Year: 1877

RETRENCHMENT AND ECON

 OMY.

 In these two words--Retrench- ment-Economy Lies the whole se- cret of our extricasion from the 1 financial trouble and debt which hangs over OUT State. We may talk about compromising, scaling, repu- diation, &c., until dooms-day, but if we do not come down to a closer economy in the administration of Jour State Government, the same troubles will confront us every few years.

 Apropos to this subject we append q letter from Col. Creed Taylor, which we find in the Pine Bluff Press. There are ideas and sugges- tions in the letter which we think all the people should mediate upon. While we do not endorse all the sug- gestions contained in the letter, we do most emphatically think that the Heading idea of the communication retrenchment and reform-will afford a ney note which will point us to the only sure way of relief from con tihual financial embarrassment. We commend a careful pcrusal of the letter:

 TAYLOR PLACE, Noy. 14, ". EDITOR PRESS: Everybody has had their say about the financial question. l have read both sides as carefully as could, and can't exact ly agree with either. but desire space in your columns to give vent to my pent II? feelings on the subject of our indebtedness and the financial operations of our State in general. In the first place, sir, don't object to the Adams Redfield plan for the settlement of our indebted ness. We owe justly, perhaps, the full amount that Major Adams agreed to pay, and if we had the money in hand l would say, Pay it and be done with 1t. But I am opposed to funding the debt, issuing new bonds and paying compound interest. This was no part of the original contract. I am opposed to making the terms any better for our creditors, or any worse for ourselves. I believe in the cash system; it avoids mortgages, bankruptcies, en tangling alliances of every sort, and then it avoids the abuse of an enrag ed creditor. But how are we to avoid the abuses of an enraged cred itor? Not to settle will enrage him more than to settle and not pay. What we can't avold we must endure; but if we could make our creditors believe we meont to pay our debts, and had gone to work in dead earn est to raise the necessary funds, it would suspend their wrath for awhile.

 But how shall we raise the money? Tax our already over-taxed people more? No, sir! 1 would first col lect what was now imposed, by dis franchising every man who came to the polls without his tax receipt for his regular annual tax. This would amount to several thousand dollars annually and could not be called a hardship. Now it is real hardship for the real taxpayer to know that he has his tax to pay, while so many others pay nothing. Then l would cut down the salaries of every officer iu the State. First l would begin with our good Governor Miller and say to him, ''Slr, you are an efficient and good Governor, and l know you love your native State; therefore don't allow it to be said any longer that you can't serve for what the Conways did, and for what Govern ors Yell, Roane and Rector did" Then I would come to our Supreme Court and say to our Judges, Gen tlemen, little more patriotism and little less money, if you please. And I would say to every officer in the State, ''Gentlemen, your salaries must be reduced"

 The taxpayer now bears more and heavier burdens than any other citizen in the State, and to increase the taxes now will be to drive back immigration or turn it aside from our State. But it will be said, as it has been said before, that we can't get good men to take the offices for less salaries--that we must pay for talent, experience and capacity. Go slow, gentlemen; "them other fel- lows" ran the State for years for the same that you get, and bought up votes to sustain them in office, too. Now. Mr. Editor, don't jump at con clusions. I would as soon suspect the old man who writes this article as the noble set of officers that we now have of buying votes; but votes have been sold and bought, and paid for at pretty round prices, but it was never done to any extent until 'sthem other fellows" got Tn and learnt us new tricks; and as we