The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-04-22
The City Debt.


payment OF past due city stock, are direct
ing public attention to the condition OF the
municipal finances, and will, it is hoped,
lead to the adoption of well-considered
plan for arranging the city debt, as well as for
meeting the interest and for paying the cur
rent expenses Of the municipal government.
This ia matter which demands immediate
consideration, for, in addition to the amounts
for which judgments have already been Oh
tanned, another large instalment OF city stock
falls due in October. In April and October
Of each year. until the end OF 1898, other
instalments fall due and IT, choice will be
between a REIMBURSEMENT OF the debt, in-
creased taxation-and, direct or indirect, re-
pudiation. And we desire to say, without
going further. that, in our opinion, any
souintins at reputation, however disguised,
would do Charleston infinitely more harm
than good. We know how onerous is the
load of municipal taxation; but the city debt
was honestly contracted and should honestly
be paid Indeed the courts will compel
this, whether we like it or not.
The city debt at this time is more than
s5, Oe0, 600, involving an annual charge Tor
interest of more than 100000. This load
of interest stares us in the face whenever an
attempt is made to reduce taxation, and it
was to be expected that the present munich
pal government would find it more conve-
nient to raise hue and cry against the peo-
pie who authorized the debt, than to begin
the work of retrenchment by cutting down
the exorbitant cost of the streets and police
departments, and the like. The blind abuse
which Radicalism heaps upon. the respecta-
BILE gentlemen who administered the affairs
of the city until the State was placed under
military rule is, as we all know, the last re-
sort OF a few mouthy demagogues, who do
their best to ruin the people. While with
leather lungs they yell Stop thief! their
pockets are filled with spoils.
Before the war, and even after the war,
the Mayor and Aldermen of Charleston may
have made mistakes. Money was spent with
out stint, where, perhaps, a smaller sum
would have been sufficient Subscriptions
were made to railroads which were not then,
aud will not be, of any benefit to the State.
But the city government was pure, honest
and sincere There was no jobbery, no steal
ing, and whatever was done was done with
the consent of the people. We go further,
and say, that up to the close of the war not
one dollar Of debt was incurred which the city
was not able and willing to pay. According
to the United States census of 1860, the real
and personal estate in Charleston County
was thea valued at S64, 100000. In 1868 the
State assessed its value at $1,000, 900. If
the people OF this city had the real and per-
sonal property which they had ten years ago
they could easily pay the interest and princi-
pal of their debt, and make no complaint of
high taxation. The debt is more than can
easily be borne, now that the slave property
is cancelled; but it is not more than Charles
ton was justified in mourning in 1860. A
debt OF s2,5O0,O 900 would bear the same re-
lation to the present Value Of the city prop
erty, that debt OF SIS, 600, 900 bears to the
value of the city property before emancipa-
ton. And we all know well enough that,
poor as we are, we could carry debt of two
and half million dollars without serious
difficulty.
At the same time, we repeat, the condi-
ton Of the city debt demands prompt and
serious consideration and we shall be
pleased to place before the public any plans
for its payment, Encouragement or extension
which may have suggested themselves 10 any
Of our readers.