Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-04-11

izing to the county the sum OF 49,
043.6S.
Soon after this the county brought
n second suit against the L.. IL n.
road. When the charter ofthe NJ e, Z.
& l.. road was granted it contained
q provision which it was supposed
exempted it from taxation for term
of years. Afterward the Supreme
court of the United States constituting
a similar provision in the charter OF
a road from another State held that
it did not exempt from taxation.
The county then sued the road for
back taxes and this suit was after
wards compromised. the road paying
to the county the sum of SO, 393.7o.
1t will thus be seen that from these
outside sources, back taxes, com
promise of law suits, sale of assets,
etc, the county has received S229,-
252.78. OF this sum $44 $4,000 was
transferred TO the court house ac-
count; the remainder was paid for
railroad purposes.
In my judgment much credit is
due the county attorneys, Messrs.
Bailey, House and Quarles for the
sale they made of the county's stock
in the old NJ, G. e. L. road. The road
was utterly ruined by the war and
could not have been sold for One-half
of its bonded debt. The stock was
considered worthless and perhaps
Montgomery county and the town of
GAINESVILLE are the only two stock
holders who ever realized a cent
from their investment in this enter
prise. The so-called protocol fund
when received was placed under the
control of d. N. Kennedy, of the
Northern Bank. He acted as tinan-
cial agent for the county in that
transaction, and but for his skilltul
management we could not only have
saved nothing of the fund in his
hands, but there must have been a
large balance on the other side OF the
ledger.
But while our receipts, especially
from other sources than taxes, have
been large, it should be remembered
that our expenses have also been
heavy. The county has twice re.
paired the Jail; first at "A cost OF
81, 9O7 Sc; the second time at cost
of 1927 70. She expended upon
her court house prior to 1878, 81, 3S4.-
76 and then rebuilt it after it was
burned, at cost of $104, 1888 %. The
outstanding claims in 1873 Coupons,
$37 1866 60 ; judgments, ETC., SIG, no
60 school warrants, $2,734 20; cOun-
" warrants, 81, 636 40 other claims
against county 81 600, all aggregating
SIC, 952 98) all had to be met and paid.
The coupons representing the annual
interest on the bonded debt had to be
paid as they fell due and the sum OF
S2O4 ,Ol6 10 has gone this way. The
bonded debt of S276,6 90 had to be
reduced and has been reduced until
it stood last July at $l09,50O 90 and
will stand next July at $94 900, or
less if the county is successful in the
law suits now pending against her.
Thus it will be seen that in perma-
npnt repairs such as court house and
iail; in the payment Of debts, past
due coupons, judgments, warrants,
etc, outstanding against the county
in 1878; in taking up coupons which
have fallen due since, and in reduc-
ing the bonded debt of the county,
there has been expended in the ag-
gregate the sum Of $575,052 81. OF
this $22, 1861 % has been paid from
the revenue fund $l04,33 % from
the court house fund and S4l0,7 %
from the railroad fund.
The attorneys fees paid from rail-
road fund, the sums expended on
judgments and by way Of cOmpro-
mise in suits against county, the
costs in other cases and COmpensa-
tion to officers, the county warrants
drawn by order of court on railroad
funds, etc all amount to So, $3.50,
making a total expended from this
fund since July 1878, S499, 1888 %,
against total collected Of 500, O2S.2l
ard leaving balance January /,
1890, of $40, 1896.
From county revenue fund in adj
dition to the So, 96l.25 mentioned
above, there has been paid upon
warrants drawn on current expense
accounts in the last seventeen years
$2OG, 44O.75, making a total expended
from this fund Of 1929, 085.3S against
total collected of 1898, 499. 9S, and
leaving a balance January |, 1890, Of
S4,4l4.6O. ! deem it unnecessary
here to give separately the cost Of
jurors, witnesses, paupers, the jal.
land pOOrhOuse expenses, criminal
costs and all the other items fol
which a county revenue tax is an
nually levied, as these may be found
set out in full in the reports which
have been made from time to timi
ana appear on the minutes of The
court.
For several years the amounts col
lected for revenue purposes We're no
sufficient to defray current expenses
especially as the heavy claims out
standing in 1873 had to be met. L,
break up speculation in county paper
the policy was adopted of paying any
lust demand against the county from
any fund that had surplus on hand
Thus considerable sums were dis
bursed from the railroad fund for eX
penses, which were properly charge
able to the revenue fund.
Below give a tabulated statemen
of receipts and disbursements for rail
road purposes and again for revenue
purposes year by year for Seventeen
: wears from 1873 to 1889 inclusive. II
these annual statements | am com
+ PEELED to unite the railroad am
courthouse accounts, as prior to tn
! lew of courthouse tax money wa
: expended 10y order of the court from
!, the railroad fund for courthouse pun
: NOSES and after "A courthouse tax wa
levied coupons were paid from tn
courthouse fund, there being no raj
road tax. In Il general summary