St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-18
BULLETIN NO. 81.
Mr.. Census Porter Given
Pointers About st. Paul
Statistics.
Local Assessments for Streets
and Bridges Should Be
Eliminated.
Simply a Transfer Of Capital
and Not a Per Capita
Tax.
This Is Really the First Of
fetal Report Sent the
Bureau.

The following letter and table of ex-
st. Paul during 1889 was yesterday
sent by the city comptr oller to the su-
perlntendent of the census bureau at
Washington:
ST. PAUL, Mimi, July II, 1S91.-To Hon.
Robert P. Porter, superintendent OF census,
Washington. ID. C.-My Dear Sir: The en-
closed statement of receipts and disburse-
ments of the city of st. Paul for the year end
ing Dec. 81 1881 has been made out in COM
pliance with the request in your open letter
of July II to the editor Of the Pioneer Press,
and with the view of enabling you to correct
the statistics as given for st. Paul in Census
Bulletin No 81. The treasurer OF st. Paul
has no knowledge of any previous report OF
this kind having been furnished your de-
partmentin the shape it appears in the bulle-
tin, and the comptroller who was in office at
that time has since died. and there is no re-
ord OF the report made. The following ex-
PLANTATION will enable you to determine what
were the approximate administrative eX
penditures of st. Paul for the year 1889.
The greatest injustice done us in the item
of 'streets and bridges" The actual cost OF
maintaining Cleaning and repairing, etc. of
streets already graded or opened, repairing
sewers and bridges was S2SS, e64 while the
cost of grading, paving. sewerlng new streets
and constructing new bridges was u, SJ9,3I3.
This amount was raised entirely by local as
sessment on the property benefited, and the
city at large stood no proportion OF 1t. The
itemIof ''redempuons of local Improvement"
should be entirely omitted from any per
capita rate as the same is simply transfer
of money. The money is paid into Inc city
treasury TO redeem property that has been
sold for delinquent assessments, and is paid
out again to the holder of the delinquent as
sessment certificates.
AS will be seen by the statement, the water
department is self-sustaining and in no way
a direct tax on the people. Your item in re-
ceipts of interest (S6,O55j should be 1891 more,
as the interest on the deposits OF the poaro
of education has been entirely omitted.
You have evidently charged under the
head of"Charitable objects the amount OF our
Workhouse, and not the amount OF aims
house and city hospital. Another error is
the amount on hand at the end of the year,
which you have as 1851, 595. and which was
S94, 1853. The item of miscellaneous, as given
under extraordinary expenditures in this
statement consists principally of costs and
expenses incurred in special assessments Tor
local improvements, and which are collected
in the assessments for the improvements,
certificates of Indebtedness issued for ex-
traordipary purposes redeemed, money do
mated for Johustown and Dakota sufferers,
and minor items of extraordinary expense.
AS YOU will see. the amount raised by gen
erai taxes is only about three-quarters OF the
amount of the administrative expenses as
we make them, the other quarter being de-
rived from licenses, fees, fines and penalties.
The police and fire departments were more
than paid from the revenues thus derived.
Trusting that the foregoing explanation Will
enable YOU to easily arrive at the real admin
istrative expenses of our city, and thus give
us our proper per capita, remain respect
fully yours,