The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-25
THE CITY DEBT.



hon, which IL to remodel the destlnes o.
Louisiana, and incidentally OF the city Of New
Orleans, being near at hand, all data concern.
ing the respective debts Of the State and city,
the way these debts have been incurred and
the prospect Of adjustment regarding each,
are matters now Of immediate practical I'M
portanoe. The DEMOCRAT. az we'll through
It's editorial columns ~ through the medium
Ut able correspondents, has kept the public
well informed and alive TO the discussion OF
matters pertaining 10 the State debt Yester-
siay one Of It's representatives had a conversa-
tion with a prominent city official. out Of
which he calculated important data and In
tslIIgent suggestions, which we give to the
public 40 a matter Of interest and profit
Where the money derived from taxes has
gone, has long becn a problem difficult for
the taxpayers to solve. and even inquiry at
tho City Hall under she various succeeding
city administrations has failed to throw light
upon tho subject. II IL fact, painful and
undeniable, that tho city debt has been grad
ually augmenting year by year since the war
The taxes have been paid. real estate has been
little by little drained Of oil Its resources and
robbed OF oil Its wealth. and yet our city has
little or nothing TO show for the immense
sums Of money which have been poured into
the Golfers Of Its treasury In the way OF taxes
and LICENSES by Ito traders, merchants and
property holders
An examination OF city expenditures for the
years 1871 to 1878 inclusive. including the gem
oral fund. police. schools, interest and re-
dsmption Of the bonded debt, dlscloses the
startling fact that the budget of expenditures
for the city during those eight years, foots
mp the enormous sum Of 3s2, 1881, 534 g. Out
oi this 80, 1877 265 have been applied to the pay
ment of interest and redemption of bonded
debt. and 5000, 900 paid on account OF the pur-
chase Of tho City Park ts25O.OOO remaining
10 be paid In order TO complete
Tho payment Of the purchase money. The
balance Of the s32,83T .5s4 6s Is to-day repre-
emted In the way Of permanent improve
naents by nothing that we can lay eyes upon
save three or four dredge boats and perhaps
a few unimportant works which escape no
tice. All that money therefore has gone to-
wards paying for the routine OF running the
city government and filling mud holes, which
hy-the-by have been very badly filed. As far
rs we are Informed there Ia not public edi-
fee however unimportant, not public work
or Improvement, however thrilling, not a yard
this money wrung from the taxpayers during
the eight years from 1sTi to 1878.
Our parks and public squares, far from
having been improved. have been permitted
70 70 TO ruin; our public ediiices are 0 shame
30 the corporation, and notwithstanding this
neglect Of the dty's appearance and comfort
and the lack OF improvements, the debt has
been permitted to accumulate year after year
by deficits, so that the people of New Orleans
now find themselves confronting an indebted
ness which they cannot meet satisfactorily,
even with the aid OF the great premium bond
plan.
Our interlocutor In the CITY Hall, who has
evidently studied with fruit the question Of
the city debt, freely admitted that with the
sctual rate Of taxation tL per cent? the
premium bond plan had succeeded up TO the
present date, simply for the reason that the
holders OF city securities as whole had not |
accepted the scheme, ell the. holders Of con-
solidated bonds and holders OF several other |
issues still keep aloof and refuse to enter into
the scheme, so that the amount funded up to |
this time does not exceed $l2,000,000, the In |
terest and redemption OF which, according to
the law have, as far as we have gone, been
provided for. Strictly, however, there is q
deficit In the premium bond account to-day,
for the law requires that each year the whole
amount which IL to go TO the credit Of
the fund for the payment Of interest and re-
demption Of the funded debt shall be raised
each year. oil moneys remaining over after
satisfaction Of interest and redemption Oh the
bonds actually funded to be kept In reserve
and placed to the credit OF the premium bond
account. Now this amount increases In pro-
portion each succeeding year; In 1876 It was
1907, 500; in 1877 IL was $426. 250 In 1878 $780,
800, and this year II should be $685. $50; but
tho City Council, in making up It's budget
Tor 1879. attributed only s325,000
for interest and redemption for the
present year, taking as basis what has to BIO
provided for the bonds actually converted
and merged into the premium scheme and
making up the balance OF tho $59S, $50 with
she cash balance 10 the credit OF tho fund
iolned to the amount estimated as collectible
ON the taxes OF 1876. 1877 and 1878, say to-
gether 1878, 750
This last amount, therefore. represents tho
actual deficit for this year, and will be con-
aiderably increased In 1880 at which time the
amount to be raised for account Of interest
and redemption will run considerably over the
sum of 100000.
II is clear then that II all the balance OF the
city indebtedness was funded to-day I'm pre-
mium bonds. the city would find 1t utterly
impossible to meet the exigencies Of tho plan
and the scheme would prove failure
As this contingency Is likely to come up at
any time, the question arises, what is the way
out Of this difficulty without raising the rate
al taxation2 To this query our interlOcutor
answered by the following suggestions. which
we give to the public with the idea that 1t
might be made The basis for future action
tending to a solution of the city's financial
problem.
Legislature, q syndicate be organized to take
charge of the city debt and separate 1t from
ahe city government proper, certain amount
of the taxes to be appropriated to the pay
ment of interest and redemption of the debt,
and turned over to the syndicate to be used
exclusively for that purpose. According to
she author of the suggestion, this syndicate
should be made perpetual, having the power
az filling all vacancies In its own body.
Ii would have entire and exclusive charge
Of the city Indebtedness, with full
power to make all arrangements and COM
promises with the creditors. 1t could extend
the time Of payment TO sixty years, thereby
enabling the city to attribute to this fund q
tax of one fourth OF per cent, instead Of one
hall of per cent. Our interlocutor, among
adoption of such plan, laid much stress
upon The fact that IL would take the question
81 the city debt out OF politics, and leave the
city administration untrammeied In its
work OF Improvement
All this wn r We To tho nuhIIc simnlv as an