It is as a city of homes—of middle-class homes — that Brooklyn has gained its distinc tive character among American cities. The very wealthy can afford to live in Manhattan, and the very poor have no alternative but to crowd into its hive-like tenements, but it may be said that, as a rule, the palace and the tene ment—using the latter word in its ordinary, not its technical sense — are alike unknown in Brooklyn. No place of like population is freer from those congregations and nurseries of crime and disease known as *slums," and in no city is a larger proportion of the population housed under decent and sanitary conditions. It is for this reason, and because the growth of Brook lyn has kept pace in other respects with its growth in numbers, that the population in creased from 279,122 in 1860 to 599,495 in 1880; 1,166,582 in 1900, 1,634,351 in 1910 and 1,803,191 in 1915.
The earliest settlement of the Dutch in Kings County'was made in 1619, but it was not until more than a century later that Brooklyn bad any organized existence. It was the scene of Washington's first battle and defeat during the American Revolution. That battle was fought only about six weeks after the American Congress in Philadelphia had adopted the Declaration of Independence. Washington's army, as yet raw and totally unused to warfare, was massed among Brooklyn's hills, while Gen eral Howe, with 30,000 seasoned fighting men, occupied Staten Island. The British crossed to Long Island, landing on the plains of New Utrecht, and on the morning of 27 Aug. 1776, a general advance was made on the American lines. The attack was made at three points. One division advanced through the marshes of Gowan-us, and, despite a gallant resistance, drove back the Maryland regiment to the main body of American troops. A second point of attack was through what is now known as Battle Pass, in Prospect Park, where the Americans were forced back on the entrenched position at Fort Green, but the heaviest blow was struck through the advance of a strong flanking party. It had early that morning passed along the northern base of the ridge of hills in what is now the Twenty-fourth ward, stopping at the Howard House, a tavern in East New York, and impressing its owner as a guide. It then advanced upon Washington's forces from the east. A misty night fell, with no general en gagement, and by morning Washington had withdrawn his troops, under cover of fog, across the East River. The British retained posses sion of Brooklyn until the evacuation of New York at the close of the war. Brooklyn's most memorable association with Revolutiona his tory, however, lies in the fact that the British ritish prison ships — the Jersey and its consorts were moored • in Wallabout Bay, and the bones of 11,000 victims who died in those floating slaughter-pens are buried at Fort Green, where a monument to their patriotic devotion is erected.
Brooklyn was incorporated as a village in 1801, and at about that time the Federal gov ernment made its first purchase of land at the Wallabout for navy-yard purposes. The Brook lyn navy yard is now the best equipped in the possession of the United States government. It covers an area of over 100 acres, with a cana cious drydock, and a mechanical plant capable of ship-building on the most extensive scale. Some of the finest ships in the United States navy have been constructed here, and its great repair shops are kept constantly at work. A splendidly equipped naval hospital occupies a fine site in connection with the yard.
Brooklyn village was incorporated as a city in 1834, with George Hall as its first mayor. In 1854 came consolidation with Williamsburg, and thereafter the growth of the city was steady and rapid. Street railway enterprises opened highways through outlying farm districts, and these speedily became transformed into great thoroughfares, and Brooklyn has now 1,230 miles of streets, of which the principal ones are paved with asphalt.
The surface, elevated and subway railroad lines, all operated by electricity, have 655 miles of tracks and carry annually about 600,000,000 passengers.
Industries.— It has been generally assumed that Brooklyn is merely sleeping-place of It is undoubtedly true that many thousands of those who are engaged in busi ness in Manhattan find their homes in Brook lyn — the number has been estimated at between 100,000 and 200,000— but the fact remains that Brooklyn itself is one of the greatest manu facturing centres of the United States. In many important branches of industry it leads all its competitors. Its most important industry is foundry and machine-shop products. Brook lyn's sugar-refining industry is by far the most important in the United States, nine-tenths of the sugar consumed in the country being refined here. Coffee-roasting is another large and im portant industry, as is the manufacture of chemicals. Some of the leading publishers of the United States have located their printing and bookbinding establishments in Brooklyn. It is also the seat of jute manufacture, glass and porcelain factories, cordage works and other important industries. The United States census of manufactures for 1914 reported 6,096 industrial establishments of factory grade, em ploying 106,740 persons, of whom 140,881 were wage-earners, receiving $81,910,000 annually in wages. The capital invested aggregated $448, 757,000, and the year's production was valued at $515,303,000; of this, $217,034,000 was the value added by manufacture.