Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-04-21
sIATeAND CoRPoRAIEINDEBT

The census report of the public in
debtedness, prepared by Special Agent
Robert p. Porter, the well known sta
tistician of the Chicago Inter ocean,
takes cognizance of State, county, city
and town debts, classifying as cities all
municipalities of over 1900 population;
the statistics upon which the report was
based having been dated July !, 1880.
The total State and Territorial indebt-
edness amounts to $3.50, 1923, the
sinking funds to S25, 743, 462, and the net
debts to 1924, 436, PSI, gross county debts,
S125. AL, SIS; net do, SOB, 81, 6S6; gross
CITY debts, S71O, 1924; net do,
sos, S44,41S; gross town debts,
S56. 376. S57: net do, s55,Sl7,-
l26; total gross debts, 81, 2O1, 1891 Ills; to-
tai net debts, 81 ,056,5S4, las. The gross
debts of the New England States are
S49. $50, 926: the Middle States, SA,6O4,-
5Il: Southern, Sl25, 72S, l55; Western,
S39, 7O7, 953, and Territories, 1888, Us.
In the State column Massachusetts,
takes the lead with 49,, 034, 726; West
Virginia, Illinois, the District of Column
bia, and Arizona, New Mexico, Dakota
and Washington Territories are down
for no debt at all. Virginia comes next
TO Massachusetts,, with S29, 3l5, 226; then
Tennessee, with S21 ,44O, 43l; Louisiana
with S23, 437, $40, and Pennsylvania,
with 81 ,06l,y Since the date
of the reports from Which
Agent Porter takes these figures,
the Virginia debt has been ire
adjusted" down to about S3O,OOO,OOO.
The following is the order in which the
remaining States and territories come
with reference to the amounts of their
debt; Missouri, Maryland, Georgia,
Alabama, New York, South Carolina,
Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, Texas,
Arkansas, Indiana, Connecticut, New
Hampshire, California, Minnesota,
Rhode Island, Wisconsin, New Jersey,
Kentucky, Florida, Kansas, Michigan,
Delaware, Oregon, Nebraska, Misslsslp-
nj, Iowa, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada,
Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Vermont.
One of the striking features of the re-
port is the manner in which
the political ideas of the inhab-
itants of various sections influence
them in the creation ofpublic indebted
ness. In the Southern States, where
the political notion of State sovereign
ty has made it natural for the citizen to
think of the State as the most natural
public authority to look to for money
for internal Improvements, the State
debts aggregate 1925, 12S, 10 of the total
of S227, l34, S34, and the cities $40, 3S4, 81.
In New England, where the total is
5000, 80, S65, or nearly as great rs III the
South, only S49, 950,926 of it is credited
to the States, but 1920, 459,I37 is under
the head of cities, and So, S43, O3O is at
tributed to the towns, the municipal
forms of local self-governmentb being the
one upon which the republican simple
itv of the Eastern States depends for
most of its enterprise in public affairs.
Of the debts of cities, the largest Item,
Sal, 797, S2S, or nearly p per cent, was
created for water works; the next -, =
SG4, SO4, or IS per cent, was for funding
previous floating debt; and S7l,O1l, l4O,
or lO.4 per cent, for refunding previous
bonded debt; ISL 90, ST., or l. per cent,
was for streets; SOS, 300, 1913, or 10 pei
cent, was for railroad and other aid
$40, 49O, $50, or per cent, was for parks
and other public places; SD, 5l6,S29 was
for public buildings; so, 500, 43l fol
bridges; sd ,335, 4$4 for sewers; $2S, ~
80 1Or WAT eApeilSeS, |lO,'-o''V'
for improvement of harborSl
and $l3,SS9,9l5 for schools, and
libraries. Nearly 20 per cent of the
whole was for funding or refunding
debt, the origin of which is not ascer'
tanned. The local debt now Outstand'
ing is mainly traceable to the years
lS67-lS75 inclusive, though the issues OF
1879 were large-no less than 45, 1875, lO5
They were still larger in 1870 (S47,3I5,-
36D, in 1871 (54,0lS, 592), in 1872 (S62,'
O64, 355), in 1874 ($62, 42l 1866, and in
1873 { 52,453, 742D, the amount ISSUED
during the whole year 1880 being I'M
known. The average rate of interest on
local debt is 6.l7 per cent, and would
apparently be much higher but for the
failure or refusal of many places to pay
interest in full according to contract.