Agricultural encouragement Annual dinner Charity endorsement and advice City planning Fire protection Fourth of July Health, housing and sanitation Law Membership Municipal research National affairs. Postal service Property assessments Publicity and conventions. Real estate interests Streets Merchants' bureau Berks County farm bureau Auditing Has your local commercial body a committee on municipal research? BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 261 Broadway, New York To promote the application of scientific principles to government No. Issued weekly by the BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 261 Broadway, New York August 8 Entered as Second Class Matter July 30, 1913 at the Post Office, at New York, N.Y. New Rochelle Survey What One Women's Club Did For The City New Rochelle is a city of "commuters "—the women live there; the men sleep there The men are New Yorkers, interested in New York business, New York baseball, and New York politics-a trip to New York is an incident The women are in New Rochelle and of New Rochelle-a trip to New York is a dress-up event It is only natural then, that the women should have become interested in the affairs of their local government. As householders they come into daily. contact with the municipality through the grocer, the butcher, the milk dealer, and the scavenger. They are protected from sneak thieves by the police; from contagion, by the health authorities. The occasional visit of a wayfarer to the kitchen door reminds them of the community's obligations to the needy-and to itself. Through their children they reach out to the schools, the parks, and the playgrounds They wanted to know more; and so they arranged for a survey of all departments of the city by the Bureau of Municipal Research That the department of streets be abolished and its duties included under the commissioner of public works That the paving problem be approached from the point of view of the city as a whole; not with reference to the needs of particular sections That specifications for paving work be prepared by the city, not by the bidder; and that the practice of accepting combined unit bids be abandoned That the yard now used by the street department be sold, and a larger tract of land be purchased in a cheaper section of the city for the use of all the public works divisions of the city government That the corporation counsel be requested to prepare an opinion as to the obligation of the street railway company to clean the street railway area of streets or to bear the cost of such work That a comprehensive study be made of the street cleaning situation, with particular reference to the planning of routes, the distribution of men, and the use of machines That steps be taken to secure a new contract with the lighting company providing for more favorable rates to the city That the city enter into a formal contract with the water company providing for standard rates to the city and for the making of repairs to hydrants That a yardage charge for pavement cuts be established That the engineering work of the department of parks, docks, and harbors be taken over by the department of public works That a playground be established in the Italian section of the city That the department of public works and not the board of health be made responsible for the collection and disposal of ashes, garbage, and household waste That field reporting forms be introduced to serve as the basis for determining job costs and the efficiency of employees That standard expense accounts and a job order system be established That a comprehensive annual report be prepared, showing in sufficient detail the kind of work undertaken, estimates and actual costs, unit costs, name of inspector certifying to adequacy of work, name of officer to whom complaints should be addressed, etc -Report of Bureau of Municipal Research In certain quarters of the city there has been a persistent and organized attempt to discredit what has been done, to belittle it and give a wrong impression to those citizens who do not think for themselves, but take their opinions readymade. How widely and deeply this ignorant or malicious criticism has penetrated we do not know, but it is a pity that all citizens will not be public-spirited enough to read for themselves the clear and concise reports of the "Survey" and then to judge whether the carrying out of their recommendations would not make this city a better place to live in What is the use of our talking in a grandiloquent manner of New Rochelle's being the best town in the world to live in-if it isn't and we know it? The women had a much better idea than that when they had this "Survey" made. That idea was and is to make it in time the best town in the world. Let us own up to our faults; not hide them and talk loudly of our virtues -New Rochelle Civic Review BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 261 Broadway, New York |