| Show ARE THE UNITED STATES bankrupt are the united states bankrupt they may not be for they have immense m ense resources but if they go on increasing their indebtedness as they have done during thelast the past five live years they N will all almost almo 9 t inevitably find involved in the most serious the national debt fop some bome years past has been steadily it now bow now how represents tho not very formidable aggregate of 45 in round numbers a decrease of about in five years but while this thia decrease has bag been going on the state county and imd municipal debts debt shave have been increased to an al at most incredible extent the whole debt of the united states at the present moment as nearly as it can ean be ascertained amounts to about thatis that is National debt 1454 1451 Aluni municipal cip d debts 1 state Debts al and d county coull y debts dl the on tho national deliff including that paid on the tho pacific railway bonds is and on the they municipal stat state and hid fid county debts 0 io babat that for interest ou on debt alone atone the american nationiel nati onal onil and local governments require clo CiO yearly from their people ic A comparison will best er eop bring ng into view the enormous character of thia tuis burden for interest 0 on n 0 our own national nA lional debt we pay about byear while local in ednes edues i amounting accord to the report keport of tiie the leal lucal government board to bears a yearly interest of thus the tha americans nor for the ame same pur pose pogo as ourselves pay while we ve pay only and yette yet yel we never heard heird any oti oue one ebere here express the opinion that our taxation for our debt was too light there thele is really little comparison between the actual wealth of great britain and that of the united state states s the former is almost incomparably richer but the americans are bearing a burden oon for for interest on debt alone heavier by a year than our own the tho fact that the local indebtedness of the united states the county municipal and anti state debts debos har hai inci increased eased by more than since 1870 throws much light the hitherto rather mysterious question of the cause of the present depressed condition of trade and industry in iu the republic the actual amount of thi this i indebtedness in 1870 was SS mid and this has haj now increased to the state debts have increased about SO 30 millions of dollar s and wid the municipal debts about millions it is in iti the cities that the rings have had full sway away there where the no non n taxpaying voters outnumber M the property holders the practice of voting appropriations for public bubli c works and of spending n ding large sums upon improvements has been carried on almost without limit the city ofner york with a pop popi of less than one million ha haw 4 a debt of wille london has a debt of bal and boston thie the first with people and the second with a population of each have debts much larger than london new now york philadelphia boston bostom brooklyn hait halt baltimore imore washington new orleans st louis chicago Ch icasio cincinnati jer jei jersey city louisville Lou faville newark providence pittsburg cleveland portland charleston memphis savannah san frane frade la co albany Mo mobile blie bile milwaukee detroit bangor augusta st joseph ly lynch rich burg burgi and columbus the thirty two tw o principal cities in the united up 1 cited states meb ucb with witha a population of have a ceat of while london ou liverpool manchester leeds bradford brist bristol old ole halifax brighton briz brie aton B birmingham erml alt salford bou Hou hdale Hudder wol woi wolverhampton Wolver verb ampton hampton preston Pre newcastle blackburn backburn ashton sunderland and swansea theal principal english cities with a 1 1 population of have a debt of only less than tho debt debu of york city aloric alone these facts staggering but as wo we hav have 0 O said they carry thein their lesson with them the imperial rove reve tj of britain is about nd amoun craved uy at fon for Is 3 3 that thai tile tilo whole eose cost cose of the tho co country butry with stin stir american friends frienda regard as obe oue our oun luxuries ofa ofa monarchy is buethe but the tho revenue of bf federal federa government of the states Is and amount raised uy vy taxation tik thi arioli for purposes es js is about PO FO that the whole cost of he the helf belf government of the arile Atile americans ricans i nearly we have au an efficient army and navy the americans ameni Ameri am eaps caps a have hae neither hitha we have our colonies es andoor great eastern empire erla Eria pire while jihei united states have havo no colotis colony and ind still we gei get ge along with tolerable comport comfort i by the Ax expenditure of or a yeal year jess jesa than the he costs 10 local government in the united states costs in taxes and debt a year and the whole revenue of the british empire is not BO so large largo a sum an american writer to whom we are indebted for the facts which we have thus set get forth stays a g that this this thia steady growth of ail jil municipal i tini cipal burden burderi ill sll is the natural result of a system which entrusts fo to the many who congregate in a city and cast the majority of the votes unlimited power to impose taxes ta aes and debts upon pon p the tb e few who own most of the property finding that its debt is is increasing a city increases its ila revenue either by a higher valuation of property or higher rate rato of taxation then a new set of comes in for we are ourselves and delight in a rotation in office men who are both corrupt aud and hungry take the place of men who were corrupt but had bad grown fab fat the had borne the odium of the taxes to 10 tile the new ruler rulers faili falli the more cuore pleasant tak taa ta k pf af contriving how to t pend or steal the larger revenue As if by an iiii 1111 muta muia ble law of human progress every change of administration beems teems to educate a now new set ot men to live oil ou the public and enjoy it forever foi fol iver ever thus actual reduction of or the cost of municipal government is not the ruie rule J but the i are exception except iori even when the people complaining eoma coma laining of extravagance have nave changed arged eh their rulers the source of the evil is here bere plainly pointed out but where is the remedy edinburgh man oct 12 |
