Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 5, 1877, Page 7

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5. 1877. 7 NUNICIPAL DEBTS. What Fifty Leading lllinois Cities Owe To=Day, Compared with Their In- debtedness in 1866. Asgessed Valuation, Taxation, and Population in 1866 and 18 Pebt Increasing Faster tha'n ‘Wealth and Popu- lation. What the Cities Have to Show for Their Money. Railronds, Water-Works, School-Honses, Gas-Works, Town-Halls, Etc. ' Abundant Evidence that Debt Has Reached Its Maxi- munt. Wow the I'rchnt State Laws Regulate and Control Debt and - Taxatlon. Intorosting Information for City Fathers and Taxpayers. v the Editor of The Tribune, Rocsron, [Il., Feb, 3.—There are few mors vitally intercating toples to the taxpayer of Illi- nois than the debt, the asscssed valuo of prop- erty, tho taxes, and the population of the mn- nicipal corporation {n which he restdes. The debt his property is Indircctly responsible fors the asscsemonts ‘must be pald with a nover- failing regularity; the asicssment shows the proportion ho must pay; and the population indicates the chances of the burden belng lightened by an Increase of taxpaycrs. There arc many obstacles In the path of onc who undertakes to present trustworthy statistics, and espcetislly {a this the case wiicn the fizurcs relate to city:debt, valuation, and taxation, Thoaim In thls caso hos been rather to give what s given accurately than undertske toar- rive at conclusions from figures which in them- gelves amount to mere guesswork. The statictles presented in this article, with the exceptlon of tuoeo marked * cstimated,” cuts be {inplicitly rolied upon, and have In every n- stance been obtained directly from the records of tha different citfes. In obtalning these re- orts nofiher time nor expense s boon sparcd. Tha Ni-kapt records In some citica have in not o few fnstances made it imposslblo to ascertain tho debt, tha valuation, and the taxatlon of ten years ago: In other cascs tho necessary facts could only be got at by weeks of hard work, 84 the following letler from the Muyor of Prince- ton, Mr. Charles Haldwin, sufllclently attcsta: Pixcrrox, 0L, Jan. 1, 1877.—~Dxan Bin: Yours addresscd to' the Mayor of Princoton, 1., hon been received. We have no nsecssments made by our clty or town; our tax ia lovied on tha State asecasmment mada by the Township Assessr, aud it would probably fequire fiwo or fhred raeks Jaithru labor to Rive you the inforwation you ask, ‘Yours respectfully, Uianees BALDWIN, Inonly one tase the information was posi- tively refusod. Ottawa says that tho public foord demands that the debt, value, and taxa- tion of that ¢ity bo kept a profound sccret, o request wo readily copply with. .15 LUSBONS TAUGHT BY TILESE PACTS. ‘The great {ntorest manifested by the people for this classof facts, aud the Icssons of econo- my in city affalrs that tifby must unavoldably teach, along pays for the labor necessary 10 pre- pare an article upon such a subject. In some Btatcs (Mdssachusetts, we belleve, s one) the law requirea an annual statement of the ontira indobteduess, tho valuatiou of both real and personal peoperty, tho amount nf moncy rafsed for taxatlon, and the umount expended, to bo | e ade and recorded at the State Capitol, Such statistics would he highly valued by a State ltke our own, und would ba tho mecans of showing the oxpenditures for various public pur- posea throughout the Btate, It fs earncstly to bo hoped that some steps may =soon be takem by our Leglsla- ture in'this direction, and means provided to gather fnformation of such great importanco to overy taxpayer. WUO 18 HOLDEX FOR CITY DROTI In ths New Englaud Stotes the individual clt- fzen of & clty or town [s directly olden for the lawfully-coutracted debts of th city, should tho clty fail to pay. In 1853 Danlel Wobster held that this wns {o couformity with ‘the law of Massachusctts; and as Inte as 1860 no less a {urist than John P, Healey hicld that all debts of anv city or town |u Massachusotts are a llen upon all thoe estate, real ur piréonal, of every fobabltant of the debtor city or town, sud all such cstute may be levied upon to satialy such debty, if the eity or town fail to make pay- ment when dug. 1u Hiiwols, we learn from one of itsleadiug jurists, Mr. C. M. Brazee, that tho law requires that all the taxable property withe i the Hmits of municipal corporations shall bo taxed for the paymont of debts contracted un- der authority of laws Privats property shall not be liable to be taken or sold fur the payiient of the corporaty dsbtsof o x'-‘x‘;n:llc’l’ 1 carporation.