The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-02-24
FELLOW CITIZENS:

i q response to an INVITATION IIOm
many friends. and 10 obedience to my
own wishes. have returned home to
meet the Republicans of Indiana In
council. aad shall begin what have
to say to night, by a short review OF
the financial condition of the State.
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE STATE.
Ga the first day Of July. 1919, the
debt Of the State, as reported by the
Auditor, stood as follows;
Outstanding bonds no surrend-
cred under Butler Bilf' .......Sl 10 ,UUO W
Five per cent. State stocks issued ~.
under q" Butler Bill "-......-----... 555oOJO W
T is9u saq under dsi Butter Si SsH h' 50
foreign DEBT 81 Inc D Oh 2O7 so
To this should lie added the
amount OF the domestic debt -,
October 81, lSi5...-.......-......-... zl0.o51 W
Making the entire debt.-............ss2 50.787 60
On tie first Of January, 1857, at
the close Of Governor Wright's adj
ministration, the domestic debt had
been extinguished, and the bonded or
foreign debt was SLIP. 81. Show
ing a reduction of the State debt,
during Governor Wright's admins
tration, of $487, 426 80. This amount
of reduction IN seven years, during a
period of general prosperity and pro-
found peace. was very small, but 1t
was much better than what followed
under the administration of Cows. Will
lard and Hammond. At the close OF
their administration, January, 1861, as
shown by the report of Auditor j ohm
w. Dodd, the amount of the deb;
was $10,179,2 %, having been In.
creased during the four years 81 4O6,.
965 90. And thus the Republican
Administration commenced 10 Janu
airy, 1861, with a debt of SO, LIS, 267, :
09, as an inheritance from the Demo
cratic party. In order to raise money
to prosecute the war, the State issued
during the Summer of 1861, two
millions of War Loan bonds, and du
ring the Summer, Congress levied /;
direct tax on the State of $904,875 80
which, added to the War Loan, made
an indebtedness of 80, 904, $50 30. in
CURED on account of the war. The
national direct tax was assumed and
settled By the Republican State Ad.
ministration without suffering 1t to be
levied upon the people. 1t will be
seen that the end Of the fiscal year IL
1862 found the State with debt oil
S13,084, 061 AZ, old and new. The re.
port of the Auditor, for the yeal
1869, shows the State debt now to be
as follows:
Old Bonds not surrendered
under "Butler Bill". $4,000 q
Five per cert stoeKs................ $780, 956 81
Two and a half gper cent stocks. 474O i
War Loan BOnds--.-........-,.-....... O4.OtO VI
Showing an aggregate of foreign
DOuQeu QeDL Oh. O1JoJo *
Bond to the School Fund....-.-..... ,55I ,3l6 l5
University BOnds.....................-. $3.50 0,
Afakirg a .otardebi. Foreign and
Domestic ......s0 100 594 81
Showing the amount of tae debt
paid off since the first of November
1862, to be 1923, 1S3 90. The bond
TO the school fund of So, 551 ,216 10
the State owes to herself, and is never
to be paid. the obligation amounting
to this: That tho State will, semi
annually, for the support of common
schools, pay a sum equal to the inter-
est on this bond at the rate of six per
cent. per annum; but as, in the
absence of this arrangement, the
State would have to raise a like
amount for the support OF common
schools, the indebtedness is only nom
inal and not real so that, the whole
debt which the State is now liable to
pay amounts only to 81, 1O4, 2S1 ,43,
for the discharge of which / am in
formed that Governor Baker expects
the funds to be in tie State Treasury
within the next eighteen months, or
by the first of July, 1871.
This result Of Republican admins
tration within the last nine years is
highly gratifying, and gives assurance
Il III. i L. IL
ministratIon or the Republican party
In the future.
What | have stated, however, does
not include all that has been accom-
plished in the last nine years. The
Northern Prison Debt has been paid
aud the Prison completed; the Hos
pital for the Iusano has been greatly
enlarged and improved; the Soldiers
Home, the Normal School Building,
the Building for the Supreme Court
and State Offices, and House of Refuge
have been erected and paid for; and
appropriations made and paid out,
or for which the money is In the
Treasury. for the State University,
Female Reformatory, and enlarge
ment for the Institute for the Deaf
and Dumb, at an aggregate cost oil
S798, III 81.
LII all this does not make the con-
trast- between the Republican anc
Democratic administrations sufficient
~ striking, many other things might
be referred to, and among them the
last item of Democratic State fnan-
ciering in investing $130,00 of the
school fund in gambling house
IN New York, a part of which was
curiously reported as suspended
cash" the officer, however, refusing
to conform to the Democratic prac-
tice Of giving his note for the balance
when he went out.
And as an evidence of the general
prosperity, patriotism and devotion Of
the people of Indiana, as shoFn By
reports made to the Adjatant Gen
eral by the various County Auditors
it may be stated that the counties
cities, townships, and towns paid
from money raised by self-imp0sed
taxation for the relief of soldiers and
soldiers families, for bounties, and
for miscellaneous military purposes,
$50, 258, O40, all of which has been
paid, and nothing is left behind but
the memory of the good deeds that
were done.
And it may further be said that
during these nine years, the general
management of our affairs In relation
to education, to the courts, to the sys-
tenn of taxation and the general mau-
ner Of conducting the public bust.
ness, has been vastly improved. Is.
peclally has the Common School sys-
tenn been elevated from its previous
unOrganlzed and imperfect condition,