The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1871-09-21
HIr. DeCOrdOVa's Address TO the
TaXnaYeIR.

Mr.. DeCOrdOVa's Address TO the
Taxpayers.
Mr.. DeCordova, on being intro.
duced to the meeting by Alfred
Smith, Esq, said:
Friends and feUow. citizens adj
dress you this evening at the request
of several of the old citizens of our
county, who like myself, have passed
nearly quarter of century in your
midst. l do not appear befors you
as a politician, but to mingle my
counsel with yours in these times of
excitement and trouble. Ever having
been lover of Law and order, as you
all know, 1 do at this time, however,
humiIitating as it may be to us as men,
to do it, yet I counsel that the illegal,
arbitrary, and l might say infamous
order of the Governor should be OBJ
served.
The Governor of your State has
left the Executive Office and turned
rambling politician. If he had mixed
with the people and not confined him
self entirely to his party, he would
have found the whole country in
blaze of excitement, an excitement
far exceeding anything that we have
ever had-much greater than existed
atthe time of the secession movement,
for that was confined to the towns and
villages; but this excitement exists
everywhere, and among all classes,
amongst the men on account of the
high rate of taxation; amongst the
women of the land on account of this
infamous order of Davis which they
view as an intended insult to their
husbands, sons and brothers; amongst
the children on account of the school
law, and the uncertainty whether they
will have any schools at all.
But to business-from my exami-
nation of several of the rolls of assess
ment for different counties, I have
come to the conclusion that the
amount of property assessed will,
in the aggregate, amount to $780,
100000. The rate levied by the
Legislature for divers purposes, to-
gether with the amount sought to be
assessed by the school board is about
% per cent; therefore the sum Of
81, 100000 is sought to be collected
from the people of Texas in one year,
and this amount which l hesitate not
to say, is more than has been as.
sessed on the people of Texas, from
the time she was admitted into the
Union until the year 1870, and this
too, right on the disastrous results Of
the crop of 1870, and the potent
facts that the disastrous drouth of the
present year made this crop almost
an entire failure.
Governor Davis and Mr.. Newcomb,
in the speeches Ihave seen reported,
are telling the people that our take:
are not higher than that of New
York, Pennsylvania, Chicago, etc
Now, what the rate of city taxes il
Chicago may be, I don't know, bu
take this amount out, and I venture
to say that our taxes are higher
than theirs. As to Pennsylvania,
have no data at command, but I alst
believe that takes out the taxe
levied by the city of Philadelphia
the people are not taxed as we are
And now, as for the taxes of New
York, I find by the statutes of tina
State, that the State of New Yorl
levies for keeping in repair and new
work on their internal improvements
the great canal, the payment of inter
est and sinking fund on the debt, 70
; 5ounties given to soldiers for the lat
war, and for building a new capitc
and every thing else, but "sirty cent
on the hundred dollars And tn
city of New York for all her expenses
, including the pay of over one thou
sand policemen, the levy is bu
TWO PER CENT, and that too on tn
valuation of the property for tn
year 1870. So that the taxes of Me-
York are 2 6-10 per cent, and tn
property of New York is valued b
appointed assessors, at almost half 9
what is considered the market price
, while ours, if we take Travis, as a
l example, is valued for more than
, would bring cash on the counter.
[ would not willingly belieye tina
either of these parties would wilfull
state what is false, but they shoul
7 be careful in their statements. Fact
0 and fgureS-are stubborn things
e And supposing, fellow citizens, tina
: the taxes are not higher in this Stat
than they are in New York an
n Pennsylvania. Is there, can ther
= be any comparison made?
s In those States, it would be vic
4 lent proposition to say that, one, sixt
OF the area IS unproductlve and
would be just as violent to say thu
= One-sixth Of Texas is productive; b
!. production, 1 mean "yielding
revenue" and these States cour
E their population by millions, and y
= we are not 100000 all told-have
f voting population say of 100000,
:. which fifty thousand will not col
I, y tribute as many thousands out Of Il
g 100000 that the so-called Lee
islature has sought to collect from u
! Gentlemen-I call your attentic
n to the following extract taken fro
r. the Davis organ:
"a "It is thought that the total taxation il
~ posed upon Texas will average about two
:, two and quarter per cent, part of viii
results from the effort to meet and liquida
the Democratic indebtedness previously
e CURED. This amount, although so great
outcry is made by the malicious opponer
= of the administration, is not so large as t