The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-07-30
Beaqars on Horseback.

| of them, butt ifso, circumstances have KEEP
their light under the bushel for all of then
=, except q very few, and of that few we ar
glad to recognize DR.. Tebault tas one o
the most active. The Doctor has, evident
iy with great labor, complied the statistic
OF the State and city during a period o
ten years commencing with 1865, so far al
concerns taxation, revenue, expenditures
and Indebtedness. They are truly over.
whelMing; we wish we could add, edify.
ing, but we cannot. The Doctors article
has been published in the Orleaniaa and
other papers Of the city, and we should be
most happy to lay 1t in full before our read
ers. Its length forbids this, but we gladly
avail ourselves of the more salient facts
embodied in it to illustrate the habits OF
the peculiar gentry to whom we have dedi-
Gated this article.
The frat fact to which we call attention
| is that the total assessment of property,
real and personal, Of this city for the pres
emit year, 1879, is sl1s, ZOO, 600. It is well
known that this assessment ia immensely
above market prices, but we will suppose
the property worth that figure.
The second fact is that the taxes collect
ed ont of the people of this city and spent
during the ten years commencing Let Jam
uary, 1865, together with the increase of
debt fathered upon them during that time :,
amount to slO9, 734, 700 30.
Thus, the property of our people is, at
an enormous over calculation, estimated at
hundred and eighteen millions of dollars,
and the expenditures for their government,
in ten years, amounts to nearly one hun
dred and ten millions. That is, the govern
ment of the people has, in ten years, cost
them the whole value of all their property,
within an Uncomfortable fraction.
To give some little idea of details, we
append the following items.
The city government collected and spent
in those ten years about fifty and half
millions of dollars. It's debt at the begin
ming of that time was about nine and half
millions, and, at the end, twenty four and
three quarter millions, constituting q fur
Their expenditure in the shape of unpaid OBJ
legations of about fifteen and a quarter
millions. This brings the total expendi-
lures for city government up to sixty-five
ing that time.
Besides, the share contributed by the |
people of this city to the expenses of State |
government must be estimated to find the |
full amount of their burden. DR.. Tebault |
gives the figures Of assessment of country |
and city property during nine years, show
ing that the latter 10 assessed at nearly |
twice the value of the former. The reports |
Of State Auditors of taxes levied during the |
same nine years, ending with 1875, exhibit |
about the same proportion of two to one
against the city. The country tax during
that time amounted to 1919, s94 50, while
that of the city was $17, 357, 1914 74-not far
from double.
Now, for the ten years above mentioned, |
with 1865, the State expended |
about forty -one and half millions of dol
lars In cash and increased it's debt from |
about five and half millions to about |
thirty millions, that is twenty four and |
half millions. Total expenditure, therefore,
say, sixty six millions, Of which, as we have
seen, about two thirds OF forty -four millions
count against the city.
This forty -four millions added to the
sixty five and three quarter millions ex-
pended by the city govern ment, makes up
the grand total Of expenditure for ten years,
to be footed by the population of this city,
of one hundred and nine and three quar-
ter millions, or, as we gave in accurate
figures above, SlO9, T34, 700. 80.
The moral which DR.. Tebault derives
from this array of figures is one which
mast suggest itself to any mind-a lesson
Of ruin and decay. A fair interest on the
money invested, say 100 millions at 6 per
cent; would be II 5 millions a year, or
~ millions in ten years. But we have
seen that the government burdens imposed
on that investment during ten years
amounted to about no millions, tantamount
to tax of over 8 per cent. OF course, the
whole of the taxes collected are not assessed
on property they arise partly from licenHas