New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-10-01

of my administration ever the last year OF
my predecessor, was Sl57 .2l3. In the
second year. a still fdfther -saving was
effected .of LAP. AT the same rate,
tion a ios eos ssi ,Ss sa Whils y the admns
tration af my Predecessor, for the same
time, cost $40, 1873, 745 and the Democratic
administration OF 1855, 1866 and 1867 cost
$l7. .l29,5l4. q. q...,., -. /
: A statement made by the Auditor. Of this
date, now before me, shows:
Bonded debt Of the State January 1869 So. s6:
) lucreaeo Of bonded and floating debt
during Governor Warmoths a lmin-
istration. observation-disclosures. H,2'o oS'
Total debt when Governor Kellogg came
into ONCE $24 iZs.
Increase during Governor Kellogg's ad
ministratiOn by issue Of bonds au-
thOriZed by laws passed previously. .O00
Reduction Of debt during Governor Kel-
log2s administration by redemption Of
past due bonds, funding operations
Obligations ....................... ,626 o23
Showing ret decrease Of debt under the
Kell0gg administration ................ $S25 .023
I respectfully commend the foregoing
statement, which ia, OF course, easily veri-
fed. to the consideration of those Northern
journals which have denounced my admin
istration as corrupt and oppressive, and
which yet profess to believe in fair play.
A committee of eminent citizens appointed
by me in 1873, irrespective ct 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 debt at the rate of fifty. cents on the
dollar, Subsequently the Chamber of Com
merce of the city Of New Orleans, in sub
stance, indOrsed this Recommendation of
the committee of citizens. Believing that
the justice and strength of the proposal to
lay in the fact 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 sevenues the State
could afford to pay to the holders of its
bonds sixty cents ON tho dollar, instead
| of fifty cents, as proposed, l recommended
| to the Legislature the passage of an act an.
thorizing the funding Of all the legal and
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 Inade by the same means per.
petual.
also recommended constitutional
amendment, which was passed by the Leg
islature, limiting tho State debt, when
L IU0O0O, " 1lO,VVU,VVVs ouU Gu0 k0tO VI C6Xd
tiOn to twelve snd half mills, exclusive
of tho school tax 1.-Two mille). All these
amendments are to be voted upon at the
election in November. NY recommends
tions were adopted; and the funding bill
became law with the then almost universal
assent of the property holding people OF the
State. 81 ra..af,,y .s,,,...~ a..t.
Parish taxation is by law limited to the
same rate as State taxation. The taxes
assessed for the present year, under the
operation of the laws passed by the Repub
licaa Legislature. amount to fourteen and 9
half mills State Including scho0ls), and b.
consequence in no case more than fourteen
and = half mills parish. During the las
two years of the late regime State taxei
were never less than twenty one and hal
mills, and parish taxes in some instance!
were'carried as high as fifty mills.
The debt of the city of New Orleans
amounts to $23 .000. 600, or about the same
- the debt of the entire State. This in
debtedness has been almost excluslvely in
Cured under Democratic management
The Legislature. upon my Recommendation
adopted a constitutional amendment limit
ing the debt OF the city, and prohibiting
any cisy government from incurring fur
ther Indebtedness.
II In cooperation with the Chamber o
il Commerce submitted also to the Legisla
which would have reduced the annual ex
penses of the city. nearly 81 100000. AL
these bills passed one house of the Genera
Assembly and some OF them became law
but several Of the most important measures
notably bill reducing the extorti0nat
fees Of the criminal sheriff of the city, whicl
amount to seventy or eighty thousand dol
lars year, failed through the influence
brought to bear by Democratic Office hold
II fo dofoof fhoEo MI nf ratrannf, !,
ment. The bills we succeeded in passing
however, have enabled the city council T.
effect reduction in city taxation Of fiy
n mills. -. 49,. ..t..ro. ...-
4 In carr wing into effect these and other ealu
tary measures, including the passage of bill
Furnishing bribery which was one Of Ou
first acts, the Republican party had no ali
plain so loudly of the burdens under whic
the State is suffering; With the assistanc
which my opponents could have rendere'
me, had they all taken their seats in tn
| LEGISLATURE, might have been able to carr
out not only all the measures Of retrench
ment which Recommended to the Legisla
ture, but others of equal Importance, includ
ing q much needed reduction of the expeu
ses of assessing and collecting the Stat
taxes which urged upon the Legislature
in my last annual message, and strenuousl
but unsucressfully exerted myself to carr.
into effect.
When we came into office we found slum
berng on the statute books, ready at an
time to be called into activity, acts passe
under the previous administration aRd b.
the Democratic Legislature of 1866. crea'
ing number of gIiev0us monopolies AM
involving the State in contingent liabilitie
to the extent of over $4,000, 900. With on
sweeping measure the Legislature wipe
out all these monopolies and contingen
liabilities. This one act, which urged wit
all my power, has, perhaps, brought dow
npon me more hostility from disappointe
monopOlistS and contingent benefciarie
among the moneyed interests of the oppo
sition than almost any other act of my OIL
cial career. ~-'i 7't
To recapitulate the financial result
achieved under my administration: w
have, in two yeare, paid off over $500, 90
Of old floating Indebtedness, with the oil
assets of the State. We have reduced tn
debt. by the funding bill from twenty-tiv
millions to fifteen millione, not to be in
creased until after the year 1924. w
have reduced the State taxes from tweI
; ty-one and half mills to fourteen an
q half mills, not to be increased unit
after the same year. We havo provide4
/ that parish taxation shall not excee
I State taxation so that the greatest amount
of taxation any one parish can be calle
upon to pay in any one year is twenty-nin
mills. We have enabled the city of New o.
,, leans to reduce city taxation five mills. w
have largely REDUCED State expenditure
and confined them strictly within the limit
of our revenues, and we have repealed owe
$a. OOO, 900 Of contingent liabilities. All thi
has been effected by US without aid frol
those who arrogantly claim to represent a
the vii tue and Intelligence Of the State. an
while contending sgainst violence With