The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1894-01-27
HAS NO STATE DEBT.
That Is What Governor MacCorkle says
About West Virginia.

III icSdlu w iSCSutig puuilcuco
statement to the effect that the State
debt of West Virginia was $1S4,511
which sum had grown from 1928, All
in ten years, Governor MacCorkle
writes as follows:
This is an entire mistake, and
does injustice to the State not only
by making it appear that we have q
debt, but that it is surely growing.
The State does not owe cent OF
debt. The makers of our constitu-
ton, taking wise counsel from the
experience of Virginia, placed in
that instrument provision making
it impossible to create any State
debt This was intended to put it
utterly out of the power of the Legis-
lature to impose continuing burdens
on the people. Time has shown the
wisdom of the course.
This care on the part of the law
makers that the people Of the State
should not be over burdened with a
bonded State debt has not alone been
confined to the State proper, but
around the counties and municipali-
ties has been placed nearly every
possible safeguard. Our law pro
vides that il any county or district
wishes to create any Indebtedness
for any public improvement, the
county Court must first approve it
and submit it regularly to an cleo
tion by the people, at which election
it must be carried by not less, than
three fiths of the qualified voters
and said debt must not amount to
more than per cent. of the taxed
values of the county. So with mu-
inequalities. After the council has
approved it, the people must pass on
it, and it must be carried by three
fifths vote.
"In a city of more than twenty
thousand inhabitants the rate of tax
alton shall not exceed two per cent
UNI on the assessed value of the prop
erty for State purposes; a city of
more than ten thousand and less
than twenty thousand, not exceeding
$1.50 on the 500. city of more
than three thousand and less than
ten thousand the tax shall not ex-
coed $1.25 on the 800.
"In addition to this the law is i'm
perative that sinking fund must
be created to pay off bonded debt
thus created. So you see every pos
sibe precaution has been taken to
prevent the people from being over
burdened with bonded debt or with
a great annual burden of taxes.
mot only do we have no debt,
but the irreducable and interest
bearing school fund of our State is
$4,000. Our State tax rate is on
ly little over 30 cents ON the 500.
Our wealth increasee from 1901, 000,-
900 in 1880 to 1855, 100000 in 1890.
Our railroad mileage increased from
COL miles in 1880 to LOO miles in
1898 In 1880 we produced 1.4O4,
900 tons of coal; in 1892 we pro-
duded S,777,SS0 tons.
SIN 1898, Notwithstanding it was
such hard year, our coal produc-
ton was I0,92S920 tons, an increase
over 1892 of 2,21S.033 tons. over
20 per cent. In 1892 we employed
1854 inside mine workers and in
1898 we employed lilo. In 1880
we had completed 631 coke ovens;
in 1892 we had completed 5,490. In
1898 we had completed 6,S25 ovens,
an increase of 1886 over 1892. In
addition to this we have under pro-
cess Of construction l, liz coke ovens.
We added last year eleven new coal
operations to our list.
sour county and municipal en-
debtedness together only amounts
to about one-half of one per cent of
the value of our wealth. Fully one
half of this county and municipal
Indebtedness has been incurred in
the building of railroads which have
had for their object the development
of virgin territory.
"This statement has added force
when we consider that all the para
phernalia of State has been created.
We have constructed magnificent
capitol building, penitentiary, deaf,
dumb and blind asylum, almost
wholly constructed an insane asy-
lum and wholly constructed another
one Our normal school system is
magnificent. All of these schools
are in splendid buildings. All of
this without any bonded debt or
adding one dollar to the burdens of
the taxpayer. Our taxes are low
and our progress is unprecedented
in the history of the States.
SIN addition to this the citizens
of our State have within the last five
years reduced the average per CAPT
ia of their Indebtedness to the ex-
tent of at least eighteen per cent,
and at no time in the last ten years
has the average increase of per cap
tia Indebtedness kept pace with the
average per capita increase of the
wealth of the citizens of the State.
My observation is that this is an al
most unprecedented showing"
Tho Advartistuu