The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1879-02-05
FIGURE DOTS.

these columns TO some OF Tue OIuclal
figures, which but too plainly indi-
cate the present low ebb of our State
finances, and that the same i'll exists,
the non-collection Of the revenues Of
the State, or more properly the non
payment of the taxes which are due
her.
We have no comments to make on
these depressing figures, and give
them as we find them reported Off
cially by Auditor Jumel, and feel
certain that our people will stare and
wonder at them, and that done, will
be In better mood to do justice to
the powers that be. We commence
with the Poll tax, and note that in
in the whole State, "from January
l, 1878, to December 81, 1878, in
elusive" only the pitiful sum OF
SO, 966.G2 was collected. Of this
amount New Orleans has paid $780,
SO. St. Landry has paid the largest
amount of any country Parish, being
in amount $l425.O0, and the Parish
es of Avoyclles, Caldwell and East
Carroll have the fiscal honorof pay
ing in the smallest sums, which foot
one single dollar to the credit of each
Parish. Lincoln and Red River
come next in the low gauge and
stand credited with too dollars each.
Madison goes one dollar better, and
her escucheon glitters to the light Of
three dollars paid on the craniums
of three of her sovereigns;-close on
her heels comes gallant little VIM
with her four dollars all on string
jingling to her crest, which music is
answered by Ouaclita, with a tiger
shout, to the yell of sac dollars
which she has planked down, and to
close these ugly and sickening fig
ures, Grant stands credited with nine
dollars, and our own Rapides with
eighteen dollars.
We come next to Licenses Of 1878,
and find that collections in that line
have been a little better proportion
ately than the head tax. The high
est paying country Parish, in this
list, is Caddo, which has to her Gre
dit the sum of $6327.5O, followed by
Iberville with $5695.OO to her Gre
dit; Ouachita with $4065.00, whilst
the two Parishes of st. James and
St. John stand respectively credited
with $5915.0o and $52O5.0O. Our
Rapides planks down.to the tune of
$l550.00, whilst Natchitoches and
VIM tail the list with only $4,000
each to their credit.
With one more beyy of figures and
the big ones at that, we will close
this damaging showing to our poor
States exchequer, and ask our read
ers to reflect on these figures, and
see if they can't arrive at the cause
of the States present bad money
situation. Of the taxes of 1877,
from all sources, only the sum Of
81, 1904, 033.06 has been collected,
which as we know to our sorrow,
does not pay the interest of the State
debt inherited since 1867, when the
Tax rolls call for $13, 13O,6S5 on the
whole assessment of taxable proper
ty of the State, which amounts to
$164, 14S,609. Our Parish stands
assessed for So, 100, 400, and the total
tax on this foots up $2S,0S6.S6. Of
this tax of 1877 the sum of $1071.6 81
has been collected and accounted for
till January LIST, 1879, but it is well
aud proper to state here, that owing
to orders from the Auditor, our Col
lector halted in his collections alto
gether for three months, during the
epidemic, but has since the publica-
ton of the Auditors Report paid in
$4,000 on account of that tax, and
we state here again, that our tax
payers, and the very ones who growl
the most, are the culprits in this re-
missncss, and they should blush
with shame in not bearing their just
share of the burthen of the Parish.
Our Collector has done pretty we'll
with the back taxes, and the Par
ish's arrears of the taxes of 1874
stands with credit of $37.0s; tho ,e
of 1875 with $239.4s, and those Of
1876 with $1512.4O.
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AS Alexandria is well off for ex-
cellent houses of entertainment, and
several new ones have come to the