The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-12-30


,d;nance adopting an estimate Of the receipts |
or revenues Of the city OF New Orleans 1or
the year 1879.
I do so with great reluctance as l know you
nave made the tax proposed to he LEVIED as
aow "a il can be made in view of the manda-
.sory laws which compel You to levy certain
taxes, and which are deemed imperative Dy
YOU. and that you look to the incoming Legs
iature to relieve the people from the bufden
which you unwillingly impose
It seems to me- however, that the distress
sof this community is so great and their ma
Diiity TO nav this excessive tax Is SO evldeht
4 hat the occasion is one in which 1t is proper
10 consider whether laws enacted TO compei
YOU TO levy upon your constituents y taH
~ hich they Can not pay can pc cohs'itu'ionai
on obligatory upon you.
The State has no power 10 impose Tax
r,non one portion Of the State which It does
not ia pose upon the whole, except by tne
,nonsent of the duly elected agents of the
Community taxed How, then. can the Stat
riyLtt,.liy compel the levy of a tax by others
which it has no right to do of itself? 1t can
a OF lawfully do that indirectly which it has no
right to do directly.
If the State can compel you to levy tax
anon YOUR constituents without their or your
consent then there is no limit to the
draposit ton which may be placed upon the
city, and it virtually places it in the power OF
the State to take the property OF this commu-
nifty without due compensation,
The power Of taxation is placed in your
Hands as the representatives, OF the citizens OF
New Orleans 1t is a solemn duty which
al ou,d be performed by you in the best in
<erests of your constituents, and for the
proper exercise of this duty you are, or
should be, responsible to them alone
Would not, therefore. the imposition by you
of thi, oppressive tax give it legal char
ac!er which it does not now possess, ana rem
der any relief hereafter impossible?
If a tax is so excessive as to destroy the
value of the property taxed, it becomes con-
fscation and not taxation. Governments are
established to protect the rights Of persons
and property and tax is the contribution
made by the community for such protection !;
when, therefore, the tax destroys the proper
ty which it is levied to protect it is no longer
iust and equitable; and it appears to me that
any law which compels the levy OF such an
excessive tax cannot, for that reason alone,
DE constitutional, and should. as such, be dis
regarded by you.
The amendment. to the State Constitution
relative to the city of New Orleans, which has
probably been adopted, provides that no
further debt of the city can be made, money
borrowed or bonds issued. It is therefore
necessary that the city should receive sutfi-
<cent sum from taxation, which, together with
its other sources of revenue. will enable it to
s,ay as the requirements Of the city may need.
Ii a tax of two and one-half per cent be
aeyied, and it is not paid-as indeed believe
it cannot below is the city government to
DE administered What follows? The fire
department must be discontinued and the
police discharged, the lights put out, the
Waterworks suspended, the drainage ma
schines stopped and the public schools closed,
because the people are unable to nay these
necessary expenditures together with the in
terest due the public creditors. It is mani
fest that this impoverished people cannot pay
both. Is not the emergency one which JUST
Ges you in disregarding the laws, even ad-
uniting their validity under ordinary circum-
stances And should you not therefore re-
<luce the tax to point which the people can
pay?
Inability to pay is no crime, and there can
he no dishonor in a frank confession Of the
fact when it exists. The inability to meet
the obligations of the city has been already
shown BY the fact that, although the taxes te
meet the demands of the public creditor have
always been levied, and although strenuous
efforts have been made to collect them witt
all the appliances of the law, the city ha.
been unable to pay the interest due on hel
debt; and the current expenditures OF the las
six months remain unpaid.
The effort to accomplish the impossible car
only do harm, and l consider the effort t.
pay the public creditor and the expenses Of tn,
city government, under existing circum
stances, as impossible. An opportu
nifty for recuperation must be givel
IN order to enable the city to com
ply with the demands of her creditors
This is demanded, in my opinion, as much
by the interest of the bondholder as by tina
prosperity to the city the ability to pay will
become less and less until utter exhaustion
ensues
In thus advising suspension of the interes
tax, do not propose to discredit the obiga
Nons of the city, nor to deny their validity il
any manner but, believing that this cOmmu
nifty is unable to meet its obligations in its
present unprosperous condition, l consider il
us impossible to pursue any other course.
Although it is, in my opinion, absolutely
necessary to discontinue for the present 9
levy of the interest tax. there should be i'm.
mediate measures taken for an equitable ar
E-angemcnt with the public creditor, and thai
every oxertion should be made, both by tho
Getty government and the people, to meet oul
lust obligations at the earliest possible mo
-.nent. l have no doubt that the creditors o
,;the city will, in view of the distressed con
1ihon of our affairs (Which is apparent t.
every one) and OF the great sacrifices hitherto
made to meet those obligations, extend al
necessary indulgence in the difficult positio,
now occupied by US.
Even this temporary relief will not give u
tthe required prosperity, unless We have til
control Of the expenditure Of the city, SO a
10 reduce them to the most economical basis
together with a material reduction of tn
present State tax. Indeed, unless the tax Q
State and city can be brought down to some
thing near one and a halt to two per cen
upon the present valuation of properly l d,
not think we will have such q relief as viii
bring back our departed prosperity, and thu
restore to us the ability to meet our obliga
ftions. We may struggle on under a heavie
stax, but such prosperity as will bring to u
~capital and labor can not be obtained with
tax above those figures. unless upon greatl
reduced assessment. If a moderate t TX b
nevied, more will be received therefrom in
series of years than from an excessive one, a
an excessive tax depreciates the value of pre
perry, impoverishes the people, and thus d,