USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey : embracing practically two and a half centuries, 1666-1913, Volume II > Part 31
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556,000
1,003,000
2.771,000
1904
112
1,413
1,076,000
52.000
406,000
651,000
1,743,000
1899
113
824
561,000
22,000
299,000
379,000
1,049,000
1909
451
19,086
42,760,000
2,990.000
8,160,000
51,928,000 36,815.000
54,569,000
1899
404
76
33,474,000
1,168.000
5,242,000
24,453,000
38,896,000
:
* Excluding statistics for two establishments, to avoid disclosure of individual operations.
Excluding statistics for one establishment, to avoid disclosure of individual operations.
# Figures can not be shown without disclosing individual operations.
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
4,519,000
1904
81
1,750
2,752,000
1899
83
1,386
1,908,000
197,000
16,000
64,000
1,338,000
pounds and druggests' prepa-
1904
17
138
419,000
1,184,000
1,247,000
748,000
73,742,000
All other industries.
1904
401
14.538
37,314,000
1.372.000
6,083,000
Tobacco manufactures
Engaged
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
MUNICIPAL MANAGEMENT AND COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS.
Substantial elements contributing to the progress of industry are to be found in the banking facilities and banking accommodations afforded, in the transportation facilities supplied, and in the municipal admistration of the affairs of the city.
In its nine national banks, ten trust companies and six savings banks. the combined deposits amount to $127,865,683; the capital invested, $9,550,- 000; with yearly clearings exceeding the sum of $800,000,000.
The statistics of tonnage freights of all kinds received and shipped indicate the magnitude of the city-4,809,864 tons via the several railroads, and 3,125,319 tons by vessels, and by trucks to and from the piers in New York, 1,000,000 tons, making the aggregate 8,935,183 tons annually.
Its municipal conditions are such as to justify an optimistic view of the future, the city owning real estate and buildings valued at $80,369,699. with a bonded debt of $29,385,200, of which $13,102,000 represents the purchase and cost of improvements of its water supply, which would readily sell for $20,000,000. This supply of absolute purity is considered superior to that of any owned by any city, by reason of the water being delivered by gravity and having a pressure at the nozzle equal to seventy-five pounds. making it a dependable and valuable auxiliary to the fire fighting equipment of the city.
Its sanitary condition is represented in its 7712 miles of brick and concrete sewers and 210 miles of pipe, built at a cost of $5,324,975; and in its 23012 miles of paved streets having an average width of sixty feet, rating it to be one of the best paved cities in the United States.
Its facilities for travel within the city to suburban points are excellent. the Hudson & Manhattan tubes operating 224 trains daily on a ten-minute headway to and from New York, while twenty-three electric trolley lines, on which 665 cars are operated, making over 4,000 round trips daily, pro- vide facilities to accommodate a passenger movement of approximately 150,000,000 yearly.
In its railroad facilities is to be found one of its greatest assets, five trunk lines, viz., the Pennsylvania, Lackawanna, Eric, Lehigh Valley and New Jersey Central, affording accommodations to every known point where steel rails run. In the city there are fourteen freight delivery yards. The business wants of the city are supplied by 254 freight trains daily, while the public have a choice of 900 passenger trains, on which the passenger move- ment to and from the city annually exceeds 15,000,000 trips.
The educational system is noted as being exemplary and progressive, as may well be appreciated from the facilities afforded in the sixty-seven public schools valued at $8,278,000, as well as in the cost and maintenance for 1912, $2,581,709, or an average cost per pupil of $37.74, the total num- ber of pupils being 63,024, requiring the services of 1,545 teachers. In addition to the public schools, there are fifty-two parish and private schools with enrolled scholars numbering 25,000; several colleges and academies, a technical school, a school of drawing and branch university courses. There are four new high schools, in which manual training, trade occupations and the higher branches of education are taught.
