The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-11-15
$3.50 PER ASNUM IN ADVANCES
TALLULAn, La, NOVEMBER 10, 1913
The Constitutional CONVENTION.

The Picayune of Tuesday la.
the following in regard to the
scheme submitted by the State
Administration for refunding the
the State debt:
The great work before the
convention is the refunding the
of the bonded debt of the State
and an ordinance to become q
part of the Constitution, if a.
dopted, was promptly introduced.
This ordinance is admitted to
represent h. views of the state
administrator and Of the finan-
cial people who have been called
into consultation On this most i'm
portant matter. The ordinance
provides for the issue of fifty
year serial bond, to bear interest
at no greater rate than 4 1-2 per
cent, the total principal of the
bonds to be no greater than suffi-
cient to retire outstanding bonds.
maturing before Jan. /, 1914. 1t
is also provided that the Board
OF Liquidation of the State Debt
be empowered in its discre. ION,
to issue short term notes not to
extend over longer D. Rod than
two years and to bear a.. rate OF
interest not to exceed ) ser cent,
Should such proceeding become
necessary to promptly ret ire the
outstanding bonds whe.Is they
mature.
The rate of state taxa ion is
is not to be increased. buL' the
ordinance provides fer the set
Ting aside annually from the
taxes sufficient sum to pay the
interest on the outstsnt ing b. dds
or notes. and after the 6fty-y var
bonds are issued Il sink ing fluid
is to be created with mich tn e
serial bonds are to be retire.l
from time to tirne, us t hey ma
ture, and if any surplus remains
etGer bonds are are to be- retired,
the long-term bonds to / re retired
first
THE ordinance gives t'e|
Boerd of Liquidatie1 of the State |
Debt wide discretion as to de-
tails, the method Of d;spc'si ng of
the bonds or notes and ali other
m ,tters connected with the
bonded debt. The ordin ance, as
a whole, appears to m eet the
needs of the situation admirably, |
with one possible except: on that
that the limit of interest placed
on short term notes, 5 Fer cent,
may not prove high enough to
attract investors in the big finan-
cial centers. should money rates
as stringent as they nave
been in the recent past"
AS we understand from the
press dispatches, the Picayune
is mistaken in it's statement that
these will be no increase in the
rate of state taxation now in
volved IN carrying out this plan.
While the rate now authorized
by the Constitution, viz: 6 mills
is not to be increased, the the
present levy of s mills is not to
be increased for the purpose of
meeting the increased rate OF
interest which the new bonds
will bear and for the creation of
/ sinking fund.
While it may be that the ad-
ministration's plan is the only
,ne practicable We think it justi-
fable only on that ground. If
here should be an increase in I
the rate of state taxation, the
walls of the increase shoull he
devoted to enlargement of the /
state institutions, notably tie /
insane Asylums, and let the I
principal of the state debt be c
'lred for at some later time
when the States resources are
nd finances are in better shape. a
8 is better to let p 'sterity share il
D the pay ment OF the principal L
f the debt and devote our pre-
emit resources to the crying
eed- of to,lay.-Tensas Gazette. &