Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-07-29
into the treasury 81 SOC. boo as follows

into the treasury 81 SOC, 300 as follows
Tax on property .............. ..s 100, 900 0Ol
Privileges, clerks, railroads. etc 5O.OOI
900, ~,
Less expenses and insoivcncles...... 1O0,U0t
Balance.......... .........,. ......-sl, 800, ,0Ol
With the proper laws properly ad-
ministered, the expenses of collecting
taxes and the insolvencies will not ex-
ceed 800, 900 per annum. Letus now
see what is the amount of the debt.
According to the report of the comp
trOller, in 1875. the debt of the State
will not exceed So, 900, 900; but suppose
we put it at $25, 100000. Six per cent.
upon this amount is $500, 600; A per
cent per annum, 81, ,000,000. If we put
the expenses of the State government
at $500, 900, and the interest (at 4 per
cent?, 81, ,000, 900, the present tax will
be sufficient to pay that amount. The
expenses of the State government can
be reduced to $500, 900 per annum with
no Getriment to the public service, and
this will leave an ample amount to pay
per cent. interest on your debt, with
out any increase In the wealth of the
country. But, if the amount collec-
ted, should only be 81 ,450, 900, and the
expenses of the State government
should be 100000, that would leave
$3.50, 900 to be applied to the payment
of interest. If the bonds should bear
3 per cent for five years, the interest
would be $750,000 per annum, and
there would be $10O, 600 left, to be used
in paying the principal. At the end
of five years the rate of interest might
be increased to four per cent, because
the revenues of the State would be in
creased by the growth of the taxable
property of the State. We have good
reason to believe there will be an in-
crease. From 1852 to 1860 the wealth
increased $192, All ,233; and from 1865
to 1876, it increased over $4,000, 600,
and this latter increase took place
in times of extreme depression. Since
1873 there has been a decrease in the
assessments, because of the very pecu-
liar condition of affairs, and the re-
markable stringency in money matters.
But this cannot continue. When the
present private embarrassments are re-
moved, as they soon will be.
THE INCREASE IN THE WEALTH OF
THE STATE
will be steady, and will 90 on from
year to year, if wise policy should, as
/ think will, be pursued. We may
reasonably calculate on an increase of
five per cent. per annum. That would
make the taxable property in Tennes-
see in 1880, $347 500, 600; 1885, S417,-
000, 700; 1895, $3.50, 100000. The pres
ent rate upon $347 100000 would be
81 800, 900; upon $417 ,0OO,000 it would
be 81 ,668, 900; upon $587, 100000 it
would be 81, ,248, 900. to 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 | can
not for moment believe, then there |
is danger that the debt will not be paid,
even if we reduce it to one-half what |
it now is. A people who are not pros
porous, but who are going down hill |
and who are decreasing in wealth, will
feel very little like paying any public
debt. The creditors of Tennessee, if |
they are wise, will use their capital, or
a portion of it, in improving our State, !
for by that means they will improve
the prospects of the payment of the |
bonds we owe them. II they will ex-
change portion of them for property |
in Tennessee, and thereby become tax |
payers as we'll as bondholders, they will |
increase the probabilities of the pay
ment of the remaining Tennessee
bonds held by them, in addition to be- |
coming owners of property which they
make valuable. The more of these |
bonds that are held by the people of |
Tennessee the easier and more certain |
will be the payment of all of them. |
Wise creditors will always help debtors |
who are pressed, and who are tryingin
good faith to meet their engagements.
ARE STATE TAXES BURDENsoME IN
TENNESSEE
1t 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 injus-
tice ?. The State tax is forty cents on |
every one hundred dollars for State |
purposes, and ten cents for schools,
making in all, fifty cents upon the hun
dred dollars. This is only ten cents
on an acre of land assessed at 800, and |
is there any land in your county as
sessed. higher than this? Will any
man say that ten cents an acre on land
worth twenty dollars is a very heavy
tax. The farm products of our State
exceed $S6, 900, 600 per annum, and our
whole State tax is not above 81 1,500,-
600, or not one-fiftieth of the value of
our farm products. This does not in
clude the profits of manufacturing or
of commercial pursuits, aud this is
what some men call high tax. Ala
hama and Mississippi, two neighbor-
ing States, lost nearly twice as much
each by the war as we did, in their
slave property and in the depreciation
of their real estate, as appears from
the following table:
1860. 1870.
,ls8, ,762 Sl55 So, ,595
MiSSissi ppi .......... 500 472, ,9l2 l7727S,8 $50 |
Tennessee-............ S9,04S,352 253,7S2,l6l
This was the assessed value of real
and personal estate in these two States
In 1850 and in 1870, and yet these
States now have State taxes twenty
five and fifty per cent. higher than
Tennessee. have not compared Ten
nessee with more northern States that
have higher taxes, because it is said
they are more able to pay them, but l
have selected States that have sustain
ed heavier losses and that are not so
prosperous as Tennessee. If ali the
State taxes were removed, we would