The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-10-21

By the 18th section Of the 9th article of tn
constitution, it il provided that mo county, CITY
township, or school DISTRICT or other municips
corporation. shall be allowed to become indebted
in any manner or for any purpose, to an amount
including existing indebtedness, in the appre
gate exceeding per centum of the value of tn,
taxable property therein-to be ascertaiued b,
the last assessment for State and county taxes
And BY the 9th section of tn,
same article, county authorities are prohibited
from assessing taxes, the aggregate of which
snail exceed ssventy.ive cents on the hundred
dollars valuation. Then, whatever power e
raise money for necessary public purposes the
State has denied its local or municipal orpaniza
lions. 1t has reserved TO itself, to be exercised
oy the General Assembly. The financial re.
sources Of municipal and local organizations are
necessarily limited to their powers to contract
debts and to impose taxes When these powers
nave been exerted to the utmost legal or posi-
Die limit, and are inadequate to the complete
performance of their duties to the State, thew
must be relieved of such duties altogether, for
the accepted construction of the constitution for.
oids the General Assembly to pay, assume to
pay, or to become responsible for the debts or
liabilities Of, or in any manner give, loan or sx.
tend Its credit to or In aid of any public or other
corporation or individual-(Seo. go, Article 10,
State constitutional The provision of the oousti.
tuition was adopted for reasons we'll understood,
and but few will doubt its policy or wisdom, and
no one will, spprehend, BE- willing to relax it's
stringency or narrow its Interpretation by con.
structions however ingenious or plausible.
It has also been proposed to give immediate
aid to the city of Chicago, by discharging the
lien OF the city upon the Illinois aud Michigan
Canal, authorized to be erected by the act 40.
proved February IS, 1865; aud it is claimed
that If the State should now refund to the oity
the amount OF money secured upon the revenues
OF the canal, with the interest thereon, (which
would be, IN round numbers, about three mil
lions OF dollars,) the city would be enabled to
rebuild its bridges and public structures, re-
move the distractions and repair its streets, pay
the expenses of it's government and other eI-
penses pertaining to its own organization and dis
charge its general duties to the State.
am not prepared to express an opinion upon
the question, whether even that sum of money
would be sufficient to supply all the essential
wants of the city; but my impressions incline
me to admit that it would and I am prepared
to say that while, under ordinary circumstances,
influenced alone by nay views of the proper poll.
cy to be pursued by the State, would not ad.
wise the acceptance of the opinion secured to the
state In the 9th section of the act of 1865 to re-
fund to the city the sum of two millions and
half of dollars, with interest thereen-under
P'''S''' ~ ZIG nOuey Chu D6 RAISED
by any satisfactory means for the purpose, it
seems to me proper that it should be done. The
County OF Cook alone has heretofore contained
nearly one.Sixth OF the taxable property OF the
State, and proportion of this which falls very
little short OF the whole, was situated in the city
OF Chicago Now, nearly one-half OF the pro.
dnctlvc property of the city is destroyed and its
present resources are crippled; but the day is
not f,r distant when it's walls will be rebuilt, Its
wealth and population not only restored, but in.
creased, and instead of requiring aid from the
Treasury of the State it will be again its chief
resource, aud money now appropriated to meet
10 necessities Will be bread cast upon the waters
/" De gathered again after not many days. But
while policy, As we'll as duty coDcar in the sup.
port OF the propriety of the appropriation from
the State Treasury, either to discharge the du.
ties heretofore imposed upon the city, and which
uhaided 1t can no longer perform, and for that
re'son they now devolve directly upon the
SJAte--or to refund to the city the sum of money
used by it IL deepening the canal, and for which
IT has lien upon the property of the State--it
remains to De considered how the money is to be
fdlccd To meet the appropriation.
Two methods have been suggested for the ac-
conplishrnent of this object. | am informed
taat the amount OF the taxable property, AS re-
ported to the Auditor for 1871 is abou. Eve
hundred millions Of dollars, which Is probably
less than one-tenth Of the actual cash value of
all the property In The State. From that sum
there Will probably be deducted fifty millions,
Oh account or the destruction of property in the
county OF Cook. Calculating then, upon the
basis OF an actual assessment Of Jour hundred
and fifty millions, the rate of taxation required
to raise three millions Of dollars is sxty-six and
fwo-shlrds cents upon the hundred dsllars
and when to this is added the probable rate of
htty-hve CENTS that may be required for revenue
and school purposes, the rates OF taxation for the
year 1871 will 90 one dollar and twenty.one and
TWENTY-FIVE cents upon the hundred dollars
Aud | confess To Il preference to this mode of
raislns all money required for public purposes
IL Is simple, direct, and, of all modes of lasing
money, II Is the cheapest. 1t proposes that each
generation shall discharge its own duties, and
1T conforms TO the golden rule or business moral.
ity: "Pay as you 20"
But the demands Of the city of Chicago for
whatever sum may be appropriated for its use,
are urgent and immediate and months NAV
e.Hpse before the proceeds of taxation can be
rcallzed, and it may be the Judgment of the
representatives of the people that the rate of
taxation that 1t may be necessary to impose Is,
under present circumstances, too heavy to be
conveniently borne and for some or all of these
reasons, some other method OF raising the re.
quisitc sum may be preferred.
The only other method of raising money,
that has occurred to me, is that of borrowing
the amount required. But it has been
asked, with some degree of anxiety, under
what clause OF the present constitution is the
exercise of the power to contract greater
debt by the state than $25O,0OO to be iustl-
fled and to linda satisfactory answer to the
question. is a task not altogether free from
difficulty. The provision of the constitution
relied on by those who question the power of