New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-06-09


the protection of their growing crops, the
rushing inundation Of free trade may de-
stroy the only protection which the laws
of Congress afford to the agriculture Of
our forlorn State.
CITY INSOLVENCY AS AN EPIDEMIC.
It is somewhat unfair that the Demo-
cracy should assume as a consequence Of
federal misrule the avowed inability OF
our city authorities to meet their cor
porate obligations at their face, and at
the same time meet their own salaries,
watch, light, and repair the public streets.
The Republicans have some confding
colored constituents who accept such
reasoning as may be offered for this or
that political consequence; but We could
not have the conscience nor have they
the credulity to believe that because Gen.
eral Grant is President, or Mr.. Kellogg q
State Governor, therefore the city Of New
Orleans can not pay its debts and ex-
penses at the same time.
It may be from the same cause that
some of the principal cities of the Union
are loaded with debt which increases in
greater ratio than the ability to meet it.
It might never reach the public knowledge
through the Democratic press that the
city of New York, under Democratic
administration, owes the enormous debt
Of one hundred and twenty million dol
lars. That its taxes, levied, however, on
less proportion of property value than
our own, is two and half per cent ad
valorem upon the assessment.
The city Of Chicago, under Republican
administration, has founded system Of
debt, and an amount of Indebtedness so
fragrant as to have demanded the election
of Mayor Hoyne, Republican, who is
now at war with the council in an en-
deavor to reform abuses so shameful that
he has called a meeting of business men,
aad thus elucidates the position:
l have no hesitation in saying that this
city has been dishonored already and drain
ed Of its resources through false system
Of finance, which, if continued, will utterly
bankrupt the city and every man in it. That
is my alignment. A false, specious, fraudu-
dent system has been practiced when the
constitution itself prohibits it, and it is ut
turly untensble. We have just discovered
deficit in the treasury amounting to mil
lions. The Finance Committee have got an
exhibit of our Indebtedness, which shows
that everything is exhausted. There is not
a single fund Whatever that is not robbed;
and now, sir, that the question comes up,
may state that s2,8O0,0O0 outstanding certi
ficates we're issued when it was known that
the city was bankrupt, and the resources Of
the city for one or two years have been an
ticipated, when the constitutional limit, be-
yond which the city shonld not 60 to bor
row money. had been reached.
How exactly does this narrate the state
Of things exposed in New York city under
the investigations of Tweed and Connol-
ly, and the avowed inability of our own
Council to meet its face obligations and
perform its public functions?
For this epidemic of insolvency there
must be some common cause. 1t may be
that New York and Chicago have in
creased their corporate debt for public i'm
provements. Chicago has suffered from
the destruction by fire of values estimated
at some two hundred millions Of dollars,
but neither public improvements nor ex-
ceptional calamities can explain COM
mon embarrassment. There can be little
doubt but that the custom of recruiting
political mercenaries at the cost of public
contracts and by the employment of in
competent and unworthy men has con-
tributed chiefly to the foundation and
progress of this large debt and taxation.
We can not tell in what the assets of
other cities represent the amount Of their
public Indebtedness, but for the twenty
three millions of dollars due from our
city authorities we can show very small
investment.
We have no railroad stock, and receive
little dividends from any other source.
The revenues of our city are derived al
most exclusively from taxation of the
property and industry of the citizens.
Our administrators are engaged in
terrible combat with the weird sisters,
who would magnetic them with man
damus, or command them by the mean
tation of an injunction, but sustained by
a gallant corps of shanty aristocrats and
tax resisters, they have been thus far en-
abled to pay their own selves and soldiers,
and will certainly be enabled to hold out
for seige Of six months longer. It
should, however, justly 60 to the credit
Of our municipal fnanciers that they have
by various fiscal devices in
almost the entire interest on
The corporate debt. It may be stated to
The confusion Of those who believe that the
depression of our interests have been
by our rate of taxation that |
his rate has been somehow or other re-
duced below the average rate of taxation !
in other cities having not less than one
hundred thousand population. By the
liligent application of the same principle
# demonstrated inability to pay our face
lebt and interest, both the State and city,
rave been relieved of much embarrassment.
We feel authorized to state the rate of
state taxation at Las per cent, and that
f the city at 1.50 ad valorem upon as
essed values. One excellent consequence