at their various locations on churches, school houses, engine houses, &c., are struck precisely at noon every day.

Boston long felt the want of a supply of water, but it was not till 1848, dur- ing the mayoralty of Josiah Quincy, jr., that the want was met, and water brought from Lake Cochituate, 20 m. W. of Boston. The lake covers 650 acres, and drains some 14,400 acres. Water is conveyed by a brick conduit 11 m. long to a grand reservoir in Brookline, and thence to distributing reservoirs in Boston, East Boston, South Boston, and the Highlands. Brookline reservoir covers about 23 acres, and has a capacity of nearly 120,000,000 gallons. The Chestnut Hill reservoir has just been com- pleted at a cost of $2,423,231. It is situated in the towns of Brighton and Newton, 5 m. from the Boston city hall and 1 m. from the