~—Sac, 10, 4rt, 0, Canelllu- - Upon this poiut Dillon, in his sdmirable work on *“ Muynicipal Corporations,’ page $10, ssys: Outslde of the Now England States the creditors of & wunicipal corporation cannot resort for the burpons of paring tulr deuls 1o 100 private prop- erty of the inliwoltant, 1t should further be remembered that an exe- cutlon cannot be fusucd in Tllinols on u judg- ment aguinst a municipsl corporation, as seon by the ruling fu Chlcueo vs, Halsoy, 83 Lllincis Reports, page 505, 7The only manncr of en- forviug a judgment ugaluat & municipal corpo- Tation In tuis Stato is by a writ of maudamus. THE ESSNCH OF A TAX. Taxzatlon and debt go hand (o hand, the anount of the former being gauged by the ex- tent of tho Intter, It las been well sald, “A public use or purpose fs of tho essence of 8 tax." Nomioolly the taxpayeris componsated by protection, but in reality, as Mr, Mill eays, “eacrilces for the public good, equulity of sucrifice M being the rule dictated by justico, In framing tte luws lu respect 10 thicss matters TNl uols hias wisely kept this o vlew, The Bupreme Court of the Unitod Btates says: **If the right to finpgsc g tax exist, jt 15 a right which, in fts uature, acknowledges no limit. Unleas limited Ly the Comstitutiong & Stats may tax property o {ts full value,” OQur State Constitution has Pput a eheck on excesslve municipal indebtednesy Dy making it imperative thatall citles golng Into debt mnust provide means for payiog It wittin twenty years from the time of contraction; it furthermore Umits ths indebteduces to 3 per “eot of the aiscased valuation of the property, wd, tg complete {ts wise provisions, Hmits tic azatlon o8 per cent of the valuation. These ‘estrictions are, us we shall prescutly sce, Tuitful of many good reaults, gently rectrain- 12 those who might otherwise baukrupt the Runleipality, and at the same time making am- le provisions for the coustruction of public Works aud the pushing 6u to completion of pub- lic enterpriscs, Thero §6 uo danger of the as- Seasment beiug 1o bigh. Noone can ¢xsinine the ssscasmcnts of tho 81ty cities barewith pre- seuted without bucomiug convinced that one- the cash valuo Is nearer the average usscss- ment than what the Conatitntion calls tbr,— “a falr cash value.”” An {iustration of the workiog of the State law {n restralning fndeht- edness 18 given in the caze of Rocklord, a clty ;:l?:n,wo population. The city In thoe spring of b WANTED To DUILD A WATER-WORRS, Tho Assessor complied with ihe law and valued tho property at air cash value.” The bonded debt of the city at that time was $100,~ 000. The contract for the system of pnblic watcr-works was let, the material purchased, and the work had been commenced on the works. The Aeaessor valued the proporty at nearty $6,000,000, swhich would have allowed the ¢ity a debl of over $250,000. Bonda to tho ex- tent of 8150,000 wero Jssucd on tne strength of hls, and the four National Banka of Rockford had agreed to take them. Just at this moment the newa cama from Springfield tuat the State Board of Equalization had suddenly put an end to this Hitlo dodge, by entting down tho asscssment mearly half, and the debt being ‘Nimited to 5 per cent on tho assessed value, all but $30,0C0 worth of the new bonds were Hlegal, The banks could not mogotiato them; the Common Council were {n & dilemma, The materlal for the Work was on the ground; the iron