The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-05-03

From toe st. Louis Republican,
1t appears by the statistics of wealth,
taxation and Indebtedness in the Uni
ted States, made up in the Census of
flee at Washington, that the total assess
ed wealth of all the States and Territories
in the United States is SALTS, 1886, 1872,
of which S9,9l4, 7SO, S25 Is real estate,
and "a, 264, POS, 9O7 is personal property
But it is well-known that property in
nearly all the States is assessed for tax
alton at q rate far below its true value,
the assessed rate ranging from 10 to
100 per cent. below that value. The
true value of the aggregate wealthy
as estimated in the Census office, is
more than double the figures above
given, being a total of $50, O6S, SIS, 507.
In other words, the aggregate wealth of
the United States in 1870 was $50, 0O0,-
100000. In 1860 it was S16, 159, SIG, O68,
and in 1850 it was 81, l35, 7S0, 22S. These
figures show that it was more than
doubled in ten years from 1850 to 1850,
and nearly doubled in ten years from
1860 to 1870.
The total taxation in the States and
Territories for 1870, was $2S1, $780, 12, of
which SOS, GAG, OS9 was for State, ST.
Tag, lis for county, and $134, 49,, los for
city and town purposes. The same tax
alton in 1860 was 1914, 1864 1t is in
teresting to note that while the wealth
of the country is less than double what
it was in 1860, the taxes are more than
treble what they were in lS6O-shOwing
that the burdens on our wealth multi
ply more rapidly than the wealth it
self. 1t may be noted also that the
municipal taxation is nearly double
| that of the States and counties added
| notwithstanding that it costs nearly
twice rs much to govern the cities and
towns in the United States as it does to
| govern the States and counties.
The total Indebtedness of States, coun-
| ties and cities in 1870 was $S69, SIG, 75S; ;
of this $685., S66, 69S belongs to the States !;
| pa, $40 to towns and cities. This state
! tiOnal debt, which ON the first of the
present month was S2,2l0, 33l ,529; this
added to the aggregate debts in the
| States makes total of S3,O79, OOS ,2S7, or
| ten per cent. of the true value of the
whole wealth of the country, and twen-
| ty-one per cent. of the assessed value.
| The taxation here given does not in
| clude that of the Federal Government.
The Federal taxes yielded to the treas
| ury in 1871, 1888, 1913 944, which, added
to the S2Sl, lSO,312, paid for State, city
and county purposes, would make 1864, :
| 434, 256 as the amount of taxes collected
from S4O,OOO,0OO of population, in one
year, for the support of the general,
State, county and municipal govern
ments. This is at the rate of SIC SO per
capita for every member of this popu-
lation; or, estimating five persons to
the family, $50 50 per family. Nearly
one third Ofthis quota goes tOpay interest
Oh the aggregate debt foyer three thou
sand millions of dollars. 1t is to be re-
membered, also, that this statement of
taxation does not include the amount
collected from the people through pro-
tective tariffs for the benefit of protect
ed industries, no part of which goes into
the treasury. How much this amounts
to we have no means of accurately de-
termining; it is roughly estimated as
high as $500, 600, 900, which would raise
the grand total of taxes annually paid
by the people of the United States, for
all purposes, to $685., 404 ,256.
New York possesses Sc, SOC, S41 ,264 of
wealth, or One-fifth the whole amount
in the United States, and pays annu-
ally S4S, 550, 1903 i'm taxes. Pennsylvania
has wealth estimated at So, sos, 040, 112,
and pays Sd, 531 1897 in taxes. Ohio's
wealth is 81, 235, 430, 300, and its annual
taxation So, 526, SIS; Massachusetts,
wealth is S2,132, las, al, and its taxes
81, 922, 900; Illinois wealth is 81, ILL.,
$50, $40, and its taxes $21, 1925, 0OS; Mis-
souri's wealth is 81, 2S4, 022, 1917, and its
taxation $l3, sos, 49S; Indiana's wealth
is 81 ,26S, 1876, 573, and its taxation Sl0,-
79l, 121. All the States show large in
crease of wealth, Indebtedness and tax
alton, over 1860, except the Southern
States; in these there has been an in
crease of wealth, Indebtedness and tax
alton, but a decrease of wealth. In AL
ALBANIA the decrease is more than one
half; in Georgia it is two-thirds; in
Louisiana it is nearly one-half; in Vir-
ginia it is nearly One-half; in Mississip-
pi it is more than two-thirds. This
diminution of wealth is partly due to
the ravages of war, and the deprecia-
ton of property under the misrule in
the South, and partly to the emancipa
ton of slaves, without any addition Of
wealth to replace them.