Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1879-10-01
MUNICIPAL INDEBTEDNESS.
THE ROCKS UPON WHICH cITIEs RIDE Tc
sHIPwREcK.

THE ROCKS UPON WHICH cITIEs RIDE TO
sHIPwREcK.
In the preparation of an article for
the Princeton Revie,o on local govern
ment, Mr.. Robert P, Porter, of Chica-
60, inquired of and obtained answers
IRON the controllers of some 1870 cities
IN this country in regard to their com.
paratlve population, tax, valuation and
debt in 1866 and 1876. The aggre.
gate municipal indebtedness of these
cities was in 1876 over ten per cent. of
the assessed value of property, whereas
in 1868 il was only six per cent, show
ing an increase Of indebtedness of four
per cent. of the valuation of property.
That debt increased upward of $780,
100000 in the decennial period ending
1876, yearly increase of S42, 100000.
The percentage Of increase is about as
follows Debt, 200 per cent taxation,
50 per cent; valuation, rs per cent I;
and population only SO per cent. Pop
ulation and valuation OF property have
by no means kept pace with debt An.
other fact brought out by this investi-
CATION was that if the census report of
1870, giving s515, ,slO,O6 as the total
local debt of the United States was
correct, the increase from that year TO
to the close OF 1876 must have been
enormous, for ineontrovertible figures
showed that the municipal debt of one
hundred and thirty cities, representing
population OF only S,576, ,249, exceed.
ed by Sl2S,56S,602 the county, town
and city indebtedness of the entire
country in 1870; or, still more appall-
ing, that in six years the Indebtedness
Of these cities had exceeded by S316,.
l34, l43 the bonded and floating IN
debtedness of all towns and cities in
the United States.
In 1875 and 1876 there was very
general halt in the reckless extrava.
gance In municipal affairs. The New
York commission appointed by Gov
ernor Tilden to devise plan for the
government Of cities published their
report; and though but little heed
was taken Of it, the mere publication
of the startling facts was not without
its effect. Pennsylvania followed, and
though the commission appointed by
this State did not even take the trouble
to collate statistics of its local indebt.
edness, the report served to call public
attention to the threatening danger.
Among the good results of this very
general discussion of the subject of the
growth OF local Indebtedness was the
passage, by several States, of bills COM
pelling the county, township, or city
officers to make out annually, and for.
ward to the State Auditor, a report of
their outstanding Indebtedness. One
or two States had deemed 1t of sufii-
cient importance to collect these sta
tistics before the general agitation of
municipal reform which followed the
overthrow of Tweed in New York,
but in all other States no complete
record had ever been kept From the
different auditors reports Of 1879, Mr.
Porter found an increase of local debts
in eleven States from s266, 179, ,060, in
1870 TO s546 2s9 52s in ls7s while
tho valuation in The same ,ime increos.
ed only abont 20 ner cent
A Comparison OF the aogreoate debts
Of the hundred and thirty cities exclu-
sively with the returns of the total 10.
cal Indebtedness of the eleven States
hrinos fnllv IN view tho fac, tho, ,ho
dongor Iics eyclns;voIv In ,ho c;ty and
NOT IN ,ho conntv d,oynshin yoh,s
Tho debts Of he hundred and thhtv
cities iumned from s221 312 009 in
1866 ~ s6ll 97e 66a in 1915 IN tho
other hand bv adding IN county and
township debis tho Increase 10 from
s2s6 I'D O6O 10 s54s 7s9 b29--tbo ono
AZ n rate Of 20O ner cent tho other nj
loss thon 100 nor cont In shor, ,be
buII of the debts are munieipal The
debt of twenty cities in pennsvlvania
a s,ate hat c;ves no comnlo,e ye,nrns
AGGREGATES sS7 329 1sO nine cities in
Nsw Iersev s96 b02 100 two cities
In Marvlana s34 ooo oOo. fivc cites
in T,onisiana $40 OO0 600 and Eve
cities in Kentucky. sl2OO0OOO. But
when 10 those great debts arc added
the township and the county debts,
tbe average per cap,ta TO the popula.
ton is brought down, and the grand
aggregate. though serious enough,
loses some of it's startling characters
ties Mr.. Porter has made n careful
estimate of the total local indebted. |
ness of the United States. based on
the returns received by tho State Au.
ditors and sucb returns as he has been
able 10 obtain from States where no
regular reports arc made. According
10 tbis calculation the total local debt
of tho country at the close of the year
1878 was sI051. log 112. exclusive of
the debts Of territories. If this calcu.
lation be approximately correct the
eleven States referred To-, representing
A population of about l6,5OO, 900, owe
the largest proportion of the local debt.
4, o;,,ht yeara tha dabt has ;pcreaeed |