was on tho way from Philadelphia; the trenches Iny open to recelve it Bomething had to be done quickly—go, 'after exbausting the £00,000, the Councll resorted to all sorts of de- vices, such as time-orders and certificates of In- debtedness, until they were suadenly pulied up by an Injunctlon, which put an end to further operations, Iecre, then, Isa practical fllustra- tion of tho lnitation of indebteduess. RXCEA81VE TAXATION. The next year the Common Councll of Rock- ford, eager t6 roduce thoir fargo floating debt within the constitutlonal limits, awain mot with on unexpected drawback from the Htato Con- stitution. The collectlvo wisdom of the city agreed upon thoamount of appropriation need- ed for each fund. They made their tax-levy. After arrangemnents wero completed it was dis- covered they had exceeded thelr limit, and taxed the =utizens over 3 per cont of the as- sessed value of the property. A meetlug was hastily called fu the middle of tho night, and re- sulted in the original amount belng trimmed down to coms within the conatitutfonal limit. In this we see a practical illustration of the check on excessive taxation, WATER-WORKS AS INVESTMENTS. All the cars of the Stato does not preclude 110 possibility of a community being overtaxed, aa will presently be shown. In these hard times publlc officers should study the, most rigid ceonomy, aud no outlay, unicsa absolutely neee essary, should be made. There are, of course, instances when a city is justificd In going joto debt. In somo cases water-works have been bullt, and in a fow yoars the revenue from tho water-rent hasbocomedouble the Interest on the remalning water-works debt. This s the caso In Boston aud Charlestown, Mass.} and the elaborate systom of water.works In Chicago {s more than paylog running expenscs and {nterest on debt.. In this connection wo warn smaller citles to be careful not to bulld -3, S In tho value of property; the Increaced taxatton and popnlation during this decennial perfod, can he ecen by & glance at the following table, which must possess a high degree of Intercst for the inbibitanta of thia State, as it shows the exact financial condition of all fte principal citles, excepting Chicago. The statement of the population in the table of 1570 was obtalned fn cach caso from responsible persons In the clty, who Lased thelr estimates on dircctions Tatelv published In the respective citles, or from other reliable Information. The population of 1800 was obtained by subtracting the ofMcial population of 1860 from that of 1870, dividing remainder by ten, multiplying the quotient by #ix, and adding the product ohtained to the pop- ulation of 1800, This Is upon tho baels of the populstion Increaslng at the same ratio cach year, and may not be correct in all cases, though safo for a general estimate. The table shows that twelve towns wero without debt in 1870, and nincteen in 1800; also shows that some citics are in debt to the extent of 23 per cent of thelr valuation, and that in 1806 one city was indehted to the -extent of 28 percent of {ts asscased value. SBubjolned we have prepared a table with the citles classified according to the percentage of thelr indebted- ness: 1870, 1804. 12 1 5. Citleshaving na Indebtedness. .. Citles having lcas than 1 per cen Cltien having 1 per cent and Citles having 2 per cen Cltica having 3 per con d leas than 4. Cltles liaving 4 per cent and loss thans Citics having & per cent and less than Cifies having 0 per cent and less than Cities having 7 per cent and less than Citics having 8 per cent and Jees than Cities having © per cent and less than 10, Citiea having 10 por cont ang less than 11, Citles having 11 por cent and [ess than 12, Clties havinz 13 per cont and lces than 14, Cltles having 14 per cont and less than 15, Citles having 17 per cont and Jeas than 18, Cltics having 20 por cent and lees than 21, Clifes having 21 per cent and less than 22, Cltfea having 24 per cont and leas than 25, Clties baving 24 per cent and less than 29, DI | HHOOOORONMIEMOMORERNSN! %! corrimorORBEIM: » 5 THE AGOREGATE AMOUNTS. Before proceeding to draw concluslons from these statlstics, it mny not bLeout of olace to give the following ageregates of our own work I a sepurate form: Total municlpal debt, 1876.. w8 6,075,731 Total manicipal debt, 180 2,310,548 8,000,175 320,017,525 X 0, 308, 223 ‘Total real value property, 1500, , 48, 104, 660 Totsl tax ralscd, 1840 1,781,003 ‘Tota] tax raised, 1800 807,024 Tatal populatlon, 1876, 787,250 Total populstion, 180G 202,874 Fromn this we have ascertained that the ag- gregate munfelpal indebteducas of fifty [ilinols cities Is now about 6 per cent of tho nssesscd value of tho vroperty, or 3 per cont of the real value of the property. Tnat in ten years tho population of thess cltics havo Increased from 232,874 to 857,030, an {ncrease of 181,870, or 50 por cont, - The debt of these citles, how- over, Is ncarly treble what {L was In 18005 but asan offsct we have a valuation rather more thau double, and an Increase in populstion of 134,876. On cxamining all theso figures, what is the apectacle prosonted! Wo flud that In only 8U. ARY, BUMMARY OF VALUATION, TAXATION, DEBY, AXD POPULATION OF PIFTY ILLINOIS CITIXN YOR THE YEARS 1800 AND 1870 NENPECTITELY. VREFANED PXVAKANLY FOR ' THE TRINUNE." Nams of cit Dedt,to70 | Dest,osa | prog, i raortiy, | Gty rae, lomy tax, Fatb, Tot Name of city. 3 3 3 tatian, Jution & l l | Prigaa l P, " | o (“8ag Terar, 4 50038 LONE 43718 ASC3§ 2,007 213 V.00 47,631 Rec.burat 11700 tfec w7l 30478 AGK,LE 7,002,877 16NT34 170,418 0 4033 L5 BT3,00) 0,00 4, Noupit! Nodebt 2. 260) 'iad 25,0 0 dabt! A0, 40 2,000 1500|178 w0ty o ek 00 S, M) o' de! #80, No debt t known Not kan 00 28.000 07,000 e, 000 ) 4,50} 1,000, o i sf.c‘o"-%xfi , Nodety i : 7.00) Nod %“. 1,00 120,00 00. 47,340 IR m},!;flu uebl, 5 fon e ety toressnd 2, 500 4 m' ".;l‘d'fl: obt| _ Nodv houebtl Notach 24,700' Not & tity| 1‘.1,..-’8% 434,121 d ova cft Nopaelty Ram i 248,728) " 80,000 | hOM, 1.4 000)] 2,08 173,731 $2 930518 $10%,00%, ] ! ni_n,0% 120,770 K 1A 13,000 Unkaown 1,451, 707) fan00 27iu0 4B30,750] 314,523 [A00M 475N Nolovy| 3N T L ) 50,000 Not 4 Y] 001 820" 11 T, 3] 119) I.:m\]!u( 6 10 maka public. rp———r—— expeusive systems of water-works. Wo possess actual information showlng that only threo out ‘of twenty systems of water-work I a like nnm- ber of citles (from 5,000 to 50,000 population) ore to<lay paying interest on the debt, und ten ol them aro ot paylug ruuning expeunses. It 1a well onough to consider the urest value of water-works as a fire protection, but It is a wiser policy thut providea first for the protectlon of the business part of tho city against fire, and nftermards mako tho extonsion from time tu time, when the Income from the water-rates will pay thocity consldevably Jgrier {ntercst than what tho corporation paya for the money noces- sary for the outlay, 'Tho construction of lass combustible buildings also opons & way for cconomys PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS [N ILLINOIS, ‘The rapid grawth fn wealth and pupulation of Tuota citles makes {t nhecessary to lay outn great deal of mouney In publlc improvements, Bridges muat bu bellt that are denianded by the , business of a city; raliroads must he fluauclally encouraged that will cheapen frelghts; sewers . muat be bullt to insure health; water muat be laldon to protect property aud supply steam- cugines; and a hundrod-aud-une thiugs aronecd- ed that Eastern clties bavo eujoyed for many years, Thosecret {s to find vut when a tnunicle pality showld proper)y lncur debt for all these needful impravemonts. To ascertain this, ity elementsof wealth must be careinlly tonsidered, Cau {t grow morel Will tho papulation lacreass £0 tha the debt will be shared by a larger pop- ulation? Tho County of Macoupln spent nearly $1,800,000 for o Court-House, wicn 800,000 was more than tho taxpayerd could affond for such a buflding, and all the wants of the community called for, Tals plece of foullshness is only cqiial toa city that Lus outalled a ncavy debt upon its taxpayers for au claborale school- house. These are tho debts to Lo avolded, for In no {nstauce does the public good require: its capltal Jocked up I such unproductive inveat- neats, ESTIMATES OF CITY LEBTS, ‘The compilers of tho national census of 1870 undertook to estimate tho fndebteducss of all the citles [n the United Statcs. Subsequent writers have undertaken to arrive at conclusions from theso crudo statements, cre sre the fig- ures: Tol ++$20,000, 000, tal xmmdullm; of property..$20, 3000 000, ggg Corrected valuation, Annual taxstion,. Atauicipal indebteducse, .. 000 From the sbova ustimatcs we find the aggre- gote municipal indebtedness of the Unlted States is uhout 4 per cent of the nesessed valua- tlon af tho' property, or about 2 per'tent of the real vajuation, allowiug that the aggregete as- acssment {4 made at sbout half the cash value. Wa have before seen that the State of IMinuts Mmity city debis to 5 per cent of the assessed value. This §s conceded by all a falr and safo margin. A maa who s never ly debt ore than § por cent of tho value of bis pruperty ls not likely to o through the baakruptey court. Wehave taken fifty fmportant illinois cltics, outslde of Chicago, wud presvns a correct state- wentof theindebtedvessio 1668aud 79; theval- uatlon {n15Gdaud '70; the taxativnin 13$¥and '78; and the population fa1838and/7d. Thegrowthof theso citles; tho tncrease of debt; the increaso a tow c:cep';lund L‘A’!c‘l hos w;:alrfl-\‘uml.n;n 8- tion kept pacs with debt. The Indebtedness has increased nearly $2,000,000 moro than the proportionate incrense of vuluation, Mauifestly with these figures confronting us, the only way to become assured of our prosperity {4 to ascer- talu, If possible, WIUBTUER THR BURDEN OF THR FUTURE fs Jkzely to bo loss than that of tho past,. Agaln, whether this horrowing wlil be kept up, or whether it will cease, tho much-needed lm- provements ara complel®d. ' The ouly way to find out this satiafactorily Is by rapldly glancing over the mnss of material we have ou hand, and uscertaln for what purposo this monoy has been spent. A brlef summary of the public Iniprove- mwents of eomo of the more prominent cltles of Tiltuols cannot fall to futerest the reader, DIXON, LEB COUNTY, The dcbt of Dixon s now $74,000. Within the past decade no less than $133,000 hgs been expended on the bridge across Rock River at that place, Tt will be remembered that thebridew at Dixon fell downafow years ago. A large axponditure has boon tnads to provide a supply of wator for fire purpoacs, besides the Improve- weut and equipment of 8 new firo dupartment, SPUINUFIBLD, BANGAMON COUNTY, ‘Tho debt of Springtleld s 3854,875. Of this, 8450,00 bas been apont fur an elaborate system of water-works. Upon this sum tho city is valoly trylng to pay Interesh with the water- ronts, which have not yet reached a sum sufll- cleut to pay current expenses. Soms one has hiundered in 8pringleld, and {ts dobt of 17 per cout o its valuation is not the culy trouble. ‘The finances of the city are sluking flxm # bad oondition, Three months aga there was not monoy chough in the Treasury to pay the ol cere’ salaries for November, ‘Therc 1s no rea- son, wo are told, to look for fmprovement for a Ionl: thoe. ‘There are $18,0K still duc un dJuly Interest; ou January, $05,000 nl‘]:x‘xlmlnlal ebt. “In and’ tuterest Is due on the bonded Fehruary, 1873, thls dz{ suspended operations, ‘%x{ll;:‘nvofiduml tmmhz erum ‘nr:lmltodlhiuk it fl“" ! will 8008 be ol o do 80 again, Bpringcld has " o 151 ESTED SIBAVILY 1M RAILGOAD HONDS, aud had _outstandlug November, 1574, 150,000 woith, It Los beeu hoped by nnmycufu in this Stats, which have railroad bonds outstanding. that they would bo sustained by tho Supremo Ciurt of the Unlted Btates In reslstiug the pay- meut of the bonde. Hut within tho last fow 1wonths the case of the bondholders of the Fox River Vulloy ve, coantivs aud towns. slong the mutu‘lm beendeclded by