The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1904-04-01

His attention to the settlement OF
the State debt was assiduous and
constant, the hour of midnight
often finding him at his Office in the
capitol engaged in the work. He
adopted a system of double check.
ing, to avoid errors. Every sea-
was impressed on every bond and
every executive signature was writ.
ten by his own hand. Not an error
occurred throughout the whole
transaction. The Bank of Tennes
see money and the Torbett Issue
were settled and refunded into Ger.
t%iticates under his personal super
vision and by his own hand. His
administration was productive of
perfect satisfaction to friends and
foes alike, from a business stand.
point, at least. During the whole
four years he had but one assistant
in his ofice-the Adjutant General
who also acted as his private Sec
rotary, except that there was a very
small appropriation for clerical as
sistance in each of his two terms,
part of which being unused, was
turned back into the treasury. The
committees of the Legislature
having the debt settlement in charge
proposed to allow him compensation
for the great extra labor to be i'm
posed upon him, but this he posi-
lively declined to permit to be en-
acted into law, saying that his sal
airy was fixed before his election
and he would not receive a dollar in
addition thereto, and did not do so.
Gov. Bate fixed thirty cents on
the hundred dollars as a fair rate of
taxation, just to the taxpayer and
at the same time sufficient to pay
current expenses and interest on the
State debt and have a surplus for
emergencies and for the gradual re-
duction of the debt. This rate was
found to be an eminently satisfacto-
ry one With il he laid current
expenses, paid the interest on the
debt, paid the large costs of asylums
built and in addition paid off $780,
600 of Bank of Tennessee money.
His administration was in every de-
tail eminently economical and wise
and is often spoken of without dis
paraging others as a model one.
AS stated the thirty cents tax
rate vas a wise one, and it is a fact
that it has sufficed for all purposes.
In 1895 the Legislature saw proper
to reduce the rate to twenty cents,
which resulted in a falling off in
revenues of over 81, 900, OOO-in the
years 1896 and 1897, which would
not have occurred if the thirty
cents rate recommended by Gov.
Bate had been adhered to. The
result vas that the State was com
PEELED to borrow money and under
Mr.. McMilfin the rate had to be
raised to and maintained at thirty
five cents [the highest tax since
1870, but of which | make no
criticism, in order to obtain the
means with which to pay it off.
With Bates administration, the
amount OF the debt having been
fixed and settled, began the first
orderly system of taxation
the war, which has grown
with the growth of population and
pros perity since the debt was set
tied until the revenues, by steady
annual growth and accretions, are
now far greater than they then
we're, the growth in volume being
and the amount of receipts
for the year just past under Gov.
Frazier being considerably greater
han those for any previous year,
while at the time the expenses were
practically the same as those of the
several years Immediately before
Park Marshall in Nashville Amer
can.