One of the delights of the city contributing to the health and comforts of its people is to be found in its area of park lands, of which there are about 542 acres; and in its playgrounds in various sections of the city, of which there are twenty-one, giving it a park area greater per square mile of territory than any city in the United States; and, when its favored location
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
u taken into consideration, it may rightly be given the palm for perfection La pulnt of pleasure and healthful recreation, having, within one hours' travel by water and rail, a thousand resorts at the command of its people, lacluding the salubrious air and bathing of the ocean, the mountains and Sales of North Jersey, and the beauties of nature on the Hudson River.
WHAT A BOARD OF TRADE MEANS.
The work of the Board of Trade, in fostering the municipal con- dittons of the city, in standing guard over its affairs, and in showing the way for its substantial advancement, is entitled to special mention in this review. "Organized forty-four years ago, it has always been a potent factor ta the welfare of the municipality. It has done and is doing a great work. L'atrammeled by politics, unswayed by religious beliefs, unsubsidized by trade. Independent of all "privileged interests" and free from corporation tles. It has moved, and it is moving, along the lines of progress. Member- · AMIp in it is a badge of honor. It is known by its deeds. It has a record entarnished by even a breath of scandal and it enjoys the confidence and tespect not only of the city of Newark but of the entire State. It knows no master. Unto itself it is a power. It is swayed by neither fear nor favor. Only as a body does it act. It stands for the city of Newark, for what is good for its industries or its people. What is harmful or discreditable, it opposes. It works always in the strong light of wide publicity. Its officers are well known, and neither under the cloak of the organization, nor the veneering of anonymity, do they seek concealment. Their time, and their special knowledge along different lines, are available to all who desire help or advice. The board is a union of men, in which there lies a giant's strength. It is great enough to be unafraid. What the Board has accom- plished in the way of good and what it has prevented in the way of ill, would All a volume. Its history is indissolubly woven with the last half century of Newark's progress. It has fought and won many battles.
"Through it and the co-operation of the press, anything in the way of municipal extravagance has been prevented. Its watchfulness and strength, backed by its indomitable courage, and unfaltering work, has frequently obtained for the city better and more economical results in public under- takings and through its opposition schemes that have proved costly in other municipalities have been made impossible in Newark. Its membership of 1,200 includes influential representatives of every industry and profession In the city. Side by side at its meetings and hand in hand in its works is the manufacturer and the lawyer, the banker and the doctor, the caterer and the machinist, and scores of others. Individually strong, they hold aloft the Inspiring banner of public good. Always recognizing the fact that it is glor- lous to have a giant's strength but cowardly to use it like a giant, the Board has invariably proceeded with a discreet aggressiveness. Its record shows not one instance where it has used its power for aught but that which was good. Unafraid of the mighty, it has scorned to attack or to oppress the weak." Such is the judgment passed upon the Board of Trade by a critic, and in the record can be read the value of this body to the Industries, to the workers, and to all of the people in the city and to the city itself.
As an evidence of its value it is only necessary to include a part of its record of achievement during the year 1912, when, through its activity, it secured an appropriation of over $1,000,000 from Congress to deepen the channel of the Newark Bay and Passaic River from 16 to 20 feet; and
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
from the New York, New Haven & Hartford, railroad concessions in freight rates to all New England points; the establishment of commodity rates, and a reduction in rates to all points in Texas and southern points via water transportation lines; also the Act of Congress directing the sale of the pres- ent Postoffice, with the authorization to acquire a site at a cost of $800,000, on which to build a new structure in keeping with the business requirements of the city.
EXPOSITION OF NEWARK-MADE GOODS.
To make the city know itself, and to show the world what the manu- facturers of Newark were doing, an Industrial Exposition was organized and carried to a successful finish by a committee consisting of Curtis R. Burnett, James M. Reilly, H. Stacy Smith, John L. O'Toole and George W. Jagle, the attendance exceeding 175,000. Almost every State in the Union was repre- sented, as well as many foreign nations. The exposition was pronounced by press and public a positive success and a source of great credit to the city. Among the distinguished guests entertained were William H. Taft, the Presi- dent of the United States; ex-President Theodore Roosevelt; and the present President Woodrow Wilson, at the time Governor of the State.
