The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-01-19
A TRITE THEME.

Elliot c. C~owdin-who, by the way, is
a native of Jamaica, in this state-made a
speech in the New York assembly, Tues
day, in which he presented some startling
facts and figures, which are Of peculiar in
terest just now, not only as showing up a
great and growing evil, but as showing
what the boastful democratic promise of
retrenchment, reform and economy really
amounts to when that party has the power
govern according to its own ideas. 1t is a
a trite subject-that of the Increase of pub
lie expenditures, the increase Of salaries,
and the increase of municipal Indebtedness
but the only way to arrest public atten-
tion to the subject and command reform
is, as Abraham Lincoln would have said,
to keep ''pegging away" at it. And with
this view we invite attention to some of
his facts and figures.
The Indebtedness of New York city has
increased one hundred millions of dollars
in ten years, going up from forty-fve mil
lions in 1865, to one hundred and forty
five millions in 1875. The bonded debt had
increased in nearly the same proportion
during the same ten years. In 1885, the
bonded debt was only nine hundred thou
sand dollars, which increased to thirteen
millions of dollars in 1915, to fifteen mil
lions in 1855, to thirty-six millions in 1865,
and to one hundred and seventeen millions
in 1875. In other words it increased in the
ten years from 1865 to 1875 eighty-one
millions of dollars while in the thirty years
from 1885 to 1866, its increase was only
about thirty-five millions, the increase be-
ing more than twice as much in the last
ten years as in the thirty previous years.
In 1885, the bonded debt OF the city aver
aged three dollars and t~hirty-flve cents per
capita of the population, and the valuation
of the city property was two hundred and
forty-two times as much as the debt while
in 1915 the valuation was only nine times
as much as the debt, and the debt was at
the rate of nearly one hundred and twelve
dollars-S111 %06-per capita of the popu-
lation.
He then compares the debt of New York
city with that of other cities as follows
In proportion to population, it was seventy
per cent. greater than that of Philadelphia,
fifty per cent. larger than Brooklyn, forty
five per cent. greater than Baltimore, twice
and three-quarters as large as that of Chi.
cago, three and three-fourths greater thar
Ut. Louis, double that of Buffalo, three and
a half times that of Albany and Syracuse,
four times that of Utica, and about
seven and a half times larger than that OF
Troy.
The debt has assumed these alarming
proportions in spite of heavy taxation, for
New York is the most GENEROUSLY taxed
city in the world. The taxes in 1875
amounted to nearly thirty-six and a hall
millions of dollars, or an average of thirty
five dollars per capita of the population
rate which would raise three hundred ant
fifty thousand dollars ia Rutland-whil,
in London the rate is only ten dollars per
capita.
These enormous expenditures, this in
crease of Indebtedness is due in part, Mr..
Cowdin Gays, to the increase in the number
of office holders aud the large salaries paid
to them. The number he places at eighty
seven hundred, with salaries aggregatinl
ten millions four hundred thousand dollars
He calls attention to the fact thai one o.
the principal arguments used for the defea
of John Quincy Adams, when a candidate
for reelection to the presidency, was thai
his administration cost the country annual
ly thirteen millions Of dollars. The cos,
was only two millions six hundred thou
sand dollars more than the salaries of New
York city officials in 1875, and yet Adams
administration was called 'lavish and prof
"ligatc," and was thrown overheard. The
entire expenses of that administration werC
only some one dollar and eight cents pei
capita of the population, and the expendi'
lures per capita for salaries was only some
thirty cents, while the New York city of
icials now cost some ten dollars TO each