The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-04-20
vERMONTS DEBT is
S1.5S PER PERSON
Ratio Much Higher Than so Years Ago,
While Ratio for the Entire Coun-
try Has Been Decreasing.

Washington, d. c., April 20.--Prelim-
mary figures from the Forthcoming bull
letin pertaining to national and state
indebtedness and funds and investments
have been given out by Director w. j.
Harris, of the bureau of the census, de-
partment of commerce. The bulletin
carries information for the state of Ver-
mont, as well as for the other states
and ,the United States. The data were
compiled under the supervision of John
Lee Coulter, expert special agent in
charge of the inquiry on wealth, debt,
and taxation.
The bulletin, which will soon be is
sued, will contain statistics for each
state for each year from 1890 to 1919
inclusive, as far as statistics are avail
able, and will also contain details for
the year most nearly corresponding to
1850, thus making it possible to show
the general movement during period of
over 80 years. The bulletin will show
the total debt of the states as well as
many details, such as the various classes
of outstanding bonds and special debt
obligations to public trust funds It
will also show the floating debt and its
component parts. Under Funds and In
vestments" will be shown separately all
the different funds, and in each case cash
and securities will be chown. The pop
ulaton of the states for each year I'M
der consideration will be used, and the
per capita debt Oess sinking fund as
setsl will be given.
An inspection of the tables for Yer
mont in the bulletin soon to be issued
shows that the state had no bonded in
debtedness from 1891 to 1913; $4,000
was outstanding in 1880. The special
debt obligations to public trust funds,
amounting to S347 900, remained UNI
changed throughout the period The
floating debt changed from year to year
but shows a general tendency to in
crease, $4,000 in 1891 rising to S223,-
900 in 1913.
In the case Of funds and investments
the securities remained unchanged until
1908, when S352000 was reduced to S34s,-
900; this amount was subsequently in
creased, and in 1918, 81 ,249,000 was held
in securities.
No sinking fund assets, as such, were
recorded in any year; thus leaving the
debt (less sinking fund assets) the same
as the total debt.
The debt of the state increased dur
ing the 30-year period, and the slight in
crease in population was not sufficient TO
bring about decrease in the per capita
In 1880 the total debt of Vermont at
the close of the fiscal yeaf, June 30, was
81 ,000 in 1921 it was S522, 600, and
in 1913 amounted to $4,000. The pop
ulation of the state increased from 332,-
900 in 1880 to 100000 in 1918. In 1880
the per capita debt was S045; in 1891
it had advanced to $l.56; following the
fluctuations of the<total debt, the per
capita debt rose to S202 in 1900, and
fell to the minimum, 5000, in 1909; in
1918 the per capita debt was 81 l.5S.
In contrast with the state of Vermont, |
we find that, taking the entire debt (less
sinking fund assetsl for the AS states, |
the per capita debt, according to the lat
est report, is 1852. or Sl94 more than |
the per capita debt for Vermont. Com |
pairing the movement of the per capita |
iebt of Vermont and the as states, for |
The 30-year period, we find that S54s |
fell to $3.52 in the average for the As /
states. and S0.45 advanced to Sl.5s in /
Vermont.
At the present time about O4 per cent |
If the total population of the United |
states viii be found in the state OF Yer
mont, and OIL per cent OF the total debt
less sinking fund assets) is attributed
%, that state.