INTRODUCTION.

For certain purposes the several boroughs comprised within
the City of New York are separately administered. This ad¬
ministration is under the control of a borough president, chosen
by the electors of the respective boroughs. This pamphlet deals
with the administration of the Borough of Manhattan and the
presidency of John Francis Ahearn, during the years 1904-1905.

The pamphlet does not exhaustively report the various oper¬
ations of the bureaus under President Ahearn during these two
years. It aims, rather, to present a picture of the borough gov¬
ernment and to set forth certain facts respecting the working of
this government during the period under review. The purpose of
the inquiry into the administration of the borough was, first, to
ascertain the facts respecting that administration and, second,
to suggest its improvement along specific lines. Facts and
suggestions are both included in the pamphlet.

The suggestions relate chiefly to the ends to be achieved
rather than to the method of their achievement. But, occasion¬
ally, as in the case of public baths^ both the end and the means
are suggested. In an examination into the administration of the
public baths it was found that they were without competent
supervision and were generally extravagantly maintained. This
extravagance was, doubtless, largely due to a lack of knowledge
on the part of the Borough President as to what it actually
costs to operate the baths. This lack of knowledge resulted
mainly from indifiference. The Borough President and his aides
will learn for the first time on reading this pamphlet what it
costs to build the baths for which they are responsible, and
what it costs to operate them. The provision of competent and
responsible supervision and the establishment of accurate book¬
keeping are suggested as remedies for the public bath situation.

The pamphlet suggests no remedy for the evil It exposes
with respect to the purchasing of supplies and the expenditure
of money without public contract. It is shown that during the
years 1904 and 1905 the various bureaus under President
Ahearn and his own office spent more than a million dollars
without public contract. Although some of the Items which
make up this great total could hardly have been contracted for,