The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-01-16


r. The total amount Of the state in
!. drbtcdness, Dcctmbcr l,lNi2, was 5000, 1906
!. Amount paid from last date TO No
! ''' yrmbcr 30. Isi4........,....... 329l7s4
Il Amount December /, 1874. .... $l,1jo,91s. L
:. The $50 Revenue Deficit bonds, issued to
the benefit of the city OF Chicago to reliev'
6 the lien of said city upon the Illinois an'
q Michigan Canal, by virtue of an act paSSe,
, Immediately after the fire in 1871, in force
October ., 1871, became payable after tho
first day of the present month.
In pursuance OF an act entitled IN act III
rclatlon to the payment Of the principal anu
interest Of the State debt approved teDrIa'!
90, 1859, did, on the 18th day Of NoVemot,ti'
1874 issue my proclamation, calling III sun
Revenue Deficit bonds for payment on 'le
4th day of January, 1875, at the American
Exchange National Bank, in the city ol ~"
York. All OF said bonds not presented ioi
payment will cease drawing interest irou
that date. ,a;.,.
1t is estimated that the >emiannuai receipts
from the Illinois Central Railroad company
which are set apart by law tor Lhe paSniel.
of the public Indebtedness VIII DC sulncieh,
q 10 meet the interest on the SCHOOL coliege anu
seminary funds, the interest on me Gla'c III
|debtedncss. and 70 pay the said Indebtedness
Las fast as il becomes payable, and that on the
first of the wear 1850, when all the outstand.
linz obhgailons of the State shall have be
come PAYABLE and be paid, there vii! be a
surplus of the Illinois Central Railroad fund
: of over half IA million dollars.
II is believed that the bonded Indebtedness
'of the counties townships, cities and towns,
consisting OF railroad bonds, war bonds,
Court House bonds and bonds issued for
Iother corporate purposes, aggregate The euor'
meas sum Of $35, 100000, compared 10 which
| the Indebtedness Of the State is a mere trlhe
! Taxes are levied by the state for supporting
the public schools, tor constructing pubic
buildings and other improvements, Tor main
tanning the public institutions, and for detIay
ing the ordinary expenses Of The state govern
ment For school purposes there was levied,
| in 1874, 100000 This amount is small
tor the state, compared with the levy in one
city in 1874, for municipal purposes, Of over
S4500,000.
If any taxpayer will loon at his tax re-
celpts, he viii lind that district school tax,
voted by his own district, constitutes very
large part Of the annual burden OF taxation.
There is no tax 50 freely paid AS the district
school tax, for it is used for the benefit OF the
school children IN the district, and perhaps
there is no tax 50 wisely and Judiclously eX
pended While 1t is well for the people to |!
watch closely and guard sacredly the finances
OF the state, to exact Of state officials the
strlctcst honesty and the most rigid economy
to insist ON the lowest amount of taxation, nee
essary to meet the public obligations anC
perform the functions of State government
and to demand that ali expenditures of the
public funds shall be for their benefit, and
not for the benefit of the officer or agent ex.
pending them, it may be well for the people
Il, g1bSaly and ipa1nuSIv
town, city and school district organizations,
which raise and expend annually over fifteen
millions of dollars, and whose aggregate in
debtedness is twenty times that OF the State,
the annual interest on which is one million
dollars more than the principal OF the state
debt, with no source OF payment OF interest
or principal but direct taxation.
Law DEPARTMENT.
The Attorney General, in the discharge of
his duties, has given an unprecedented num-
Der 1888 of written opinions, and the number
of suits demanding his services has been un-
usually large. Under his administration sew.
eral important and vexed questions have been
determined.
In the Supreme Court of the United States
he has pushed to final adjudication and cs.
tablished the right of the state to tax the
shares of stock of National Banks, aud, in
the Supreme Court of the state, has obtained
decisions sustaining me aciioh Oh the state
Board OF EQualiZatlOh III lhe assessment OF
the capilal STOCK on corporations, ana lhe
power Of the Legislature 10 fix maximum
rates for the storage and handling of Craia
in public warehouses.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Isubmit few facts. co,latc1 from the re.
nort of the SUPERINTENDENT O, public Jnstruc.
tion n show the moonirudc imnortance and
cost Of our system Of free schools for the two
vcors cndinG Srntpmhcr 30 1874.
! ,,,-.,,,,n7 ,,r, -, ,',.,,ror., 1870
'-'' - ''" ~ o' ''i-.'
Balance ON maud october l. lS@....sl'@M'
$500 i,o, H'",c ;,, 10
nccciycJ %;strc, , vi ,,r ''"' 1GiSs;rl
Received from all Other sources. . G0}66,; 80
Total receipts. $9054 1914 U3
Expenditures for lN'3.............. i,655,26S32
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