, 1859-07-02
Rrca@ \ Gribt&ttt,
SATURDAY, JULY .. 1863.

HONESTY Is THE best POLICY.
Tho late action Of John Wentworth has
brought tho financial affairs Of this city to |
crisis. and the time llas come when property
holders mus, look the "situation" squarely III
the FACE. The city is in debt; its public treas"
ury is empty the authorities a5e enjoined
against anticipating the next taxes, by borrow
inc. What is to 1'c done: That is the qucs-
ton. Since borrowing is forbidden, there rc-
nains two other courses to pursue, viz: to
tax, or to repudiate. People may as well open
their eyes Mt oncc- The liabilities Of the city
must either he met By ta1ation OF Reputation,
as the middle course has been cut of l,y Viii
son and Wentworth. Honest men will not
hesitate which policy to advocate. The Anti
Debt payers will 60 for the " Wentworth
policy" Of repudiation; how numerous they
arc time will show. in this contest the Press
AND TnprSE will take sides with the "Dcbt
payers" Rather, then, tl;an have the credit
Of Chicago impaired, and her fair name tar
niGhcd, what true citizen would hesitate to say:
"Lct The taxes for tile current year he doubled,
If :hat amount be necessary, aad have the
who!e floating debt Of tho city cleagcd of Mt
ones aud forever; make one job Of ths matter,
and got the city beyond the reach Of Went
worth irjunctions." Our share Of the burden
will be considerable, hut we will meet it with
the utmost clccrfulncss; and we firmly be-
1icro that majority Of tho Taxpayers would
favor this coursc. Tie SUN to be raised is
only triac when compared with the wealth
Of tho city and tho ability Of her citizens to
pay it. Come to divide it up among fifteen
thousand taxpayers, and it is only one-utiird q
one per cent on tic actual cash value Of cael,
mans property: Why, thcn, not cut Ito
Gondian knot BY each man putting his l,aud
in lis pocket md haadiug over TO Dcao
Harvey, the City Treasurer, his proportion Of
the floating debt aud havo done with it.
But it may be said that this course is in,~
practicable, ns the Charter limits taxation fur
general purposes to tl.rcc and a half mills IN
tho dollar, which amount Of assessment would
not he more tiaau sufficient to pay ordinary
general expenses, leaving nothing to apply III
liquidation Of the floating debt Such, we
grant, is the fact, so long as properly is as
scssed only one-gaarfer Of its real value as is
the present practice. Tic law specifically de-
clarcs, TINT 'all property must be entered for
taxation at its full casl. valuc," and It il madc
the duty Of City Assessors to SO value it.
The whole tar list Of the city Of Chicago
last year, real and personal ouly footed up
Ai'ay-si1 millions! when, in fact, tic personal
property alone could hardly he bought for tllat
SUN. If tie valuation lse made according 10
the requirements Of the law, one hundred mil
lions are tic very lowest figures that can pos
sibly bc put upon tie property Of this city.
4 tax Of seven millst or ttreejonrt1s Of one
per cent. levied for general and special pur-
poses, upon this basis, will pay Off the Int
dollar Of floating debt which tic city owes, a.,d
provide sufficient funds to carry on the goy-
crnn'ent until next tax-paying time arrives:
after which the assessment need not exceed
three and l,alf mills, or one-third per cent.
ou the cash rnlue Of each mans property; or,
should tic present basis be again adopted tn
mills would suffice for all purposes. But some
may object that If the actual cash value Of
property be adopted, the city will be Obliged
tol'ay more than its due proportion Of State
taxes To this NC reply, that tue assessment
made for municipal purposes is altogether ser
arnte from tie State aud County assessment,
It is made by different officers, and has no
connection whatever with the State. Tic
revenues Of the city are collected by differ
ent set Of officers, and paid over to a different
Treasurer, and at different time. The State
Legislature aud Board Of Supervisors control
the one, while the Common Council controls
the other.
Eastern capitalists often express surprise Mt
the low public valuation Of u city Of the p5c-
tensions Of Chicago. Other cities containing Il
half or Third Of her population, rank higher i'll
statistical tables Of property. While on the
other hand, people abroad, arc shocked at the
apparently crushing load Of taxation levied up
on the property holders Of this city for corm-
rate purposes Fifteen to seventeen mills Of
taxes arc formidable enough to deter thousands
Of mcn from coming 10 Chicngo to invest mon-
cy or to reside. tswly, that is nearly t'uv pr
cent on all man is worth" they say to them
selves, "and moro than / will ever let then,
bleed me-" Cincinnati Excursionists, during
tllcir Int visit here, were constantly saying.
"iou have fine, prosperous city, but you art.
awdully taxed" I'VE only pay four to frx
mills for municipal purposes, while you have to
pay fifteen to seteatoen." Now tic fact is all
property in Cincinnati is taxed on its full .alne,
and five mills there are actually rs heavy as
twenty mills here, on the basis we adopt. If
we were assessed in Chicago by the Cincinnati
rule Of valuation, four mills would raise moro
moncy than fifteen on the basis here III
practice.
The idea prevailing in Tie minds Of many
Of our people tlmt property III Chicago, is or
prcssiycly, or heavily taxed as compared witt
property in otl'er lnrgc cities, is gross mis-.
take- We assert without fear Of successful
contradiction, u,at there is 10 considerable city
On the whole American Continent in wl,icl
the corporation taxes are lighter, in proportion
to the actual ralue Of property. We do no,
except Boston, which is certain1y an ,,conon,;