The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-10-29
HOW TO GOVERN OUR CITIES.
The AWfuE Burden Of Debt they have
Piled ED-T TIE Recent Enc rmOUs
From the Chicago Tribune.

Mr.. William NJ. GrosvenOr of St.
Louis has been making recent investi-
cation into the municipal Indebtedness
of this country. His search demon
strates that Mr. Blaine has rather under
stated than overstated the libel debts of
of the country in the exhibit which he
made about a year ago, and which at
tracted 80 much attention at the time
Mr.. Blaine estimated the aggregate
municipal Indebtedness, near the close
of last year, ut 500, 600, 900. This
showed an enormous increase within four
years, since the census Of 1870 seated the
municipal debts Exclusive of state and
country to be 1928, 244, $50. But later
Investigations, covering a Period of five
years, show that Mr. Blaine's estimate
was low one. \ recent number of the
Financial Chronicle gave a list of citv
securities, which showed that the bonds
Of only thirty-twO cities in the country
Exclusive Of their floating indebtedness
amount Sj25, ,632, 72S, or nearly as much
as Mr.. Blaine's estimate of the gross
municipal Indebtedness. But the last
annual reports Of Massachusetts, show
that the cities in that state alone, be
sides those included in the thirty-two
cities cited above, own $50, 81 t ,634. In
Ohio, the reports show that the cities Cf
that state, outside of the cities included
in the Financial Chronicles statement,
owe SS,909,7l4. Thus the bonded debt
of the thirty-two cities, and the cities of
only two states among all those not in
Cludcd in that list, amounts to Sj7l, ,457,-
076, or a larger sum than Mr.. Blaine
estimated for the whole country. y
comparison of the census statement shows
that these cities owed less than two
thirds of the total municipal indebted
ness of that time Assuming that this
ratio remains the same, the present
showing would make the aggregate
municipal Indebtedness 1856, lS5, ,614
This Is a higher rate than even Mr.
GrOsvenor Is willing to accept. He
therefore makes proper allowance for
a smaller ratio of increase in the cities
where statements are not made. The in
crease in the thirty-twO cities between
1870 and 1875 was 100 per cent. The
increase of the Massachusetts cities not
included in the list of thirty-two is 1870
per cent. The increase of the Ohio cities
has been 800 per cent. The average in
crease in the two states has been more
than 100 per cent. 1t is entirely within
lOunds to assume that the increase in
the other cities of the country has been
20 per cent. or less than half of the
average increase in the states of Massa-
chusetts and Ohio. Upon this basis, the
aggregate municipal Indebtedness of the
country at this time amounts to $685.
O00, 900, or nearly S2C0, 600, 600 more that
Mr.. Blaine estimated.
New York furnished proof that the
estimated increase of 20 per cent. is en-
tirely reasonable. From a statement
furnished recently by governor Tilden, it
appears that the municipal debts of that
state outside of New York city, Brook
lyn, and Albany, have increased 119 per
cent. in less than two years. Ii should
be stated, however, that the thirty-two
cities which have total bonded indebt-
edness of 1925, ,632, ,72S have sinking funds
that amount to $62, ,443, 953. Deducting
this. the net Indebtedness in these cities,
and those of New York, Mas ;husetts,
and Ohio not included in that list, is
1851 ,6S4.598, Add TO this the debt Of