New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-05-13

Yrces. Of bonds issued over bonds paid

The first item is for portion OF the state
tax impcsed by the Legislature of 1S72-note
the dates-to provide money to meet appro-
priatIons made by the Legislature of 1871 and
preyious Legislatures in excess of the rev.
epues produced by the taxes. BY express pro-
vision of the Constitution the State is forbid
den to make good any such deficiency by IN
crcasing its funded debt. To permit the sew
eral counties of the State to raise money to
nav their shares of the tax by increasing
their funded debts is directly contrary to
the spirit of the Constitution, since it Is prac-
tically the same thing whether the State
contracts debt of seven millions, or whether
the several counties of the State, in proportion
to their assessed valuation, sevcrally contract
debts to the aggregate of seven millions. 1t
is an abuse of credit for counties to raise
money to pay their portions of the State tax
by issuing and selling their bonds. This the
County of Ncw-York has repeatedly done,
thereby making a dead letter of Article VII,
Section IT, of the State Constitution, one of
the most salutary provisions that instrument
contains.
The second item is for money borrowed in
advance of the collection of the taxes of the
year, it being the custom Of the city to an
ticipate the taxes by nearly the whole amount
of the years expenses, not including az such
the State tax and interest on the debt.
The sum borrowed on this account would
have been four or five million dollars greater
had Controller Green paid the State tax for
the current year which fell due, half on the
18th of April and half on the 1st of May. 1t
is precisely because county officials refuse to
obey the laws of the State that the State is
now disgraced with empty Sinking Funds and
Deficiencies existing in palpable violation OF
the Constitution
The eight remaining items are very good
examples of the purposes for which this city
is increasing its already gigantic debt at the
rate of ten millions year. IL is disgrace
to the City Government and to the Legisa-
ture which permits it, that the great City of
New-Yolk cannot spend five thousand dollars
for repairing sewers, or public school build
ing, without issuing its bonds. We have $780,
500 for CrotOn water purposes $4,000 for docks
and slips, S2G, 900 for the Boulevard, 100000 for
park improvements, $l05,00O for street i'm
provements, and $4,000 for vacated ASSESS
ments total of SG050O for these purposes,
and all in one month. And these improve
ments, and this rate of debt increase, have
been going on for years, aud years on years
will eapse before the Improvements are fin
ished whatever may happen in the mean
time to the debt We protested in the time
of Tweed against the ruinOus policy of the
minimum of taxes and the maximum of debt.
We protested year ago against the same
policy, when the taxes were cut down to ten
millions less than the expenses were certain to
reach. We protest now against the same
thng.' We say again that the policy of ex-
pending money at the rate of four and a
half per cent on the assessed valuation,
and raising from taxes, assessments, and
all other sources, but three and half
per cent, is ruinOus. Economy, indeed,
is never out of place, but it is too late for
economy to redeem the past. The choice held
out to our citizens is heavy taxation or tho
inevitable bankruptcy of their municipal
government. Taxpayers must no longer
delude themselves with the wretched sophis-
try that it is sound policy to shun the
reckoning, and let their money fructifyn in
their own pockets for it is now clear to
every hOd carrier on the island that the debt
is "fructfying" faster than the property
which it incumbers.