Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-12-13
THE QUESTION OF TAXATION,
The following correspondence explains

Mourn HOLLY, n. j., Nov. 81, 1871.
MEssRs EDITORS: l wish to ask for further |
light upon certain statements recently made in |
your columns statements of no reassuring |
character to persons who, like myself, are at |
tracted to East Tennessee in the selection of |
future home. In an editorial in your weekly |
issue of November 22d, headed ''The Cause of |
immigration" you say: IA very heavy and |
alarming per cent. of our own people are leav
ing annually" The question naturally occurs,
are we OF other states wise in emigrating to To-
cate in section whose people are thus abandon
ing it in no incoasiderable numbers?
In looking for the cause of this exodus of
your own residents, | am reminded of. your
editorial OF the previous weeks issue In which
you refer to the mistaken notion prevalent
among your farmers that cheaper homes may
be found on the rich prairie lands of the n orth
west. But Is it not more largely due to the de-
plorable condition of your State finances, IN
volving heavy burdens of taxation? How much
truth is there in the following sentence quoted
by you from the Memphis appeal The
farmers, unable to pay wages or to buy fertll-
izers have to submit to negro co-partnership,
and see their fences and houses rot, their lands
wear out, without one ray of hope except IN
less taxation"
l am convinced that you regard these topics
as of high importance, and further discussion
of them on your part would be OF interest to
--a f-- g. MANY READERS.
We will answer the questions proposed
by our correspondent. In reference to our
own people leaving annually, we will just
say, that there is scarcely community in
the South, and our observation leads US to
believe there is no community in the
United States, where men can not be
found, who are charmed with the stories
of wealth and prosperity in the West.
There are many restless spirits everywhere
who long for the scenes and experiences
of frontier life. 1t is this that takes men
there, especially from Virginia, Tennessee,
North Carolina and Kentucky. We speak
of these States because we know more of
their people than of other states. There
is nothing strange in this exodus toward
the West, as it has always existed and al
ways will exist in a population like ours.
We believe, as we have before stated, that
the man who goes West expecting to get
cheaper lands than here, makes mis-
take.
With reference to the extract from the
Memphis appeal, it is only necessary to
understand something of the motives
which governed the writer. 1t is well
known that the State of Tennessee has ac-
cumulated large debt, by loaning her
credit to a number Of railroads in al
most every portion of the State. An
act was passed by our last Legis-
lature, authorizing railroads that were
indebted to the State for such loans to Ii
quidate their Indebtedness by purchasing
the bonds of the State and paying them
into the treasury to be cancelled. Most of
the solvent roads in the State have ayailed
themselves of this act, buying up the
bonds of the State at large discount.
But the roads in West Tennessee, from
some cause or other, have not done so. AS
a matter of course, the managers desired
to see bonds 60 down in the markets, in
order that they might buy them at large
discount and discharge their Indebtedness
tdj the State. To accomplish this, they
went to work to get rate of taxation so
low that it would smack of reputation, in
which case the holders of bonds would put
them on the market at low figures. This
is the secret of the extract in question :
There are hundreds of farmers i'll the State
whose system of farming is so poor that
they would find it difficult to pay taxes
at the rate of ten cents on each
hundred dollars worth of property. Our
State tax has been fixed at forty cents on
each hundred dollars of property, which
| is much lower than in great many of the
Western States, SO that it cannot be high
taxes that is causing our people to immi-
CRATE to the West.
We do not wish to be understood as say
| ing our financial condition is what il
should be. We have heavy burden in
the shape of State debt, but with any
thing like judicious management, with
more than three hundred millions OF
taxable property, which must increase
rapidly, we can discharge this indebted
ness, preserve the credit of the State and
not over-burden the people with high
taxes.