The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-29
DEBT Is SMALL
IN MlNNEAPO
COMPARISON WITH OTHER CITIES
OF IT'S CLASS rs GRATIFYING.
Minneapolis Makes Favorable Showing
in Value Of Municipal Property in
Proportion to Total Debt-of the
Seven Cities Larger, Three Own Con-
siderably Less Property.

Minneapolis shows up well in COM
parison with other cites Of it's class in
the value of municipal property and the 4
total debt. From figures supplied by
bureau Of the department. of commerce
and labor, who is now in the city an
interesting comparison of fifteen Of the
cities Of the country, ranging in popu-
lation from 145,000 to $4,000, is
gained.
A study Of these figures, which will
be found summarized below, will show
that Minneapolis is well situated as re-
CARDS municipal property. OF the seven
less property than Minneapolis. Mil
waukee and New Orleans own practi-
cally the same amount. The showing
made by Newark is explained by its
immense debt-more than twice that Of
Minneapolis Detroit appears to make
an unusually fine showing with public
property worth more than $28,0O0,000.
and a debt Of only $7,850,000.
I Items Included.
| Under the items included in the prop
! erty list are waterworks, gas works,
markets, docks and cemeteries, which
/ together with trust and investment
funds are all productive. Police sta
tions, engine houses, school parks, Ii
braries, city halls and city hospitals are
among some of the unproductive prop
critics. For some reason or other sew
ers and paving and bridges, for which
Minneapolis has sold great many
! bonds, are not included in the property
account, altho it would appear that
sewers and bridges were immensely
! valuable property and as Minneapolis
has more than 200 miles of sewer and
an unusually large number Of bridges,
the record for this city could be made
even more creditable. -.
Other cities have many things which
Minneapolis has not. Thus Louisville
and Rochester have investment funds,
the former a large one. Detroit is the
!. only city in the list having an electric
lighting plant and, this is worth $780,.
600. Toledo is: the only city in It's
class which owns a gas plant and this
is valued at $150,0O0. Providence has
a public trust fund of nearly 81, 100000
Detroit, New Orleans, Newark, Provi
dence and Toledo own cemeteries
Providence having ) half million In
vested. New Orleans gets a tremen
.dous boost from it's docks and wharves
which are valued at $5,000,O00. III:
.... Minneapolis Items.
The items which bring up the Min
/ neapolis totals are the waterworks
school houses and parks. In the valu.
of school buildings it is ahead of thret
cities with larger populations and II
the matter of parks only one city Ii
very far ahead of Minneapolis. re
, The column devoted to. debt obliga
, lions in the summary below puts MIN
neapolis in a very favorable place
There are cities with smaller debts thar
, Minneapolis, as for instance, Indian
!; apolis, but the value of municipal prop
erty is not much higher than the debt
Milwaukee and Detroit appear to hav,
resisted the temptation to- issue bond
in commendable manner. TtS Very. few
people would have believe that thes
cities have smaller public debts thai
Minneapolis. However, the debts %
New Orleans, Newark, jersey City an,
Providence are nearly twice as big a
that of Minneapolis and Washington
Louisville, st. Paul and Rochester ex
l coed the Minneapolis total. %@@'# s
; ~" - The Summary. "
: Below is appended summary of til
f value of municipal property and tn
+ debt obligations. The figures for thes
n cities were taken at the close of til
e year 1908: r.. ~ =. ..G