Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-11-21

lief. 1t may be asked what would become OF these
mandamuses that now hangiwith such gloom over
this oppressed city? propose TO discuss them VI
my next article. ONE SEEKING RELIEF.
The city and the City Debt
EDITORS APPEAI-In my first communica-
lion said would speak at another ,, time Of the
the o. the Of July i c IsS
Guiding !eIs % is s. s " Thus IS made
up fOllows Mississippi River railroad bonds, due
paving bonds. due July, 1872, July, 1878 and July,
1874, S62 600; coupons for interest on bonds past
f%s ns cafes5 GUY q
railroad bonds. $4,000; gold fund1ng-bonds, S42,-
OF iii pastdue coupons of SSa5.220; Judgment in
favoro 7. Z. Brown without interest, Sl02 122 80;
stone ana Nicolson pavements, Including estimated
interest S135,01o 27; judgments against the city,
S9O,797 "a; bids payable, S705S :}2; fire, health
and hospital warrants S3lOi greenbacK SCRIP etc.
1878, S62Sl 3d. ami funding certificates, convertl-
bic into compromise bonds, S23, I06 %. FOR the
payment of this pastdue debt the city, according to
The same statement of the comptroller, has a
total of assets of S2O643S5 OF at their lace, or
These assets are made mp as follows: Mississippi
River railroad taxes for 1876 and 1877 not yet col
on Bonds e7i+d Po f ISL not Collected Ss.s
255 SO; taxes for 1877 to pay interest on comkro-
hands OF interest commissioners foe payment of in
terest on compromise bonds, S20731 OIL; amount
in Memphis and Charleston Railroad company,
S11O.574 81; taxes leried 10 pay the Judgment In
ed OF S5U Ss Res fe Ss Is s
those Individuals who paid for Nicolson and stone
sa not to yet pay S0f Sdens o5 5 S
years prior to 1873. not yet collected,
1879 but not gs ns eoece taxes: s vsa 5o neF
chants taxes, before 1873, not yet collected, $780,,
Collected $1,000 ~; Mississippi River railroad
taxes, prior TO 1875, rot yet collected, Sl3045 20;
cash in hands Of city treasurer for various funds,
m n
count S368Q 20; notes in judgment of Galloway,
Hampton d Co, Constituting lien on the 4yetanchs
interest, si3,788 81, and debt due by ROB
ertson TOpP; secured by mortgage on
II all these pastue taxes and debts had been col
leeted. and the proceeds and the other funds on
made cut had been applied to the discharge Of the
pasdue debt 1t thus appears that the whole of that
been an excess OF S2S353 IS in money, after The
payment of the whole debt, in the city treasury:
not paid and undertakes to put estimated aiue
upon them and excluding those for the reduction of
SS3S,77l %. Upon what basis he proceeds in
making this estimate he does not state and he sets
upon the debt due from Galloway, Hampton d Co,
and the debt due from Robertson Topp. He values
the debt for interest bonds due by the purchasers
of the stock of the city In the Memphis ana Charles
ton railroad company nominally SllO,5I5 3I, at
only S27643 81, OF 25 cents on the dollar The
nominaiiy S22S, 255 S6, he values at only SCI,
302 38. The general taxes priorto 1878, nomi-
The other valuations in about the same pro-
portion. Considering that nearly the whole of the
Which, to say the least Is WORTH PO the amount Of
the taxes, aid Is bound for their payment
ever should be made from the nominal
amounts of them, especially as nearly all OF them are
payable in city Indebtedness, which may be pur-
chased at from thirty to fifty cents on the dollar
And Ii the citys officers, In any case, exercise the
of taxes charged, as satisfaction of the whole, 1t
would seem but reasonable they should insist upon
should require reduction on the nominal amount
of the Indebtedness Of the city in which payment
u made, pFOporioned to the market value of such
Indebtedness or the reduction the city makes upon
the amount OF the taxes. They should not forget
that the taxpayers who paid as they became due
the taxes charged upon them for the years for which
the pa t-due and unpaid taxes were charged, paid
IN money ana pala on an aSSessment OF tnsr prop
past-due and unpaid taxes have been levied 1t
cannot be Just to such prompt taxpayers to allow
those who have till now been delinquent, and only
to pay such unpaid taxes in indebtedness, costing
only one-third or onehalf its nominal amount, but
TO pay valuation of their pr perry reduced be-
low the propoTt!onate values fixed on the property of
those who paid years ago. Such c. urse Offers an
inducement to refuse to pay taXeSa disposition not
needing any special encouragement But sup
pose the controllers estimates to be cor
payment of the past-due debt are worth $685.
III % If this sum is collected in money, 1t is
the ctys past-due Indebtedness to buy and pay for
the whole 81, 7SO854 70, the total amount shown
sets cannot be applied to the purchase of the city
pastdue debt at its market value, and that the city
value of its effects from the entire nominal amount
of its pastdue debt and must provide other means
| result? Deduetlng the $S38,7dl 26, the real value
of the assets from the 81 1SO,854 I6, the nominal
O83 So which, upon the most unfavorable calcula
ton to the city, repre- its entire pastd1e debt
40 cents on the dollar this balance of Indebtedness
| can be purchased and paid for With s3I6S33 40,
Tiousiy shown the net balance OF the bonded debt OF
the ely is S2,68S 140, which. added to the above
balance of the past-due debt makes an entire debt
of So, 630,225 50, which appears to be all the city
owes, taking the most unfayorable view that
tee city subject to taxation is worth S20O00,O0Q as
1t unQuestionably Is, all that property Is bound for
The cIty's property then, to Its debt, is about
as 100 to Is, or g 10 l. If an individual owned
that the citys taxable property does to its indebt
| edneSS he would be considered as solvent beyond
without an effort. The city, however, need not pay
or provide Immediately for more than about 81 O00.
600 OF its Indebtedness 1t has the average time OF
fifteen years or more within which to pay the bal
ance constituting It's bonded debt, OF S2,600000,
beng REQUIRED in the meantime to pay only the in
| terest on it, shall probably have something fur
ther of the value of the citys assets for the
payment of its past due debt and of the collection
available assets to the discharge Of that debt At
| present 1 will only say there is nothing in the
figures, as they have been presented to Justify des-
pair or even dependency. The debt of Memphis is
net greater in proportion TO property and its
of payment present and prospective, than the debts
off other cities with reference to theirs. If can
be relieV ed of the apprehension OF Re
illogical epldemlcS, as we no doubt
can be, # the national government will
undertake the duty of quaIantining our gulf coast
have little to fear from the eity's debt We may
as Northumberland however just now, that eooneI
later the debt whatever 1t is will have TO be paid
or must obtain voluntary discharges from Oul
creditors. All the subterfuges 10 defeat the collec
on or avoid the payment OF the debt, whatever may
be their origin whatever methods they may pro-
pose Will deservedly fail Should they succeed
the injury direct and indirecD they will do the city
and the costs and expenses they will entail, will
more than oveTbalance any benefit which mat be
realized from Reputation of a part or even the
whole of the debt