MIGHTY LONDON

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 September 1939, Page 8

MIGHTY LONDON

WORLD’S LARGEST CITY INTERESTINIG FIGURES. OVER SEVEN THOUSAND FINES * A YEAR. London is still by far the largest city in the world. During 1937, the last period for which statistics have been compiled, there was an increase in the population of 80,000, bringing the total to 8,655,000. New York, with a population of 7,000,000, is still a long way behind. This is one of many facts that emerge from London Statistics, 1936-38, to be issued shortly by the London County Council. There is a continuing migration of population to districts beyond the administrative county. The population of the county was at its highest in 1901 when it was 4,536,267. Since then it has fallen steadily, and in 1938 was 4.062,800

This growth of Greater London at the expense of the administrative county is reflected in the decrease in the number of elementary school children' in the county. Their numbers have dropped from 900,000 in 1915 to 543,600 in 1937. The decline in school population is proportionately much larger than the decrease in the total population of the county.

The subject chosen in this volume for special analysis is libraries. The detailed figures show that in the year ended March 31 last 40,116,733 books were issued to borrowers from, public libraries in Greater London and 20,175,088 from libraries maintained by local authorities in extra-London. To these must be added 2,078,559 issued from public libraries in extra-London maintained by county councils. The growth of public libraries in the past 10 years may be judged from the fact that in the administrative county issues of books have risen from 14,512,112 in 1928 to 19,941,654 last year. The number of books issued per registered borrower has risen from 29.3 to 31.1. There were 7,060 fires in London last year, of which only 36 were serious. Fire brigades received 11,660 calls, of which 1,980 were, malicious false alarms. The total debt of all London local authorities at March 31, 1937. was £162,795,433, an increase of £5,297,524 over the previous year. Interest and repayment charges amounted to £lO.550,720, compared with £9,589,462 in the previous year. There are 2 334 miles of roads and streets maintained by local authorities in the administrative county, and the cost of lighting them is £257 per mile per year. Of 50.000 London school children leaving elementary schools in 1937, 89 boys and 127 girls were described as of “super-normal” mental conditions. L.C.C. lidos and open-air baths were used by 857,000 bathers last years. The Metropolitan police were notified in 1937 of 7.203 stolen motor-cars and recovered 7,094. Thirteen horse cabs were licenced in London in 1937. The administrative county contained on January 1 last 80 theatre and music halls, 291 cinemas, 224 hotels, restaurants and public-houses and 26 dancing halls and skating rinks. The theatres and music halls can accommodate 124.000 people and the cinemas 363,000. The cost of running London’s public lite amounts to a large sum. In 1935-36 the total expenditure of London local authorities was £63.202.166. Of this sum the L.C.C. spent £35.156,238.