Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1893-02-16
4seIntutlt Chronicle.
PUBLIC OPINION.
LOCAL INDEBTEDNESS.

LOCAL INDEBTEDNESS
Cincinnati Tribune.
One of the most popular of the catch
phrases of the war time was one which
Jay Cooke made use of while he was
placing the war loans for the Govern
ment. "a public debt is public bless
ing" Many people thought at that
time, and many more have thought
since, that public.debt is probably one
of those blessings which the poet said,
brighten as. they take their flight" be
: that as it may, however, we are certainly
in the habit of boasting of the rapid ex-
tinction of the National debt, which we
would hardly do were it the unmixed
blessing which the great fnancier pro-
claimed it.
Our State debt is another of those
blessings, and it is our pride that it, too
approaches the vanishing point; thanks
to the wise policy of the trainers of our
constitution who provided for its ex-
tinguishment, while prohibiting its in
crease except in cases of extreme
emergency.
But there is yet another of those debt
blessings, so called, which bids fair not
only to abide, but to increase apace
iustifying the belief that those who
created it, and who are so steadily adding
to it, are firm believers in the Jay Cooke
theory. We refer to what is known as
our slocal Indebtedness, meaning
thereby the aggregate debts of ouI
counties, cities, villages, townships and
school districts.
The steady and rapid increase in that
form of our public debt ought to arrest
public attention, to the end that some
effective measures to check its further
growth and provide for its payment may
be devised. The aggregate local indebt-
edness in the State has increased as
follows during the past nine years: In
1884 it was $42,277,173; in 1885, $685.
299, 1893; in 1886, $56,528,386; in 1887,
$54, ,S43, ,696; in 1888, $50, 78O, ,024; in 1859
$5O,228,I21; in 1890, 1892, 1856; in
1891, 81, 1888, IA, and in 1892 it was
$83.777,4 ,473, an increase duiing the last
year of about 16 per cent. and an in
crease since 1884 of about 100 per cent
We have not the space now to go into
details of this enormous aggregate OF
local Indebtedness. That must be re-
served for another occasion. But we
NAV remark that these debts are still
being piled up daily by our Legislature.
Some drastic measure should be set on
foot to curb this reckless extravaganza,
or by and by some Of our localities will
be without remedy short of actual bank
ruptcy. The seat of the trouble is, of
course, in our Legislature. Every man
who succeeds in breaking into that body
has a financial ak to grind, and the
custom of legislative courtesy prevails
to such an extent that the widest
schemes 60 unchecked.
"Ask and you shall receive" is the
legislative invitation to all corners.
Authority to issue bonds for any and
every purpose is granted for the asking.
Railroads, opera houses, grants in aid of
private enterprise, private roads, bridges,
etc, go to swell the burden which can
only end in repudiation and disgrace.
The only effective remedy is in the
improvement of the personnel of our
Legislature, which can only be done by
the general enlistment of our best men
in the work of the primaries, and in a
more careful espionage over the acts of
our law-making servants.