New York

Local Government.

The State is divided into 62 counties, each (unless wholly included in a city) having a county board of supervisors elected for two years, one from every town or city ward. This board has certain administrative and legislative powers.

Other county officers are a county judge and a county surrogate elected for a term of six years, except in New York and Kings counties where the term is 14 years, a treasurer, a clerk, a district attorney, a sheriff and from one to four coroners elected for a term of three years. Cities are of three classes, those having a population of : (I) 175,000 or more ; (2) between 5o,000 and 175,00o; and (3) less than 5o,000. The classification is according to the latest State enumeration. All city elections are held in odd numbered years. The organization of cities and villages is pro vided by the legislature, which may restrict their powers of taxation and of contracting debts and may fix salaries. Town (or township) Government in New York somewhat resembles that of New England ; the chief executive officer of the town is a supervisor, who represents his town in the county "board of supervisors." Finances.—The aggregate valuation of real property in the State in 1936 was $25,667,925,760, but on this amount the State levied no tax. In 1926, a tax for the year ending June 30, 1926, which was levied on a 1925 valuation based on both real and per sonal property, produced a revenue of $28,460,191. With the property tax abolished the principal sources of State revenue in 1936 were various special taxes, the chief of which were corpora tion taxes ($67,959,541), inheritance taxes ($26,420,251), motor vehicle licences transfers of shares of stock personal income taxes ($74,328,922), mortgage taxes ($961,798), alcoholic beverage taxes ($18,532,878), and an in surance premium tax ($2,054,672). The chief expenditures during the same period were as follows: education, $119,580,029; State institutions, highways $16,524,508; State debt, $44, 638,707; relief, $39,956,331; social welfare, $7,135,053; protec tive, $4,118,230; and administrative, $33,162,505. The total gen eral revenue receipts for the year ending June 30, 1936 amounted to $330,543,775, and the disbursements to $346,409,071. Three months later the total debt of the State was $817,491,000. The sinking funds, however, amounted to $154,598,909, leaving a net State debt of $662,892,091. Of the total bonded debt, $150,760, 000 were incurred for canals, $94,000,000 for highways, $23,400, 000 for World War veterans' bonus, $34,096,000 for the State institutions building fund, $156,140,000 for unemployment relief and $71,360,000 for grade crossing elimination.

In 1851 a State banking department was created, and at the head of this is a superintendent of banks appointed by the gov ernor, with the consent of the senate. This office was continued under the reorganized administrative system which became effec tive on Jan. 1, 1927. The superintendent—or examiner appointed by him from a civil service list—is required to examine every bank, trust company and other financing institution within the State; national banks excepted. There were 911 commercial and savings banks operating within the State on June 30, 1936, and of this total 458 were national banks. These banks had resources of $23,174,205,000 or 34.3% of the total resources of all banks in the United States. Of the 82 commercial banking institutions in the United States having resources of $100,000,000 or more on Dec. 31, 1936, 23 were in the State of New York.

Education.

The first school was established by the Dutch at New Amsterdam (now New York city) as early as 1633, and at the close of the Dutch period there was a free elementary school in nearly every settlement. King's college was founded in and from 1704 to 1776 the other schools were principally those maintained by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Hardly any schools remained in operation through out the Revolutionary War. In Jan. 1784 Governor George Clin ton recommended legislation for the "revival and encouragement of seminaries of learning," with the result that the legislature passed an act establishing a State university of which Columbia college, formerly King's, was the "mother" portion. In 1787 a second university act was passed which restored to Columbia col lege the substance of its original charter and made the University of the State of New York an exclusive executive body with author ity to incorporate new colleges and academies and to exercise over them the right of visitation. The functions of the university were extended to include an oversight of the professional, scientific and technical schools, the administration of laws relating to admission to the professions, the charge of the State library at Albany, the supervision of the local libraries, the custody of the State museum and the direction of all scientific work prosecuted by the State. This dual system was consolidated by the Educational Unification Act of 1904, in conformity with which the university regents have become a legislative body, subordinate to the State legislature, for determining the general educational policy of the State, and a commissioner of education acts as the chief executive, advisory and supervisory, officer of the whole educational system.