The exposition involved an outlay of approximately $50,000. A surplus over that sum amounting to $12,000 was appropriated by the committee for the publication of a directory containing a classified list of manufacturers and an alphabetical list of the articles "Made in Newark." This directory was printed in Spanish, French and English. It was circulated by forward- ing copies to principal cities of South American Republics, to the members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps of the United States, to foreign com- mercial bodies, and in the reading rooms of the ocean steamships, making the largest possible use of the value of the Exposition by continuing it in a permanent printed form.
NEWARK THE HEART OF A WORLD'S GREAT CITY.
The city of to-day, in the year 1913, is one of marvelous potentialities. Within a few years past it has come to a realization of the changes which have taken place, and its progressive men realize that, within the past two decades, old traditions, old manners and old customs have been displaced, giving way to the new thought of bigger and better things. In its popula- tion to-day, the elements are cosmopolitan above all else, and the ways of yesterday must give place to the vogue of to-day.
Another contributory element to the making of the Newark of to-day, with its heritage of the past foreshadowing the glorious prospect of the future, must be noted the coming of the Italian during the eighties, in numbers at first hardly noticeable, but each year increasing the volume of immigrants until to-day the men of that race have become a large element in the population. During and following the year 1890, a large added element has been made of men with their families from Russia and middle Europe, including many Hebrews driven hence by the persecution of their race.
The foreign-born population numbers 115,000, viz .: Italian, 21,000; Germans, 25,000; Irish, 15,000; Russian, 22,000, many of whom are from the land of Poland; Hungarians, 6,000; Austrians, 13,000, while representa- tives of over twenty-five other nations have come to make their homes in this city.
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
These additions to the population will in time, as have others in the past, take their place in the affairs of the city and contribute in shaping its future. In the mixture of the races, the city of to-day has taken on all the features of a cosmopolitan capital, retaining at the same time its metropoli- tan character, and in the leavening it will no doubt take and keep of the best of each, stamping out the evil or vicious through the influence with which its citizens have surrounded themselves, denoted on every side one may turn, in the heaven-pointed spires, and in the beautiful and costly build- Ings erected for the education, care and upkeeping of the young as well as the old within the city.
From an insular city contented with a small progress, it has become ambitious for a larger development. All things relating to or bearing upon its future give evidence that the change, or awakening, has not come too soon, or that the men who anticipate great things for the future are imprac- tical. This fact is amply substantiated in a record showing the advances being made in all that goes to make up or represent the institutions, indus- tries, and affairs of the municipality, as set forth in a tabular statement authenticated by the Board of Trade.
NEWARK. The Record of a Decade in Figures and Percentage.
1900
1910
Per Cent. of Increase
Population
246,070
347,469
41
Taxable valuations
$148,834,805
$344,821,700
131
Bank and Trust Company resources.
29,322,562
103,779,521
253
Savings Banks resources.
15,467,213
40,396,313
161
Building and Loan resources
8,025,138
29,244,186
264
Aggregate resources, Banks and Building and Loan Associations
52,814,915
173,420,020
228
Capital invested in manufacturing
103,191,403
149,691,105
45
Value of raw materials.
67,105,944
120,907,766
80
Value of manufactured product
126,954,049
217,970,342
71
Life Insurance Companies' assets
95,983,799
365,696,799
280
Fire Insurance Companies' assets
7,794,503
14,206,606
82
Pieces of mail handled.
59,523,900
151,902,549
155
Passenger movement by trolley
69,282,833
137,066,415
97
Freights received and shipped by rail
1,957,005
4,718,229
141
Freights received and shipped by water.
1,370,724
2,778,062
102
If the mind will grasp the truth of the progress which is being made and consider that the portent for the future indicates that its growth will be on a scale vastly greater in all possible avenues of development, one may well believe that the future of this city is only equalled by its possibilities.
