Arizona republican., 1899-01-18

Gfla bridge bonds, per cent,
 due in 1900..... ........... 15,OOO Arizona university bonds, per
 cent, due in 1907 07........ 14,OO0 Territorial funding bonds, per
 cent, due in 1913... ...... 50,O0O Total. S2s1 900
 All of which can no doubt be ex- changed into Der cent, fifty-year, re- funding bonds at or before maturity, i if the people prefer that course to be- ing taxed for a. sinking fund with which to pay off and redeem the bonds at maturity.
 It will also be seen from the forego- ing tables, which are offiical and re- liable, that there has been funded into 5 per cent territorial bonds county and municipal indebtedness amounting to S1, ,634, ,O27.57; and as practically all county and municipal securities, before they were funded, bore 10 per cent, a saving in interest has resulted to the counties and municipalities by refund l ing of S80,000 annuany.
 There has been funded of the terri torial debt proper bonds and warrants amounting to S634,0 large part of which bore 10 per cent before funding. upon which per cent was saved. It has been carefully estimated that re- funding has saved to the territory, in interest upon the territorial debt prop CT, at least $29,O00 annually; which, added to the saving in interest upon lthe county and municipal debt funded, amounts to $109000 saved in annual interest as a result of the operations of 1 the funding law and the loan commis- sion.
 Unless congress should further ex- tend the right to fund the floating in Idebtedness of the territory until some future date, no more bonds can be sold to take up the unredeemed warrants issued since January 1st, 1897. IL is hoped that with an economical admin istrati0n of affairs and a proper assess ment and collection of taxes, the terri- tory will soon have no floating debt, and that the public business will be conducted on a cash basis
 A late sale Of the funding bonds of the territory at par and accrued inter est, from the proceeds of which a large amount of floating indebtedness was cancelled, is especially gratifying, for the reason that persistent effort had been made by my predecessors and oth- CTS for several years to dispose of these securities without success, partly on ac- count of the stringent money market and partly on account of lack of conf dence in the territory's ability to repay. am pleased to be able to inform you that the credit of the territory is now firmly established and our securities are in demand.
 l invite your attention to the report of the loan commission for a detailed statement of it's transactions.
 TAXATION AND REVENUE.
 The greatest problem with which you a 3ra ar-7f frnn Ad in 11rr,,, to devise an improved system for the assessment and collection of taxes, that the revenue of the territory may be sufficient for the needs of government, and to protect and maintain the pub- lie credit. All property subject by law to taxation should be assessed. I contend that if all the property in the territory subject to taxation were as- sessed at proper valuation, the people who now bear the burdens of govern ment-which are unequally distributed would pay less than they do under present conditions. Some kinds of property are specifically exempt by law, and whether or not the policy which authorized the exemption was wise, the law and the contract is none the less binding upon the territory and must be accepted. But a comparatively small proportion Of the personal property in the territory is taxed. Under our sys- tenn, money, securities, jewelry. valu- able household furniture and a large amount of personal property of every nature and description escapes taxation altogether. To accuse an honorable citizen of perjury who does not pay taxes upon his personal property would be extremely harsh but a large ma jority Of our citizens are unquestion- ably guilty of constructive perjury not intentionally so, but when a blank statement is handed to them by an as- sessor upon which to list their taxable property and at the bottom of which is an oath which they must sign, they are guilty of constructive perjury, if they do not list all their taxable property The small real estate owner, the farm CT, the grazer with Q small band of cattle or sheep, cannot escape; they must pay, and frequently upon greater values than their property will sell for, but the wealthy cattle or sheep. owners, with large drOves grazing upon un- taxed public domain, do not always return to the assessor all of their prop erty. The great corporations and the wealthy mine owners too often evade bearing their just proportion of the cost of maintaining the government which protects them. Simple justice, nothing more, demands the equitable apportionment of taxes
 If railroads increase in value, if their traffic becomes greater and their earn ings larger, if their stock is valued higher upon the stock exchange, based upon legitimate values, then there is no good reason why their valuation for the purposes of taxation should not be increased. It will not be contended that these values are stationary
 ASSESSMENT OF MINES.
 Either the profits of mines or proper value upon diyi- dend-paying mines should also be assessed. There can be no pos siI,In i11rtiscatiOn fn1. 1ne--.11itEing grsat