New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-12-09
ALL "0UR DIFFICULTIES. y

ALL OUk DIFFICULTIES"
five were selfish politicians, and had
no regard for the welfare of the country,
We should envy the Democracy the Gre
dulity of their constituents. We should ever
regret that we have no followers like those
who hated Republication, who charge the
confiscation of blockade run cotton, or
champagne, upon the Republican party
who regard it q prime duty to hate free
dom of religion, and the education Of all
and of those to whom the American Lam
guage is translated only in contempt of
all its institutions. Such is in good part
the constituency of Democrats. We
have cited instances in which this in
congruous following has been banded for
the overthrow of the State and parish
governments solely because it was Repub-
lican. The Bulletin contains an article in
which all our difficulties are charged to
Republican
ton. Every addition to the State debt
since 1866 was made by Republican LeRis-
latures. Every increase Of taxation was
the direct result of Republican legislation.
At last the burden became too grievous to
be borne. Taxation assumed such proper
tions as to be equivalent to cOnfscation.
The credit of the State was destroyed. Its
revenues could not be collected.
It is then added:
Year after year the sum of unpaid taxes
unpaid because of sheer inability to pay
continued to increase until forced sale of
large proportion of the real property of
the State seemed imminent.
1t will be remarked that this increase
Of burdens is limited to Estate" debt.
No account is taken If the ''city" debt,
which is represented by one-third more
of taxation, and which amounts to over
q third more than the State debt re-
duced by Republican legislation. 1t will
be, moreover, observed that all our diff
culties are attributed to Republican taxa
ton for the State debt. Now, "taxation"
is in itself nothing. Taxation without
enforcement is no more than papal in
terdict of German Diet 1t is not taxa
ton, but the enforcement and collection
Of taxes that could alone account for sour
difficulties" Angry people who declaim
rarely reason. Insincere agitators seldom
see the flaw in their own hypothesis.
If the taxation assumed such proper
ton as to be equivalent to confscation,
how is it that the sum of unpaid taxes
made forced sale Of large proportion
of the real property of the State mot
actual, butt imminent" If we were
writing to convince American readers we
would ask, how On earth could the impo-
sition of taxes, which are unpaid, and the
sale Of property, which has not taken
place, account for sour difficulties?"
There is another point of peculiar un-
fairness in the financial theory of the Bul-
letin. There was State debt quoted at
ten millions before the war. There is an
addition-when scaled-of five millions
since the beginning of the war. This last
is all-levee bonds and all-charged to
the Republican party. Now, there is
another debt which is not charged or
chargeable against the Republicans. tits
the city debt
1t has been our sad duty to publish COL
umns of advertisements with this lead
ing: "The city Of New Orleans VS.. -"
judgment and execution "for city taxes of
1877" Then follows list of real estate
to be sold by Democratic civil sheriff.
We last year advertised in this way sew
eral columns of property belonging to
Francois Lacroix, citizen of color. Some
Of this property was bought in, we have
been told, by the city.
We would like to know
l. Whether the "city tax" of something
like twenty-four mills, for which this mans
property was sold, was in no sense OPP
pfessive? ts= as-f4E-
q. Whether the ''State tax" of about
fourteen mills on the same property &C.
casioned all his ''difacultes'p
We have now the spectacle of city
administration ashore on the rocks of
bankruptcy. We have State whose obi
cations are quoted at SO. and city ad-
ministration whose premium issues" are
quoted at Is. The reasoning of the Bull
letin is that all "our difficulties" have been
caused by the Republican State admins
tration, whose securities are quoted at
within two per cent of the consol par,