In its homes, its institutions, its charities, its administration, and in its people, the future of the city rests secure; its progress must go on. It is forging to the front by virtue of its increasing population; it is forging to the front by reason of its environment; it is forging to the front because of its location, and its progress may not be stayed, but must be directed. The impetus to its direction must be supplied by its conservative citizenship, ir
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
it is to reach its ultimate destiny, which, looking into the future, may bear out the vision foreseen and predicted by Alexander Hamilton of a world's city spreading out from the shores of the Hudson River westward to the crest of the mountains.
THE NEWARK OF THE FUTURE.
Who can foretell the future of Newark? May it not come to pass long before the close of the present century that this marvelous city, this city potential with opportunity, this city with its admirable location on Newark Bay, midway between the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge and the broad majestic waters of the Hudson River, will fulfill the prediction of a dreamer of dreams and become a world's great centre of population, a world's great seaport, a world's great workshop of industry, a city which will be the rival of New York or London?
By force of its location, Newark is the heart of an integral part of a seaboard where the commerce of a continent finds an outlet, and where the rails of the carrier, transversing the vast interior, meet to join and connect with the wharves of the ocean, at which the fleets of the nations of the earth find termini to load or unload the merchandise freight of a world. It is conceivable that in the development of waterways constituting the port of New York to provide facilities for an ever constantly increasing growth in population and commerce, no error of men, nor any political division of territory, can ultimately prevent the use of Newark Bay or its tributaries. the Passaic and Hackensack rivers, from becoming great commercial water- ways.
What the master mind of the engineer is planning for the harbor of New York must be comprehended in the plans for the improvement of the waterways on which Newark is located, and all such must anticipate the growth in all lines of industry, in commerce, and in the population of the whole country for hundreds of years to come; and, therefore, as a part of the greatest world's port, the wants of a world's commerce must enter into and be a part of the completed plans, if such plans are to be a fixed part of a coming world's city.
Some one gifted with the spirit of a "Carnaro" is wanted to-day it Newark is to attain a growth in keeping with its possibilities and oppor- tunity. Provincial ideas, hedged in with a restricted view limited to existing municipal boundaries, must give place to a vision of a city comprehended by the eye from the summit of Eagle Rock, to be laid out with the skill of the most eminent engineers, after a completed scheme has been evolved from a study of such a city.
It does not seem improbable, or impossible to believe, that such a city, of which Newark must be the heart and centre for all times, will eventually and naturally be formed by the amalgamation and consolidation of the villages, towns, and cities now existing and rapidly expanding within the territory extending from Paterson on the north to Perth Amboy on Raritan Bay and Arthur Kill on the south, and from the mountains on the west to the shore of the Hudson on the east, each community, one with the other, having the same problems to solve, and each directly concerned therein as to water supply, sanitation, protection to property and safety of person, road construction and maintenance, transportation facilities and the development of the resources of the whole area for residential, commercial and industrial purposes.
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
When Carnaro's vision of Venice became a reality, he was permitted to exclaim, "what a glorious enjoyment it is to have been able to show how to preserve her valuable lagoons and harbor, so that they will not alter for thousands of years; what a satisfaction to have pointed out how to make it stronger, although so strong as to be well nigh impregnable; how to increase her loveliness, although beautiful; how to make her rich, although exceed- ingly wealthy; and to her air, now good, how to make it perfect." These pleasures, he said, were greater than wealth, and afforded the greatest possible satisfaction, because the greatest joy that comes to man is to be of service to one's own city.
It is no idle dream to contemplate on the adjacent meadow lands a city of such magnificence as to outrival the cities of the world in all that can add or contribute to the culture, the happiness, or the comforts, of the men and women who will inhabit this city of ours in the ages to come, if the men of to-day will plan and conserve rightly.
Shall the men of to-day, in the narrowness begot of environment, refuse to give to those of generations to come a modicum of genius equal to that which has created such marvelous development in our time within the short period of fifty years. Or, shall we question but what the improbable or impossible will be well within the control of those coming after us, to be made use of in the carrying out of plans even if more stupendous than those conceived of in the dreams of Aladdin, if wisely devised?
