Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-08-22
WHOLE NO. g,s27.


not mature for more than twenty years.
and cannot now be funded; and the only
practical question to make upon them
now is: Shall we pay interests on
them? But it must be remembered
that of this number S2,623,O00 were
issued to railroads that have either
paid their entire Indebtedness or are
solvent and are paying their interest,"
Under the legislation of 1S69-70, all
the other internal improvement bonds
issued since the war were accepted by
the State IN payment of loans made 10
railroads, and have been cancelled. 1t
therefore appears that of all this class
there are now outstanding only 8, ,5A,-
600 of bonds that were issued to in
solvent and unfinished railroads The
only question about these bonds is:
Can the State repudiate or cease to pay
interest upon them, after she has le-
galized them by the various acts of
the General Assembly Of 1S6970?
And it may not be improper to ask
whether the State can afford to fix
upon her fair name the stain of Te2a-
diation for that sum, when the beds
were issued under all the fora of
law, have since been acknowledge by
repeated Legislative acts as valid and
when the State has enforced his
mortgage upon the unfinished roads
partially constructed by the proceeds
of the sale of these very bonds The
question is often made: Is the State
able to pay this debt? According to
the census of 1870, our actual wealth
is only few thousand dollars short of
FIVE HUNDRED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
and our annual production one hun
dred and forty millions. This furn-
ishes complete answer to the inquiry.
A simple calculation shows that five
per cent. of our wealth will pay our
debt, principal and interest, and that
fifteen per cent of our annual produc-
tions equals our debts. And when II
is considered that 40 cents on the 800
has paid, and with the aid of new
sources of revenue now accruing to US,
aud little wise legislation, reducing
the expenses of administering the
criminal law, will continue to pay the
current interest, there can remain no
doubt of Tennessee's ability to take
care OF her present debt.
A SUSPENSION OF THE PAYMENT OF
INTEREST
will only add to her burdens by in
creasing the debt about a million and
4 quarter annually. And that policy
has already materially aided to swell
our debt to its present proportions.
Our State tax is less than In any Of the
States of the Union except three.
Even Kentucky, with sufficient money
in her treasury to pay every debt,
Ieyies tax of 40 cents on each SlOC,
while ours is 40 cents. The assess
ment of property in Tennessee is lower
han in most of the States. Take, for
eleven States in 1870:
In Tennessee property was taxed at 80
per cent of Its true value.
In Alabama property was taxed az ~ per
,ent of its true value.
In Arkansas property was taxed at ~ per
,ent of its true value.
In Florida property was taxed al 20 per
cent of its true value.
In Georgia property was taxed at IS per
cent OF its true value.
In Virginia property was taxed a. % per
cent of its true value
In Maine property was taxed at % per
.ent of its true value.
In Massachusetts property was taxed at
% per cents of its true value.
In texas property was taxed at @per cent
IF its true value.
In Maryland property was taxed at GA
per cent OF its trne.Value.
In Kentucky property was taxed at -
Der cent of its true value.
1t is not in the reduction of State
axes that you must look for relief
rom the burdens upon the taxpayers.
1t Is local taxation that is crushing the
energies of the State. | wish that the
State tax could be diminished. But,
repeat, this is not the great burden.
fake six counties in the State, includ-
ing Davidson and Shelby, and look at
the taxes collected in 1870: