New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-04-28
The Wealth of the United States.
From the New York Sur

The returns of the census of 1870 make
the total value Of the real and personal
| estate in the United States, exclusive of the
possessions of The general government. to
amount to $50 06S, 5lS, 507. IT this estimate
be accepted as correct, it shows that, not
withstanding the war, there has been re-
markable Increase in the wealth Of the ma
ton since 1860, when the entire valuation
was placed at SIG, l59, 6l6,068. But from the
remarks of General Walker, the Superin-
tendent of the Census, which are pretixed
to the statistics of wealth and public in
debtedness, it becomes evident that this es-
timated valuation must be far from accu-
rate, although no pains have probably been
spared to render the returns as complete
and precise as possible.
1T is impossible to obtain correct idea
OF the value OF property from the returns
made OF assessments for taxation, for al
though differentiation for this purpose is
the rule, the proportion Of differentiation
to the true value varies in every State. and
in almost every county. There are States
In which the assessed value of the whole
body Of real estate does not fall short of
its selling price in favorable market by
more than ten per cent, while in others the
true value Is said to exceed the assessed
value by 200 per cent, and even more. I'm
der these circumstances, the census office
has prepared tables giving the value OF the
real and personal property, separately, as
assessed for purposes Of taxation, and sun
plemented these with an estimate of the
true valuation of both descriptions of prop
erty, derived from investigations carefully
made by officials specially commissioned
for the service. The results of their work
must be regarded rather as guesses than as
welEgrounded opinions; but it is probable
that they are as nearly correct as it is pos
sible to attain with the machinery at the
disposal OF the government
Another very serious defect in the CEN
sus valuation of the wealth of the country
arises from the omission of all attempt to
deduct from the amount of personal prop
erty debts secured by mortgages of chattels
and real estate. In respect OF such debts
the returns present double valuation
Not only 10 the property of the debtor
counted at its full value, but the money
borrowed to pay for it or other property is
counted likewise. Hundreds of millions of
dollars, for example, are owned in the East
in the form OF mortgages on the real estate
of the West, all OF which is represented
twice in these returns; first as real estate in
the West, and second as personal property
in the East. The work Of reducing the az
gregate valuation by separating these du-
plicated values would have been of almost
lnsupera bic difficulty, and even had it been
would most likely have led
"
parative wealth of sections. For if any
property was excluded, it would naturally
have been the personal property, and the |
nominal holders of mortgaged property
would thus have been credited with It's en-
tire ownership, while the persons really en- |
titled to the greater portion of it would not |
be represented at all.
The assessed value of the real estate in |
the United States is givea at 1894, 7SO,S25. |
and that of the DerSOnal estatN at 81 )6A
2O5,9O7 making total of Sl4,17S, 1856, 1872. !
In order to arrive at the magnificent sum |
total which the census office gives us as rep |
resenting the entire wealth Of the country, |
it has been necessary to add the enormous |
sum Of 81, 889, 531 ITS, as an allowance to !
offset alleged under valuation 1t is posi- |
BILE that this allowance is not too great: but |
few will doubt that it fully covers any de- |
ficiency that may have occurred from the |
lenity of assessors in the discharge of their
duties. Assuming this to be accurate, it re-
mains that when the vast sums invested in |
oans secured by pledges of real and per-
,onal property. in this country, amounting
10 thousands of millions OF dollars are de- |
lucted from the general estimate, the |
amount must be very seriously diminished, |
Debts are not property, and when they are |
represented as such in the census, it only |
gives false impression of the resources of |
The country. The United States is tOlerably |
prosperous; but leaving out OF sight entire
y all public Indebtedness, and viewing the
'ubject wholly in relation to the property |
# private citizens in their individual capa-
,ity, We have made no such gain in wealth
turing the past ten years as the census
,ables would lead one to believe.
General j. Nj. mbOden, late of the con-
ederate States army, now captain of