The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1881-03-29


fThs Fernandina Mirror Of saturday iass con-
feases 70 considerable surprias In iindine in the
columns Of the Eoasnist tie following very sin-
gular ideas On the shbiecs Of scrip:
g A fer our friends second question. he nee
essity Of an increase al last years mansiFOus
rate Of taxationf We answer there was no nee
essity for 1t whatever And this those who en-
eineered the thing know as well a. We do. Twas
TO keep scrip at par, thus denying the Taxpayers
any alienation Of the burthen q taxes already
enormously high, by refusing them an opportu-
nifty Of buying something with which TO pay,
which would cost them less than gold and silver.
This poor privilege, allowed % even By our Rad
ical oppressors. Q Democratic administration
thought too great boon TO permit to the voters
who brought it into power. And whyf Because
TO the extent that tax-paying scrip should be
deprecated, their enormous a0tdries se0tld be less
snsd! Our correspondent b loo intelligent not
to know how much better thing It 10, and has
been for the last four years. 70 be Democratic
fioce-holder, with salary Of $500 Or 8, 600,
payable In gold or its equivalent, than Radical
ofice- holder, during the preceding years with
the same nominal salary, yet really 30 or 40 per
cent. less, because payable In deprecated scrip"
The Mirror continues: We feel quite sure
that the Economist will see that, however griev-
Gus high taxation may be, the increase of scrip
Indebtedness is practically much greater evil.
Our past experience Of the issue Of scrip, 10 meet
the obligations of the State, has been to shew
that if the State needed supplies or services Of
any kind, the price was enhanced by more than
the amount of the depreciation of the scrip, be-
cause there was always a contingency that the
purchasing power of the scrip would 20 still
lower. The man, or the State, or the county
which buys anything payable in paper, with de-
preciated credit, pays dearly for its use The
final result is that SPECTATORS get control of
volume of the Indebtedness, and then there is
usually successful effort to fund the indebted
ness and put it at interest. Then comes bond
tax, and the unfortunate taxpayer is forced TO
pay double principal and interest on that. The
smaller taxpayer derives no benefit from depre-
ciated scrip, being usually sellers instead of buy
ers, and spectators are the only parties who are
benefited
I'VE are now paying interest on million and
quarter of State bonds. mainly issued TO fund
deprecated State scrip. The sooner every county,
city and town gets rid of scrip the better for the
taxpayer and the community.
Moreover, the end the Economist has in view,
the reduction of salaries and expenses, would be
met by the argument that the scrip in which the
salaries was paid was deprecated, and hence
they ought not 10 be reduced 1t is poor economy
to meet State obligations in deprecated currency
which is only good at par against the treasury
itself"
1t will be instructive in this connection to show
the increase of unredeemed outstanding scrip al
the close of each fiscal year for series of years
beginning with 1869 and ending with 1885, as
exhibited by Comptroller's reports for the years
mentioned: