The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-09-07

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capacity for government than their oppo-
nents. This capacity has been shown in
divers ways but In nothing more strik-
ingly than in the skin with which thew
grappled with the financial difficulties into
Ehich the imbecility of the Republicans
nAo plunged the State. do not wish to
weary You with dry Statistics, but you
WIN par-,n me if ! employ figures to
Illustrate an. enforce what lmay say. In
the outset 1 -emark that th. greatest
curse that ever b~fel Florida wa the in
auguration OF carpe~bag governme.t un-
der the reconstruction ects. jerry Bl.ck
Is credited with saying that the fall OF
man and the landing of the PILGRIMS were
the two monster evils that befel the hui
man race; but he made that remark, if
he ever did make it, before the advent Of
carpet-bagism in the South. Had he
waited yet little am not sure that he
would not have added to- the number and
included this advent " as equal if not
greater than either of the other !" evils. p
Certain it is that the depressing and iniu-
rious effect of Radical rule will continue
to be felt during this generation. To
better understand the force of this remark
and to appreciate more fully the difficult
ties in the way of a successful administra-
tion Of the finances by a Reform gov
ernment let me show you the state of the
finances when the Democrats assumed
power in 1877:
FINANCIAL CONDITION IN 1877.
There was in the Treasury on all ac-
counts $31, ,324.74 in money, and against
this there stood past due interest amount
ing to $43, ,403.99, and floating debts, con-
sisting of warrants and outstanding green
back scrip, deficiencies for 1875 and '76,
and juror and witness costs not reported,
amounting to $255, ,6s5.39 more, making
in all $299,Os9.3s Of immediate debts in
herited from the outgoing administration.
1t is true there was the larger portion of
the taxes of 1876 to apply to this indebt-
edness when collected, but the marvel is
that with the immense sums that had
been wrung from the people from 1868 to
1877 there was not an overtiowing instead
of an impoverished and bankrupt treasury
During that period of time, running
through eight and half years, their own
reports show 81, ,O32, ,359.s3 of receipts, or
an average of 1856, ,74s.l2 year, and yet
there was nothing in the treasury applica-
BILE to this enormous floating debt except
$3I ,324.74! And this is not the worst of
it, for they had not only made away with
these millions and left floating debt, in
cluding the unpaid interest mentioned, of
nearly 100000, but had added to the
bonded debt $919, 9,2O4.65, which was at
the rate of $l08, 1884 a year and this
immense increase in the bonded debt,
fellow-citizens, has added to the annual
burdens of the people $5s,656 on account
of interest alone, and the yearly tax re-
quired to meet this increased interest is
equal to about nineteen cents ON the hun
dred dollars of all the taxable property of
the State. Once year, when hand to
the tax-collector my portion OF this in
creased tax, / am reminded afresh OF the
reign of fraud which dominated here for
so many years, and feel that war, pesti-
thence and famine would be preferable to
the restoration of such rule
| said moment ago the greatest curse
that ever befel Florida was the inaugura-
tion of carpet-bag government under the
reconstruction acts and submit that the
financial results of carpet-bag rule which
their own records show amply justiies
the assertion. know that some dreamy
theorists have said that public debt is
public blessing, but we in Florida have
found it to be an unmitigated evil-an
evil, too, for which the very party now
seeking to gain possession of the govern
ment again is alone responsible During
the last six years $685., ,l7O.4O have been
assessed in taxes on the property of the
people to pay interest on bonds, and
$345, ,9l2 of this sum has been assessed to
meet the interest on the $Sl9,204 of in-
creased bonded indebtedness fastened on
the State by Republican mismanagement,
for which there was and is no possible
excuse or defence. 1t was the fruit of
criminal waste and extravaganza on the
part of imbecile and corrupt rulers and
downright stealing by their agents.
This, then, was the financial condition
of the State when the Democrats took
charge of the government. For one l
had little expectation that the poor old
commonwealth would be extricated and
the taxes reduced to an approximation of
those imposed in the old days, all things
considered, in period of time much short
of Drew's term of Office, unless, indeed,
there should be large and rapid increase
in the taxable resources of the State,
which, however, has not taken place.
Now, what has been accomplished
WHAT DEMOCRACY HAS DONE
The first thing done, when the Legisla-
ture of 1877 failed to agree upon the
amount of reduction, was to suspend the
collection Of portion of the taxes-in
other words, instead of collecting 4I-2o
on the hundred dollars of property as had
been the rate under the Republicans, the
revenne officers were ordered to collect
only one dollar. This appeared hazard
GUS in the face Of q floating debt OF
$500. 900, for it was reduction in taxes
compared with what the Republicans had
annually assessed, including the poll-tax,
of over 4e2 900. In 1878 another mill
was taken of, making the tax for that
year ninety cents on the hundred dollars.
In the following year the Legislature
fixed the tax for 1879 and 1880 at mills
or serenity cents on the hundred dollars,
and legalized the suspensions ordered by
the Governor in 1877 and '7S by which
over 4l40, 900 had been saved to the peo-
pie as compared with the rate under the
Republicans. And it may be matter Of
interest to say here that the present cam
didate for lieutenant Governor on the Re-
publican ticket, Gen. Ledwith, not only
voesd agaiast the net legalixing the sasPen-
sion in the last Legislature, but made .
speech denouncing the Governor for or