The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-08-25
The Municipal Burdens of Paris.

The debt and the current expenses Of New
York city are undoubtedly onerous, but it is
grave error 70 speak Of them as wholly
without parallel Let us glance, for in
stance, nj the financial condition OF the
French capital, bearing in mind that the
latter city has no maritime commerce. We
may premise further that the population is
only double our own, the census of Jan |,
1877. having shown 100000 inhabitants
within the walls Of Paris, against LIZA, 900
Ill 1879.
At the date just mentioned the municipal
Indictment of Paris had reached the as
tonishng total OF three hundred and eighty
millions OF dollars The Significance of
these figure, can be measured by COM
parson with the kingdom of Prussia. with
Its twcnty-fDur millions OF Inhabitants.
whose national debt. however, does not ox.
coed two hundred and thirty millions. II is
mistake t. suppose that ncarlyall Of these
municipal burdens We're accumulated under
H." Second Empire The fact j. that Of the
nlnc separate loans represented in the con-
holidatcd debt, five, forming AN aggregate
capital of about two hundred mllliondollar.,
were contracted under the imperial regime,
the first of these dating from 1913. HE
other four obligations, amounting To- some
hundred and eighty millions, have been
undertaken since the close Of the German
war. The sum cXacted for interest and
sinking fund by the consolidated and float
ing debit which sum in lsGO did not exceed
three million dollars, has expanded n the
budget for 1,77 to twenty cone millions.
Quite rs instructive a. these figures is the
variation III the conditions upon which the
several loans were placed Thus we observe
that the loan If 1863, prior 10 the war. WAS
taken at ] ~ per cont; that of ISL cost 20
Ier cent, while in ls72 "a temporary advance
If about four million dollars could not be-
had for loss than six per cent. By l-7j,
however, the rate had fallen TO 49, and tho
Interest on the bonds of 1876 4, only is.
Taking ntoarcouut theva-t urrca So of bur
don-, w. mast rccol ui4r marked improve
Ineut in the credit Of the city.
a part OF tine money borrowed since the
war has been used to repair the damage Of
war and to rebuild the public ediliccs de-
stroyed in the last days of the Commune
II H. less generally known that the gigantic
projects Of reconstruction, conceived and
partly executed by IIAUssMANN, have been
ro-umed by the republican city Govern
mont with thi, important difference, how
over mat the taxpayers seem likely to
proIli more and contractors less, by the eX-
prnditnr'. Another point worth needing Is
The considerable amount now devoted under
III" head OF architectural outlay to educa-
lpnal buildings Since 1911 the city of Paris
has expended more than hvcnillion dollars
and proposes to spend another million for
Iae E,f.
lle lurgpt and Colbert school. built the
Lrolc Lavoi,lcr and the Eeulo Jean Bapti.to
say ana h about 90 begin two others in the
Nohc'"u quarter and the qualtiel du Trone
These are substantial proofs Of n new spirit
III me municipal councils Of Paris Of a
fpri which does not mean 10 sacrifice inn.
1orlant social interests To- the creation Of a
lu1uriou, environment.
Side by side with the growth Of funded
d'pt appropriations lorNallous brauches