Weekly Arizona citizen., 1880-11-06
DEBTS AND DOLLARS.
Facts and Figures Which arc Taken
 from the Census.

WASHINGTON, D. C., November 23
 The article on State debts and re-
 pudialinn, prepared for publication | by R. P. Porter, Special Agent of the ! Census Bureau, proof sheets of which ! have just been issued, is replee with ' interesting and instructive data.
 h 1880 the state debts aggregated only S13,0O0, GOO During the next sew
 en years the greater part of the debt
 which caused SD much financial em- ! barrassment iu 1S4I-42 was contracted, : the States laying the foundation for SC
 ries of financial disasters. The increase
 of the whole public debt of the States from 1880 10 1S40 amounted to SIS,
 409, 0S4, This great increase, as be shows, was largely due e. the mania for constructing costly works which pre-
 vailed during the seven years f0lloW- ing General JacksOn's election in
 1899. Then came IevulsiOn, a panic
 followed, and rll property seemed for a
 time 10 nave lost It's value. : me States
 refused 10 pay the interest which had
 become due on their debts; others
 neglected 10 provide for il, and C. D.
 gTeSS seri' uSiy considered W neither It
 would not be wise to appropriate S2O0-
 OOO, GOO to pay of this indebtedness.
 The aftIcie shows that Iae State
 debts at present aggregate S253, 723,-
 Uol, and the assessed valuation of
 tEe property of lhc several States az
 giegues $16.244, 5S5, 1OS. From the
 following table giving the total of the State debts of the various sections for every decade since lS41, It will be seen that their aggregate indebted ness to-day only exceed by S36,y46 O65 ihe total forty eHTs ago, while the assessed value of property has iE- creased over Sl2OUO, 0OU 900.
 N FnsI'd $ 7,i5s,s74 $ so 3s,55o 4s sIssl4 5Isg; Middle. 75,3 ,e,U72 7g,s-4,4sl 45, 7s,575 | Sorthern. I5,3I1O17 I74,4s5,452 lIs. ,~45 | W estern-. os,S5l s553 4i,UleyIl 5000 5oJ | Pacific. 4,l7o,5U5 4,J47,oss |
 Mir Porter suuslanuute>, by careful ! research, that the tatal State indebr- ness Is Sl02, l43, ST less now than m 1870 and says that Il the date between 1870 and 1850 (wheu the debts of the States reached their highest point be selected, It will be found that the debt to-day is nearly $2OO,OOO,. OU0 less than It was seven or eIgLt years ago, fully Sl6OOOu, OU0 having been declared invalid and repuuIated. every Sou hcIu Stale except Kentucky having disposed Of part Ot its indebt- ,dness, Minnesota being the only Northern State which has thus been iishOuored
 In 1852 the Southern States exceeded n wealth the Middle States by SSy6.- O9, 366, and the Western States bv > ,6OJ, 159, 6S3. To-day the debts of he two latter sections are S45 .612.515 nd S36, 565, ,46O, respectively, while he South, before reuudiatiOu, owed i273, 20j, ,lSj, and to-day recognIze, .ll3, 961 ,243 debt. The valuation of rOperty ln the Middle States has in- reased since 1852 from < 5y3 256,93f D S0,3l6,0SJ, l31; of tue Western Jates from SS19,6G6, 6l7 10 Sj,51S.6SI.- m 01, while that "i The Sou hern States l as decreased from $f, SCI, ,g7O, 635 in S60 to $2.226 144. 3Sl In 1SSJ. Re -rring to the State stocks, 4lr Porter iys:
 Prior to 1860 but little business 'as dune Tn State stocks, and, il deed. he securities of only few States ere on the market prior to lo72. ince that time, however, l have been C ble tO trace from files of financial V ewspapers the market value of the itterent loans of twenty five States. he report is based on actual sales on rIduys of every week The average due of the various issues of bonds as first ascertained, and then the av- age prices or all classes of securities the respective States for the year. = ld finally the average value during le eight years The average value
 the securities of nine Eastern and fiddle States during the eight years ' ldlug June 30, 1873, has been one ' )llar and four cents on the dollar; le average value of the nine Southern ates (excepring Kentucky, only 5l nls; the average value of six West c n States and Kentucky, one dollar 0' Id four cents on the dollar"