Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-08-14
A Radical Organ Claims Ohio
Ffnances Sound as n Multi true
rhe Nut Is n Rotten One.

A Radical Organ Claims Ohio
Finances Sound as n Multi true
the Nut is n Rotten One.
The Cleveland Herald of Sunday has the
following in relation to Ohio Finances:
"Ohlo is sound as a nut politically and
financially. Her State debt has been di-
minished instead of increased, and her en-
tire indebtedness is less than one per cent.
on her taxable property. Her Sinking
Fund will exhaust her Indebtedness in four
years."
"Ohio, sound as nut, politically and fl
nancially." The former will be shown TO
be true this fall, when THURMAN is elected
Governor; the latter we propose to show
Is the reverse of sound.
Between the year 1855 and 1856, the State
taxes of Ohio, under the rule OF the party
now in power, increased one million, one
hundred and t,oelUe thousand, three hundred
and fifty nine dollars and seuenty-ttoo cents, of
which the increase in Cuyahoga county
was $46,95S.94.
Between the same dates, the local taxes
of Ohio increased SIX MILLION, EIGHT HUN
DRIED AND ONE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED
AND sIxTY-FIvE DOLLARS AND SEVENTY
TWO CENTS, of which the increase in Cuya-
hoga county was three hundred and thirty
seventy Jfue cents.
The taxes, local and State, between the
years named, when the Democrats gave up
the power of the State to their adversaries,
has increased SEVEN MILLION NINE
HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN THOU
SAND NINE HUNDRED AND TWEEN
TY-FIVE DOLLARS AND FORTY
FIVE CENTS, being an increase, each yed,
of SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETEEN THOU
SAND FOUR HUNDRED AND FoRTY-sEvEN
DOLLARS AND KIGHTY-FIvE CENTS. In
Cuyahoga county the increase has been
three hundred and seuenty-seven thousand
three hundred and si1ty-si1 dollars and siSty-
eight cents.
In 1853, the State debt of Ohio amounted
to $14,O0s, ,293 81. The Democracy at that
time left in the Treasury, as applicable TO
its payment, $537, ,499O6, which really made
the debt, when the present party took pos
session of the State, but sl3,47O,796.71.
In ten years, notwithstanding the great
increase of State taxes, the vast increase of
the levy to pay the interest and the princi-
pal of the State debt, the Auditor of State
reported the State debt, in the winter OF
1866, at $12, ,902, ,O1445, being reduction in
ten years of but s2.16-less than half a
million dollars, acs1e in four years, toih less
lery and less money, the Democracy. bettoeen
the first day of January, 1852, and the last day
of December, 1856, REDUCED THE DEBT
ONE MILLION SIX HUNDRED AND
TEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED
AND SIXTY-ONE DOLLARS AND
SEVENTY EIGHT CENTS. The Dem
ocracy having paid, in four years time,
,oith less taxes, MORE THAN THREE
TIMES AS MUCH OF THE PUBLIC
DEBT AS DID THEIR OPPONENTS IN
TEN YEARS.
Besides the immense amount of money
raised and squandered, instead of paying
the public debt, the Fund Commissioners
of Ohio-the Negro Suffrage majority in
the Legislature aiding and abetting in the
act, took eight hundred thousand dollars
from the Soldiers Relief Fund seventy
six thousand four hundred and eighty-six
dollars from the fund to educate the chill
dren of the soldiers; one hundred and
thirteen thousand four hundred and four
teen dollars from the General Revenue
fund and ten thousand dollars from the
Canal fund, and in violation of the express
words of the Constitution appropriated the
amount, one million dollars, towards pay
ing the debt of the State, and yet in ten
years time, notwithstanding this criminal
n Of fI,or 1io f1n dc fho doh hoe
been reduced less than one halt the amount
thus wrongfully taken.
We have shown how little the State debt
has been decreased in ten years, less than
one-third the Democracy made in four
years, when the taxes of the people were
less. At the rate we are going on, the
taxes increasing, it will take over one hum
dred million dollars to pay debt of twelve
million. b
The Sinking Fund, for which large
amounts are raised, has not reduced the
debt in the last ten years at all. The mon
ey improperly taken from the widows and
orphans of the soldiers and from the Com
n on School and other funds of the State,
raised by taxation.for another and differ
0nC purpose, mas Ueeu luduc uOuUl0 INC
the debt has been reduced, and yet
the Herald claims that the Sinking Fund
will exhaust the indebtedness of the State
In few years. 1t will exhaust the people,
who pay the taxes, by drawing from them
their last cent, but unless honest and pru-
dent and able men are made to take the
place of the inefficients, who now manage
State affairs, the State debt never can, or
never will be paid.
We commend these facts to the Herdlds
prayerful attention, with a single remark
that, if as the Herald says, our former Au-
ditor of State is 'ssound as nut" it must
be a nut that is worm-eaten or filled with
If its financial condition is
such as ketches the eye of the Herald, it is a
sort of dead Sea Fruit, tempting without,
but ashes and bitterness within.
No State in the Union has her finances
so badly managed-none have officers so
incompetent-none raise so much money |
by taxes with so little to show for it, as the
State of Ohio.
Which il RiUhtS