The Caucasian. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1874-1875, 1874-07-25
The Rail Road Once Morn.

The Rail Road Once xors.
TN Deasocrat is out again tliis
week 10 favor sof the rail road
scheme Of Mr.. Kellogg which We
havealready ventilated, and gives
as sQQe figures which Alon't lie. 81
We will sect says that although
the rail- road tax will double the
parish tax and putting it at $21.-
600 per year at present and doub-
ling it, making $4,000, that the
rail road will own / of all the tax
able property in the Parish and
will pay ! of the taxes or $4,000.
There are three errors in this cal
|culation. First.-The parish tax
now of about $21, 600 is collectable
in q deprecated parish paper cur
rency which actually costs the peo-
pie but. $1O,5 The rail road tax
of $21 600 per year would have to
be paid IN currency. because it
would 20 to. pay interest on bonds
in the hands of New York specula-
tors who would not Of course take
our parish paper. opay the $21,-
900 then in greenbacks, it would re-
quire tax Of $42, 600 in parish pa
per, which added to the ordinary
parish tax Of $21, 900, would make
the whole tax $4,000 per year
Surprising then that the rail road
really does pay ! Of the tax they
would pay $21, 900 and VIC $4,000
per year. This is parish paper
calculation. Let us reduce both to
greenbacks. The present parish
tax of $21 900 in parish paper real
~ costs the people but So, 800
Add this to the 921 900 rail road
tax and the tax becomes $31, 500 in
greenbacks. Of this suppose the
rail ROAD does pay one third, or
$40, 500, it leaves us $21, 900 in
grcenbacks as our yearly tax. IL
either case we double our present
rate of taxation. The Democrat
errs in placing our parish paper tax
upon an equality with the green
back rail road tax.
qoin-Iti is gratultous assump-
ton that the rail road would pay
/ of the taxes. They would have
The assessment of the valuation OF
the rail road property in the parish
and they would be far from put
ting it down at any such figures as
81 100000. Nor could we depend
upon their paying anything, for it
lis an easy matter to get the Kama
roo Legislature of Louisiana to do
anything when you pay them for it.,
and these rail road gentlemen
would doubtless pay them to pass
an amendment to the charter ex-
pting them FROM the payment OF
PARISH taxes and then where would
be the / of the tax they were toray
That section of their charter is a
bait to catch gudgeons. The Levee
Company affords us an illustration.
And thydly-The calculation of
the Democrat purposely leaves out
the whole question Of the payment
of the principal. This is $500, 900.
Divide this amount by 20 and We
have for a quotient, $4,000 per
year that we would have to pay.
AS to leaving this question to pos
terity, the position is absurd and
childish. Many Of us hope to live
much longer than that and it is our
concern. We would have to have
a sinking fund and could not put it
Off until the end of the twenty years
if we would. Now add this $4,000
per year in greenbacks to the $751;
500 greenbacks tax and We have
SAG, 500 as the whole tax in green.
backs. Suppose the road does pay
/ of this and it still leaves us $31, :
600 yearly tax in greenbacks, for
twenty years. Now to arrive at the
correct figures we must separate
the rail road tax from the parish
tax proper. We will sa, with the
Democrat that the parish tax prop
er is $21 900 per year in parish pa
paper. This reduced to it's curren-
|cy value is $1O,500 We have just
seen above that our whole yearly
tax in greenbacks, after dcducting
the ! it is supposed that the rail
road would pay, would be 931 900,
Deduct $1O,5OO the parish tax
proper from this and it leaves us
$40, 500 yearly tax in currency as
the rail road tar. This leaves out