Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-03-28
A rRW FrGuRRs.

The total revenue derived by the city
last year from all sources was $780,
3l3 Al, every dollar Of which was paid
in greenbacks. The expenses for the
same period amounted to $437, 25S 81;
excess over expenses, $2s9,O55 o..
Mayor League and the Finance Com
mittee inaugurated system of rigid
economy. Large salaries were cut down
aad expenses reduced several thousand
dollars per annum. The floating in
debtedness of the city is $6O3,OSl 80,
which, under Mr.. Leagues economical
and close collecting regime, could about
be extinguished in two years, paying
dollar for dollar in taking up the just
and legal Indebtedness of the city.
The city assets for the reduction ofthe
floating debt amounts to 81, l3l 500 l6.
More than a million of this is in past
due taxes; over 100000 is due for in
terest, which if received in coupons
would reduce the floating debt that
much. 1t is not to be expected that
Mr.. League can pull out OF debt at
once. Nobody would think it possible.
But he is known to be careful, strict
collector and economist. The people,
therefore, who have cheerfully submitted
to an enormous rate of municipal
taxation have right to expect that the
city will, in. the course of time, pay
everything she owes, and further, that
special taxes should be payable in that
particular species of Indebtedness. The
county was heavily in debt a few years
ago after building the Jail, but the mag
istrates adopted system of retrench-
ment by which they brought county
scrip nearly up to par, and the county is
nearly out of debt Scrip has been re-
ceived all the time for taxes, even when
it was worth less than fifty cents on the
dollar. As a.result, the Quarterly Court
has been enabled to reduce taxes and to
adopt strict cash basis for doing busi-
ness. This is the only plan that will
work. The county, however, brought
suits to ascertain if any Of her outstand-
ing scrip had been issued illegally. This
resulted in decision against the Bar
bour Lewis" warrants, and saved the
county a heavy expense. The bal /
ance has been mostly redeemed from
time to time. Mainly because the State
failed to adopt such course and funded
her debt Unfortunately, we were OPP
posed to the funding bill. The State
debt may have been unwieldy," and so
the annual interest will be found un
wieldy, but the law requires it to be
paid nevertheless. The State interest
tax to be collected will be ct least mil
lion and half year, which, if used
after the manner Of Mr.. Leagues policy,
would have greatly reduced the State
debt in the course of i've or six years.
Yet those who believed in funding
said this would not he fair; that
the honor of the State must be preserved
even if taxes had to be raised, and Gov
ernor Brown frankly confessed that sixty
cents would be necessary. Even this
did not prevent the passage of the bill.
1t is quite evident that the city debt is
as unwieldy," if that is an argument
on the other side, in proportion to our
ability to pay, as the State debt was.
The people of Tennessee will submit to
grievous burdens Of taxation, as they
have already done, rather than ever be
stigmatized as repudiators, and they pay |
the more cheerfully when assured that
the revenues are applied strictly TO the
..ll.naoL