Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1876-09-14

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668, 1000; upon s556,oOO,oOo it
would be $2,224,O00, 10 say
nothing of taxes on privileges,
railroads, etc., and this would
soon pay the debt. But it may
be said that we will not increase
! in wealth. If this be so, which
| cannot for a moment believe,
then there is danger that the
debt willnot be paid, even if
we reduce it to one-half what it
now is. A peopIe1who are not
prosperous, but who are going
down hill and who are decreas-
ing in wealth, will feel very lit
tie like paying any public debt.
The creditors Of Tennessee, if
they are wise, will use their cap
itali Or q portion of it, in inn
proving our State, for by that
means they viii improve the
prospects Of the payment of
the bonds We owe them. If
they will exchange a portion of
them for property in Tennessee.
and thereby become taxpayers
as well as bohdhoIders, they
will increase the probabilities
of the payment Of the remain
ing Tennessee bonds held by
them, in addition to becoming
owners Of property which they
make valuable. The more Of
these bonds that are held by the
people Of Tennessee the easier
land more certain will be the
payment of all of them. Wise
creditors vii! always help debt
ors who are pressed, and who
are pressed, and who are try
ing in good faith to meet their
engagements.
ARE STATE TAXES BURDESSOME
IN TENNESSEE?
II is sometimes said that our
State taxes are grievous and
heavy to be borne. Is this true?
Does not such an assertion do
our State great injustice? The
State tax is forty cents on every
one Eur4rcd dollars for State
purposes, and ten cents for
schools, making in all, fifty cents
upon the hundred dollars. This
is only ten cents on an acre of
land assessed at $50, and is there
any land in your county as
sessed higher than this? Will
any man say that ten cents an
acre Oh land worth twenty dol
lars is very heavy tax. The
farm products of our State ex-
coed $96,000,000 per annum,
and our whole State tax is not
above 100000, or not one
fiftieth of the value Of our farm
products. This does not include
the prt fit Of manufacturing or
of commercial pursuits, and
this is what some men call high
tax. Alabama and Mississippi,
two neighboring States, lost
nearly twice as much each by
the war as we did, in their slave
property and in the deprecia-
ton Of their real estate, as APP
pears from the following table,:
Alabama. 1892 l I5s. 7sa ,l5 1888 s. SIS
Fen 6fsses sSs5iss5s a5s. EssisH
I This was the assessed value
of real and personal estate in
these two States in 1860 and in
1870, and yet these States now
have State taxes twenty-five
and fifty per cent. higher than
Tennessee. | have not COM
pared Tennessee with more
northern States that have high
er taxes, because it is said they
are more able to pay them, but
/ have selected States that have
sustained. heavier losses and
that are not so prosperous as
Tennessee. If all the State
taxes were removed, we would
find very little relief. 1t would
be like removing feather from
the shoulders Of a man borne
down by a load of iron. The
taxation and bad management
of the Federal government are
the causes, in great degree, of !
your pecuniary troubles, and
these this cry of State repudia-
ton only tends to fasten upon
you and make them perpetual.
Other and, perhaps, better plans
than | have suggested will be
presented. [ am welded to no
particular plan, but am ready to
defer to the assembled wisdom
of the Democracy Of the State.
All plans of adjustment can be
considered in a conference of
ar-headed, sagacious, practi-
cal men, representing the State
and its. creditors who will dnnht