It becomes more real, more tangible and more certain, when the possi- bility is reduced to a fact that the simple enactment of a statute by the Legislature at any session could weld into a single community within this area, a world's city to-day that would have a population of 1,300,000. As a trading point, Newark is to-day the centre of such a city, and, if the great opportunity for development is to be realized, a central government should be at once organized at least for the purpose and with power to plan a comprehensive system of improvement to direct municipal effort in public works and control the location of industry, transportation facilities, and waterway development, and co-ordinate all such work in connection with plans for residences, parks, lakes, boulevards, public institutions, and for other public uses. The broad area of undeveloped meadows within the district bordering and adjacent to the several populous cities and towns, under the inspiration and guidance of skilled engineers and under such a central control, could be so treated in a comprehensive plan as to offer a wealth beyond price, and to insure beyond question the future building of a city surpassing in artistic beauty the gardens of the world, and compre- hending the glories of ancient and modern Europe.
Let those who say "impossible," ask what would have been said to one of the men from Milford on that day in 1666 if there had been one sufficient of a dreamer to have formed a pen picture of Newark as it exists to-day. That which men have actually accomplished is much more stupendous in its reality than the wildest vision which might be conceived of in the planning of a city on these lands, or in the most esthetic scheme for their embellish- ment as a civic centre of a future great city.
Of course, there are those who will never believe in the future. Their view is ever a retrospect narrowing with distance, always fearful that those coming after cannot be depended on, but for such this dream has not been put on paper. To those who have vision to comprehend and courage to undertake, the way is open for such an enterprise as a heritage which belongs to and should be conserved for the future. What has been actually
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
accomplished has been stupendous compared with the planning of such a city as suggested, or the work of directing its construction and its final accomplishment.
THE GARDEN SPOT OF THE WORLD.
What a wonderful valley of beauty could be fashioned out of those meadow lands! What a network of canals, lakes, lagoons and winding rivers, with islands and parks, gardens and groves, pleasure resorts, museums and galleries, municipal temples and courts, parkways and drives; all that the mind of man might conceive for the comfort, health and enjoyment of those who will inhabit these cities of ours in the future; all so planned as to fit in with the most complete and comprehensive system of railway terminals, connecting with modern equipped wharves and docks, at which one can almost see the fleets of the nations of the world anchored, all lending color to and blending with the picture.
If the wonders of the age represented in the marvelous building of the cities of the nation and the development of the resources of the continent has been accomplished within 250 years, what plan would be impossible for the future? The trend of thought is toward the ideal, the conservation of resources, the consummation of progress for the benefit of the community as a whole, exemplified in the establishment of playgrounds, parks, public batlıs, libraries, public halls and like movements; therefore, in planning for the future, the mind must include all, and plan to meet the educated thought as well as the aspirations, desires, the pleasures and comforts of the coming generations, and no where in the world to-day adjacent to such centres of population does there exist conditions such as awaits the residents of the cities and towns bordering on the meadow lands in the valley of the Hacken- sack and Passaic rivers.
Such, in the eyes of a dreamer, may be the future of Newark, if a wise foresight can be exercised by its citizens and by the citizens of its neighboring municipalities. Who will question the wonders which have come to pass since the opening of the eighteenth century, the Herculean work of developing the resources of a vast continent, the wondrous rise of our modern cities dotting the wide expanse of the United States? Who will question the possi- bilities of a community of over a million people, endowed with such energy as those making up our population, if properly directed, more especially so if a comparison is made with what has come to pass in the building up of the Newark of to-day?
It would not be the work of a decade or period, but if need be a century or more of time, the essential now and in this generation is to forsee and grasp this opportunity to formulate a plan to make the valley of the Passaic and the Hackensack the garden spot of the Atlantic seaboard and the Queen City of the World.
Who can measure out the future if a wise vision were privileged to shape out a comprehensive plan, such a plan treating these lands as a a well laid out, comprehensive plan, such a plan treating these lands as a centre of a great city, and so planned as to develop utility and beauty, without regard to cost and without regard to time, the plan to be a perfect whole to be consummated with the passing of the centuries?
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