, 1874-11-12

WHAT THE NATION OwEs.-Speaker
Blaine, the no dopbt. coming nominee
o.. .the HpdbHa pity TOT thS presi>
daney, has delivered an address before
Wisconsin agricultural society on
Municipal Debts in the United States. !"
The address hss'been evidently prepar-
ed with a view to candidature of the
Memorable aspisant h4t- = y not Jess
ndevcrttH forthe q menf Ast epd Sse-
full suggestions which it conveys. The
speaker devotes; as his intricate subject
indicates. the burden of remarks to a
statement OF the debts, State, county.
and municipal for which the people Of
the United States are! rsspenbles B
informs us that there are sixteen cities
having each > population Of over 10O.-
900, and an aggregate population of A.
500 900. having an aggregate indebted
ness of $3.50. 600, 900, or $50 per capita
for their entire population. In the Sec
ep& &cla,ssre Acse tities Rbpss popula-
ton is between 1000 and 100. 900. OF
theserthefe are twelve; with a total pop
'ulation q $50 ,D00. and q debt Or $780,
600, 600. or $40 per capita. The third
are those whose populations are between
20, 900 and, 590OOO.- There are 5S Of
those: with q population OF 1.5O0, 900,
and an estimated debt of $75. 5.OOO, 900,
OF so cents per capita, The cities hav
ing population between 10000, and
20, 900 embraces the fourth, class with
d total population of 1.4oO, 900, and an
aggregate debt of s35, 900, ,o0o.. or about
$29 per capita The speaker estimates
the debtsof the rs.aining cities under
10000 population at $50, ,ooo.o 900. This.
incladed in the four classes already Civ
en-, makes the total munipal ydebtto be
ssh, ,O0e, ,ooo.a AIDING to these city
debts, the speaker gives the county debts
Of the entire country at $3.50, ,0o0. 900,
and the State debts at $3.50. .0O0, 900,
makilg grand total of $1.i40, ,0O0. 600
for State, county and municipal debts.
From these figures presented by Speak
erBlains i il sseh that these debts, are
one-half Of the dtaInstional liabilities.
THIRST FOR OFFICE IN THE UNITED
SrATEs.--Notwithstanding the fact that
public officers need expefience, here. in
California. after every election, about
500 new men, county officials, go into
Office. Multiply tits number by sixty,
and we have in tie United States anice
army Of 80, 900 men trying their "pren-
tics hands" at the administration of
public affairsg q Add 10 this the officers
Of the State and General governments,
and we have nearly us many more equal
y ins1perisncedg The men Who go out
of Office are, of course, much better than
those who take their places; because
the former have some experience. while
the hitter have none, Indesd, SO true
is it that they have no special qualifca>
tons for the Office to which they have
BEEN elected, that IN many instances,
without any special injury to the public
service, the county surveyor might e1-
change Offices with the county judge, the
sheriff with the treasurer, the commits
sioner of roads with the county clerk,
and the superintendent Of schools with
the constable II is > very common
thing to see man, after his term has
expired, elected to another Office, in
which the duties, are wholly different
I1emember, among other cases. where
one acted suecessively as constable and
superintendent schools; and he was
considered as well qualified to arrest Q
thief as to examine school-ma' am. =
Whether he was or was not successful
in either capacity is another affair. =
Overland Monthly. ,,...s;,., ,..,y ~
TGRANGERs IN THE UNITED STATES
Tho nnhl,cation of o. fl(N, ad, :itional