The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-01-11
Municipal War Deb,s.


Municipal War Deb,s.
Our Augusta correspondence has already
exhibited the facts, and the Governors Ad-
dress has made public the conclusions, arrived
at by the Commission authorized last March
10 obtain all requisite information in regard
to the expenditures Of cities, towns and plan
tations for war purposes, ard establish some
equitable basis for the assumption" The Com
mission was appointed by the Governor and
consisted of Charles w. Goddard of Portland,
Nathan Dane of Alfred, Arson p. Morrill, of
Readfeld, Hiram Ruggles of Carmel and
Charles R. Whidden of Calais. The publica-
ton of their report enables us to give in their
own language the most important portion Of
their reasoning.
Without going again into details already
published, it is sufficient to give the following
summary of the estimates of the Commission:
Municipal bounties not reimbursed. IS, 49o 55e 20
Recr airing expenses. ................2 o2aso IS
Private contributions. 100000 90
sli,oi7, 4ss %
Num ber of tbree-vears mon T5F = $1,000
These results are founded on actual returns
from Asst municipalities, comprising nearly 81
~
cent. of the property of the State. The. ratio
of expenditure and military service for the re-
manning towns and plantations has been tax
en- from these data, giving the total expendi-
ture and service reduced to basis of three
years as above. ...
The average expenditure for each man is
$685. but as the per centage of the entire
population furnished for the service is pretty
pretty nearly uniform, it evident that the
expenditure Las been made on basis of pop
ulation and not on basis of property. On
this point the Commission say: -e-f.a siI e.
Under the operation OF town bounties, both
men and money have actually been raised from
the people of Maine on the basis OF popula-
ton, without regard to their ability to bear the
tax. For, quotas having been assigned on the
sole basis of population, towns and planta-
tons of small valuation have been required to
furnish as many men, and therefore to pay as
much Tor bounties, I'm fact more, usually, as
the returns prove0 in proportion to their in
habtants, as the wealthest cities of the State.
Hence the returns show the burdens of the
war to be grossly unequal, being oppressive in
the poorer towns and plantations, while in
the cities and wealthy towns they are compar-
atively light. But these burdens can be equal
lied and the smaller towns and plantations re-
lieved from their unequal embarrassinents on
-
whereby the property within its limits can be
subjected to an equal contribution toward de-
fraying the expenses incurred in its protection.
Otherwise the whole of this enormous sum,
the annual Interest of which alone exceeds
$500,000, must continue to rest, as between
cities, towns and plantations, like a gigantic
poll tax upon the people per capita, without
regard to poverty or wealth. 1 Esfi H4
This inequality is rendered still greater by
the'fact, developed by the returns, that the
bounties paid by country towns are consider
ably higher than those paid by the cities. OF
the 542 municipalities of Maine, 3S contain a
valuation exceeding all the rest, while they
number only 30 per cent. of the population of
the State. The average wealth of these cities
and towns is $432 to CHI inhabitant, while in
in the State at large it is but $3.50. Even if the
bounties had t cen equal, it is evident that
these 80 towns instead of over 80 per cent.
would have paid only 80 per ceut., of
the amount required by the exigencies of the
war. The commission takes no account of SOL
diers furnished previous to the call of July
O. 1862, because there were SO few bounties
paid previous to that time that to include
them would only increase the difficulties.
They do not adopt the policy of reimbursing
a portion of the war indebtedness of each town
because that would be unjust TO such towns,
as conducted their affairs economically.
Neither do they recommend the assumption
Of the highest sum paid by any town ($5OO)
for three years men, or even the average $3.50
but the minimum ($10O) paid by any consid-
cradle number of towns, for the reason thai
even on this basis the amount will be So, &c.,
000,which is 2 per cent. of the State valuation
of186o, and is as much as it is thought the
State can safely carry. 10 hna 1oo1 Ia 10 1i
The Commission recommend a. constitu-
tional amendment for the proposed assump-
ton, because its adoption requires the popular
approval and demands no immediate special
tax, leaving the State full liberty to borrow
on the most favorable terms and collect pay
ment of the people at their own convenince.
To raise the amount of the money required,
State bonds may be iss ued at an annual tax
not exceeding two mills on the dollar of the
State valuation, assessed in order to pay the
interest on these bonds ami to accumulate a
sinking fund sufficient for the payment of the
principal at maturity. *. cs eg.t ..-
Finally, the Commission is of the opinion
that ultimately the United States government
should reimburse the whole amount not
less than twelve millions-paid for war expen-
ses by the several towns. vi,
DRAWING OF THE RIVERSIDE INSTITUTE
LoTTERY.-A Philadelphia dispatch says that
the Riverside Institute Lottery was drawn
Thursday evening, suddenly without previous
notice, to avoid threatened injunction. The
following are the principal prizes drawn: sun
No. 1s1 1893 drew $4,000 in money; No. 1884,
966 drew $4,000; No. 46902 drew $4,000; No.
179 637 drew $5000 No. 282, ZIG and 99092 drew
$500 each; No. 165, 1856 drew house worth
$4,000; No. 317619 drew house worth $15,-
900; No. 170413 drew house worth $4,000;
No 212 drew house worth $4,000. 'iAH '
| The ticket which drew the $40 600 prize was
sold at the Office of George r.. Davis & Co., in
this city. We hope that he, or she, whom the
| tickle dame called Fortune has thus favored,
will not be driven almost to lunacy by the at
| tentions of persons conceiying a sudden and
violent affection for him or her, as happened
in case of the man who drew the Crosby OPP
era House. ar ~ .'-,f -,,,.-sf ,...-. =.
A TOUCH STORY FROM WIscoNsN.-The
Wisconsin State Begister tells of a man. liv-
Il 2