New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-10-04

date, now before me, shows:
Bonded debt of the state January 1869 80 1893 $50
Increase of bonded aud floating debt
during Governor Warmoth's admin.
istration, q portion of which was
incurred by the Democratic Legs.
lature Of Is6s-7....................... A,25O.6ss
Total debt when Governor Kellogg came
1rcr 1n.a once anrns ;oyeraor Kelioass aS
ministralion by issue of bonds au.
thorized by laws passed previously $50. COO
Reduction Of debt during Governor Kel:
logs's administration By redemption OF
!. past due bonds funding operations
and retiring OF outstanding floating
obligations 1,62G, 0ZS
Showing ret decrease Of debt under the
Kellogg administration ................ $925 0,3
respectfully commend the foregoing
statement, which is, OF course. easily ve,i.
fed, to the consideration of those Northern
journals which have denounced my admin.
istratiOn as corrupt and oppressive. and
which vet profess to believe in fair play.
A committee ofeminent citizens appointed
BY me in 1878. irrespective OF party, to ex.
anime and report upon the status OF the
public debt Of the State, and our means Of
payment. recommended as the most equi.
table adjustment which the resources of the
State would permit, the funding Of the
State deb. at the rate OF fifty cents on the
dollar. Subsequently, the Chamber of Com.
merce Of the city of New Orleans, in sub
stance. irdorsed this recommendation of
the committee of citizens. Believing that
the Justice and strength of the proposal 60
scale the indebtedness OF the State
lay in the fac: of the State Offering to its
creditors the very utmost amount it
was able to pay. and believing as
did that by an economical admin.
istration Of its revenues the State
could afford to pay to the holders of its
bonds SIXTY cents on the dollar. instead
of fifty cents. rs proposed. I recommended
to the Legislature the passage of an act au.
thorizing the funding of all the legal and
valid outstanding Indebtedness OF the State
at this rate, the bonds SO issued in exchange
to be guaranteed by constitutional amend
ment. and the appropriation Of interest on
them to be made BY the same means per.
petual.
also recommended q constitutional
amendment, which was passed by the Leg
islature, limiting the State debt, when
funded. to $l5, 900, 900, and the rate Of taxa.
ton to twelve and half mills. exclusive
Of the school tax two mills). All these
amendments are to be voted upon at the
election in November. My recommends
tons were adopted; and the funding bill
became law with the then almost universal
assent Of the property holding people OF the
State.
Parish taxation is b. law limited to the
same rate as State taxation. The taxes
assessed for the present year, under tho
operation Of the laws passed by the Repub-
lican Legislature. amount to fourteen and a
half mills State Including schOuls), and by
consequence in no case more than fourteen
and . half mills parish. During the last
two years of the late regime State taxes
were never less than twenty one and q half
mills. and parish taxes in some instances
were carried as high as fifty mills.
The debt Of the city of New Orleans
amounts to $23. 100000, or about the same
as the debt OF the entire State. This in.
debtedness has been almost excluslvely i'll
cured under Democratic management.
The Legislature. upon my recommendation,
adopted constitutional amendment limit
ing the debt OF the city, and prohibiting
any city government from mourning fur
Their Indebtedness.
In cooperation with the Chamber Of
Commerce / submitted also to the Legisla-
ture. by special messages, q number Of bills
which would have reduced the annual ex-
penses Of the city nearly 100000. All
these bills passed one house Of the General
Assembly and some Of them became law;
but several of the most important measures,
notably bill reducing the extOrtionate
fees of the criminal sheriff of the city, which
amount to seventy or eighty thousand dol
lars year, failed through the influences
brought to bear by Democratic office hold.
ers to defeat these measures OF retrench-
ment. The bills we succeeded in passing.
however, have enabled the city council to
effec: reduction in city taxation OF five
mills.
In CARRYING into effec, these amt other salu-
tary measures. including the passage of a bill
Furnishing bribery which was one Of our
first acts, the Republican party had no aid
or countenance from those who now com
plain SO loudly Of the burdens under which
the State is suffering. With the assistance
which my opponents could have rendered
me. had they taken their seats in tho
Legislature, might have been able to carry
out not only ali the measures of retrench-
ment which recommended, buc others of
equal Importance, including q much needed
reduction Of the expenses of assessing and
collecting the State taxes which l urged
upon the Legislature. in my last annual
message, and strenuOusly but unsuccesstul!y
exerted myself to carry into effect.
When We came into Office We found sium-
bering on the statute books, ready at any
time to be called into activity, acts passed
under the previous administration and by
the Democratic Legislature of 1866, Great
ing a number of grievous monopolies and
involving the State in contingent liabilities
sweeping measure the Legislature wiped
out all these monopolies and contingent
liabilities. This one act, which urged with
all my power, has, perhaps, brought down
upon me more hostility from disappointed
monopolsts and contingent benefciaries
among the moneyed interests of the oppo
sition than almost any other act of my otfi-
cial career.
To recapitnlate the financial results
achieved under my administration: We
have, in two years, paid off over 5000, 900
of old floating indebtedness, with the old
assets of the State. We have reduced the
debt, by the funding bill! from twenty-five
millions to fifteen milliOne, not to be in
creased until after the year 1924 We
have reduced the State taxes from TWEEN
ty-one and a half mills to fourteen and
half mills. not to be increased until
after the same year. We have provided
that parish taxation shall not exceed
State taxation SC that the greatest amount
OF taxation any one parish can be called
upon to pay in any one year is twenty-nlne
mills. We have enabled the city OF New Or
leans to reduce city taxation five mills. We
have largely reduced State expenditures
and confined them strictly within the limits
OF our revenues, and We have repealed over
900 OF contingent liabilities. All this
has been effected by us without aid from
those who arrogantly claim to represent all
the virtue and intelligence of the State. and
while contending against violence within
the State borders and organized vilitication
abroad, and while the very existence OF the
government was being threatened. This is
the financial record of the administration
which our opponents assert has been so
corrupt and so oppressive as to drive the
State into bankruptcy and the people into
riots.
= The spirit which animates my opponents
ana the sincerity of their professions OF a
sole desire to advance the interests OF the
State irrespective of personal aims. Is APPLY