Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-25
some ASSESSMENT FIGURES
Progress Of the Struggle to Shift tn, Burden
Upon Others Shoulders.
RAILROADS ARE AHEAD UP TO DATE
Tables Showing Decrease In Valuation
of Farm Lands and Railroads
Unpaid Taxes and the
state Debt.

LINCOLN. Aug. $50 the Editor OF
The Bee.-Dear Sir: Your editorial in this
mornings Bee, entitled Tax Bureau Quack-
cry" is to the point and timely. without
commenting on the points you make, II can
be shown that the present floating state debt
cannot be accounted for by simply looking
at the uncollected taxes and saying: II the
delinquent taxes were all paid there would
be no floating debt, but, on the contrary,
there would be money In the treasury" This
is true enough as a hypothetical proposition,
but the fact is that the delinquent taxes
have not all been paid and thai a goodly
percentage OF them never will be paid, the
reasons therefore being we'll stated in your
editorial.
Plenty Of other hypothetical propositions
could be stated. For example, II the levy
for general fund purposes had been 10 mills
instead of 5, and If appropriations had been
no greater. and II collections had been made
in corresponding ratio, there would be no
floating debt today. Or, leaving the levy
at 5 mills, II the legislatures for the last
four or five sessions had refrained from
making such heavy appropriations against
the state general fund there would not now
be a floating debt. But the fact is that the
legislatures made heavy appropriations-so
heavy, in fact, that by placing the full s.
mill limit on every county It was impossible
to raise enough in two years to pay the APP
preparations for the biennium without ma
terially Increasing the grand assessment
roll.
start of the Debt.
AT the close Of the fiscal year ended No
vember 30, 1886, there was in reality no
floating debt. There was outstanding $11,-
943.46 in general fund warrants, but there
was In the treasury general funds amount
ing to over 500, 900 to pay the warrants upon
presentation. II Is . practical impossible
tty to have no warrants outstanding, even
II there were millions lying idle In the
treasury to pay them with. Accordingly,
whatever floating debt we have today has
accumulated since November 80, 1886, and
whatever caused Il must have occurred since
that time. Our theory Of government is to
pay current expenses with current taxes
and the 81, SIT, 9s2.54 Of unpaid and mostly
delinquent general fund taxes due the state
on November 80, 1886, could not possibly as
sist in creating a floating debt subsequent
TO that date. Had this amount been fully
collected up to that date, Of course, and been
applied to subsequent expenditures, the
present floating debt might have been
smaller; but the amount was then unpaid
and the state was out of debt, II we except
tine state bonds, which were not due at that
time. Hence. so far as our present floating
debt is concerned, in examining the causes
therefore We may start with November 80,
1886. with no debt and wholly dlsregarding
the then uncollected and delinquent general
fund taxes.
II the floating debt can be charged wholly
to delinquent taxes. the increase in amount
Of debt and unpaid taxes should go hand In
hand. Let us see II they did: