The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-30
MUST have MILLIONS
VAST SUMS ARE NEEDED TO PUT
HAVANA IN A PROPER
CONDITION
PROJECTS BEFORE LUDLOW
Money Is the One Obstacle in the
Way, and the Matter of Further
Bonding the City Is Already I'm
of Three Millions From Taxation
Is Possible.

|
Correspondence of the Associated Press
HAVANA. Jan. 24.-Maj. Gen. Lud-
low has on his table several projects
for underground sewerage, street paw
ing, an up 10 date school system and
improvements of lesser Importance.
He has had pressed on his attention a
series of suggestions on how to create
an ideal city. The only obstacle is
money. A million is nothing Some
! thing between ten and twenty millions
| is wanted and Gen. Ludlow is turning
over in his mind the best way OF ask
Ing Washington, through Maj. Gen.
Brooke, for leave to bond the city, so
| that the next generation, as we'll as
this one, may have an opportunity to
pay for the renaissance
Ernest Lee Conant, chairman of the
! financial inquiry commission deputed
| by Gen. Ludlow to go into the finances
| or the city, has prepared a memoran-
| dunn on the subject. From among an
orderly arrangement of many pages
the following paragraphs are extract
ed:
The debt of the city of Havana Oct. Al
1898 according to statement signed by the
aIcaide and comptroller, was as follows: LoaE
Oh April Y 1883, fifty years, per cent bonds
mortgage Spanish Bank of the Island ct
: Cuoa)' eco Lean of Oct. 19, 1892 fifty
years, per cent mortgage Bank of Com
h haerce United a Railways and Regla ware
housesl, S2Ss2,e00 notes, $23, $50: floating debt
ior salaries, materials. interest and sinking
iUhd' zzoeo 64; total, S1z,0i6ss5. AT the Close
ano the total debt was about s12 500 co.,
Inc mortgage for the loan of 1889 to the
| spanish bank is document of las printed
! in 1877 the city borrowed from the Spanish
nahk sum OF money which, together with
us interest, amounted in 1889 to s3177 e5:
si,at Ine city was in arrears for interest and
sihhLs Iund and that lawsuits had been in
| progress to compel the city TO paw: that the
| city also desired funds to complete the water
s ~orhs ana ana 1or other purposes and it was
per cent, hfty-year bonds to take up the
/ oepts and finish the water works the eYnense
o u "hleh was estimated at 81. $50 0OO, and that
| me balance OF the loan which was taken ar
~. De turned over to the city for general pur-
poses. mere was further provision that the
was done. anu III
PROPERTY MORTGAGED.
The city mortgaged the Canal de yento m.
| Aqueduct Ferdinand VII the Ch-is.;ro
slaughter house, the Tacon and Colon mar
kets, with all their revenues. and fifty houses
which II owns in various parts of the city.
Inc Canal de Vento alone is estimated ar
! So. 600. GEO. - oee0 aI
| The S7,CG0 COO loan has been reduced h., ~
| operatlons or sinking fund to s6,5Il 600 Tho
mortgage of 1881 for So 900 Geo nov rs6,,cad ~
The srrs.n mas tne same property security.
| ny sIreSrs OF interest and sinking fund on
| tne two loans is $685. 6Qe which fisures az az
| part of the floating debt. as
! .. ne noating debt arises from the failure
| ~ pSy any saiarles contractors or for materi-
aus during practically the whole of 1seS and
io s Sh ueDts OF preceding years. The float
tbs ueuu Is prima facie valid obligation of
| t sis municipality and should be funded Rnt
! 9etore making new loan for paving these
forn court CT claims should be formed be-
IQre winch all the municipality,s cred;+ors
| should prove their claims 0i'oi
For city OF the size and wealth of H.-
f rama, oept OF S12, 5o0, 600 is not excessive.
| minis+. stable government aud an honest ad
| ~ y. ation OF the citys affairs 1t is prob-
aoie tnat its general credit is stilI suficien+
W Iioal an additional loan. How large s,,cr
saw a W;, Jouie pc made I am not prepared to
| soy, without much further study The renre
SSte , OF Dady Cox express their will
1 naE;na 70 take pay for their sewerage and
city Sehene, some 81, 100000. in general
eI'y Donos, which would of course. be innior
20 the Dords already issued and thev saw
.llat they have already made arrangemen1s
thesa h hoaae IN New York to dispose of
sI IeEs ponds as last as received This project
aiohe would double the present CITY debt and
expense. present annual
The revenue of the CITY is deri,,oa
entirely from licenses and indirect FAY
dloh. Real estate is not directly taxed
ana the municipality does not directly
receive anything from real asta+o
ne Island imposes among other taxes
tax OF II per cent on the estimated
rental OF all houses in the CITY and the
.ouu'ry ana IL pays to the city of Ha-
Nana 10 per cent Of the amount TINS
Goilected on rents within the citv
UNITS. The island also levies a tax on
INDUSTRY, commerce and professions
and 1t pays to the city of Havana Ok
per cent of all such taxes collected
WITHIN the city limits. The other
sources OF city revenues which are di-
tscsly collected by the municipality are
tne rent OF houses owned by the NUM-
clpality, water works, slaughter
houses, and markets. taxes on meat
coke and wood licenses on Factories
ana business of all kinds and various
minor licenses. The total estima ted
revenue for 1898 is slightly In excess
OF sz'ooo 900. The tax on meat amount
ed to $685. 00 '''-'' I'll
MUNICIPAL RECEIPTS
These receipts" says Mr.. Conant
amount to between So and $40 a head
on a population estimated between
zoo,ooo and 100000. In American cities
W per cent or more of the revenue is
derived from a direct tax on the as
sessed value of real estate, including
vacant property. In New York the
revenue is about S2S per head In Bos-
Ton II is about $40; Philadelphia about
sl5 in Chicago about s12 per head
CIhese figures are approximate onIv
Mr.. Conant says, and were based on
census statistics of 1900
New York is city of exceptional
wealth and while the revenue per head
IS large, the taxation in proportion to
the assessed value of property is prob
ably less than in any city in the conn
try L am inclined to think. although
! further study might modify this
opinion, that the wealth of Havana is
such that judicious system of taxse
ton would yield revenue of s15 ner
head or upward of s., 000, 900. and this
II honestly and judiciously collected
and expended, would probably be twice
the actual net revenue now enjoyed Inv
the city. The collection of taxes of ali
kinds was farmed out on a basis of
per cent commission for collection
Gen. Ludlow has been informed nv
| others that about one-half the citv's
$2,OOo,O 900 has been going to the Bank
OF Spain in Cuba, and the Bank of
Commerce in interest on bonds inter
est of floating debt, percentages in dis
counting notes and revenues and In
paying for collection of taxes. Of the
remainder only s13,974 was spent on the
fire department and $96 SAG on schools