The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1875-06-26

10 mon Nv lOh hul n change NJ M
b.. lnrm NJ 70 debt tfmlod by iho Davi
n administration % change N M
y creditors NJ the State, whoroby Nh
~ prosont administration oblaino.
y money, Oihor than by immodini
u and oppressive taxation, 10 pay III
I then creditors ol tho State, an,
thereby saved ;ho State from tho fo
pryuch and stigma NJ reputation.
. Tho amount Of ssg0, 800. due ol
T. pension bonds aud certificates, a.
! crucd under IN net Of August l3
1870, and not under the net Of 1874
which act Of 1874 Only acknowl
edged and provided means to pay q
debt due under II previous law.
Right hero | will take occasion to
remark that an appropriation is not
the creation OF debt, but only the
acknowledgement ofand the provid.
ing means to pay debt already
created by preeXisting law.
The above statement does not
take into account the doubtful in
debtedncss of the state in its own
bonds duo its university and com.
mon school fund created in 1864 and
1866, which bonds are still in the
vault Of the state treasury. Nor
docs it take into account the def
cheney appropriations made by the
fourteenth Legislature to pay radi.
cal officials the money due them for
services rendered under the Davis
administration and paid them by
the Democratic administration. "By
the by" two Of the radical delegates
from this county to the llemptead
convention were the recipients Of
money appropriated by the four
tcenth legislature to pay them for
services rendered and debts con.
tractcd during the radical admins
tration, and one of them, too, for
services rendered under the infa-
nous printing law. suppose this
is the way they arrived ut the con.
clusion. that We had doubled the
state debt" That is, that the an.
preparations made to pay them and
their associates, was the creation of
debt, Well, they may make their
people (rcedmcn) believe that. Mr..
Editor, being member Of the
finance committee of the house, and
being somewhat posted in the finan.
cial condition of the state, am pre-.
pared to make these statements
First that, although the debt OF the
state prior to and at the incoming
of the democratic administration,
appears TO be only u little over four
millions Of dollars. yet, fall APP
parcntIy legal and just debts
created by the Davis admin
istration were acknowledged and
provided for, the state debt left by
the Radical administration would
exceed five millions of doIIars-l re-
fer to the numerous claims. for
school house rent, wood, fuel, etc,
etc yet to be presented. Second,
That the rate Of taxation to day is
only fifty cents on the one hundred
dollars, whereas it was, during the
Davis administration, one dollar
and fifty cents, including the un-
constitutional one per cent school
tax, the most of which was collected
and expended by that administra-
ton, and yet it leaves the State in
debt five millions of dollars. Gov
crnor Coke could and would today,
with the revenue derived from one
and one-half per cent tax on the en-
tire property Of the State, for two
years, not only pay the entire pres
ent indebtedness Of the State, but
also dcfray the expenses Of his own
administration as it goes on. And
had it not been for this heavy debt
created and left unpaid by the
Davis administration, the taxes Of
to-day would only be twenty-five
cents on the hundred dollars.
Third, That Governor Coke is pay
ing out of the ordinary revenues,
which are the same as during the
Davis administration, not only the
interest and sinking fund on this
enormous debt left by Davis I'M
paid, the interest and sinking fund
on which amounts to S670,0OO per
annum, which Davis never paid,
and which does not belong to the
cost Of the present administration,
but also, Governor Coke pays from
the ordinary revenues of the State,
for the frontier defense, which Gov
ernor Davis neUer paid, but left to
the Democrats to pay or to repudi-
ate. So it is perceivable that the
Democratic administration is paying
500, 900 interest and sinking fund
on public debt annually and for the
frontier defense, neither of which
Davis ever paid. And, at the same
time, the present administration is
run on the remainder of the ordi-
nary revenue Of the State, after dc
Quoting the above named extra eX-
penseS, not part Of the cost OF
he present administration Let
he most casual observer com
pare the improvements on the cap
tai grounds and of the lunatic asy-
um, and other public buildings of
he State, made by the present ad-
together with their
,ost, and he can but cxclaim, GLOW
much more beautiful and ornamen-
al, how much more substantial and
Useful, and yet how exceedingly
mall the cost of those of the Coke
compared with the
and reckless expendi-
ures OF the Davis government, in its
Iimsy and worthless plank walks
o the capital building, together
With his hen houses and stables for
he lunatic asylum" Fourth, that,
instead of increasing tho state debt,
he present administration has cur
allied the expenses of the state gov
in divers instances, as in
the cost of the lunatic asy-
nm from thirteen thousand dollars
Ter month to less than three thou
and dollars per month; the deaf
nd dumb and blind asylums from
Twenty-Five thousand dollars each
er annum to thirteen thousand dol
hrs each per annum; public print.
ng from one hundred thousand dol
IRIS per annum to less than twenty
We thousand dollars per annum;
nd every other branch of the gov
reduced, some as much as