theSuprems Court of the United States in favor of the bondholders and againat thecounties aod towns resistiog pay- ment of bands, Iu this ovs case was lavolved aver $400,000 worth of bonds, lssued by towus and countles on the line of the Ottawa, Oswego & Fox River Valley itailroad, ruoning from du. rors to Streator, Thero (4 no leas thun $14,054,- 831 worth of just such honds lssued bgc uties, towns, aud cltlea registered o this State, that fall dus ab varjuus tiues within twenty years from nuw, besides $6,000,000 unregistered, upoy which interest to the amount of oves §1,204,553 is, or should e, anoually paid. 5 CANTON, FULTON COUNTY, bas a debt of 847, Steamn Hre-engines, gus. works just cowpleted, cust $10,0, aud numer~ ous other public fimprovenmcnta have just been e MENDOTA, LASALLE COUNTY, though only indebted Lo the exteut of §4.900, bas just colwpleted 3 855,000 school-liotse, and u City-Hall costing 810,000, But fu this city, as in soma other places, the schools are under tha coatrol of the munlcfual corpuration, but retaiy tho old district systoms, as ths scbools sre not in- «cluded fn thacharters of the cltics. 1o such cases theschool expensesand taxation {s managed by o scparate cornoration, who Ie? taxes an'l keep eoparate trrasury funas as fn port. Aurora, Decatur, Dixon, Braldwood, and eoma other cfties. it wit], however, be weil to remenber that the schiool expenses Increase the tax bills of the same persons In thosclocalitles. WAUREOAN, LAKE COUNTY, does not owe acent of debt, vet within & very short time £80,000 has beenexpended in bullding four bridges and three achool-houses, WARSAW, NANCOCK COUSTY, has a smaller debt now hy $00,000 than In 1868, As this {a an exceptional case, & fow words of explanation will not he uninteresting. About 1843 this city compromised moat of her bonded Indebtedness under the general law, and In 1804 it hsd outstanding from $105,000 to $111,000 bonds, nn which about ten sea’ Interest had accumulated. The Clty Clerk catimated thess at $105,000 bonds, and $63,000 accumulated in- terest, making $163.000, the amount given as the debt of 1868, Thecity to-day has outstand- inz $88,600 registored bonds, and cstimated to ba $7,000 old bonds out.~lntcrest due on asme 11,000,—makifiz 818,000, This brings up tho total debt $107,500, as given. In ten yeara War- »aw has spent Hll?. on valuable improve- ments, such as City-Hasll, engins-house, and other publle bulldings. GALEXA, JO DAVIRSS COUNTY. This city has neltber made an advance (o pop- ulation nor {n valuation [n ten years, Jtsdebt 13 a 1ittlo less; 1ts valuation a trifle more: while the ofMcial returns of ita populstion show a de- crease Instead of an increase, Happily thers Ia 1o other sfmiiar casa in Illinols. MASCOUTAN, BT, CLAIR COUNTY, with a debt of $70,000, can boast of no {mprove. ments. Tt fasued In 1870 50,000 worth of rail- road honds, said bonds bearing 10 per cent n- terest. Notn centof interest has heen pald, and Mr, Holden, City Clerk, estlinates the amount now due on bonds at $70,000. e sdds “that people refuse to pay taxes to such an ex. tent that there {s nuw on the Colle:tor's books over 850,000 delinquent taxes against our town. This eum tncludes taxes nssessed for afl pur- fosu. Very littla real estate s chang- ng hands.” Maacoutah msy be taken 8 o falr unms!c of some other clties of 3,000 Eo ulation, and even rural communities fn this tate that do not appear in our table at all. In- «tuced by the glowing specchics of rallroad men to fnvest 50,000 in a scheme, It has found, when ton late, that the benefits of the rond wero not cqual to the effort to raise the interest on the Londs, lot alone the capital. Theresult {s s general demoralization, and too frequently, as in this case, the raflroad debt s made on excuse to avold the payment of necessary taxes. STERLING, WHITESIDE COUNTY. The City of Sterling has In reallty no debt. Though ihe table sliows an {ndebtedness of £1,600, we have since ascertalned this was mere- Ir some outstanding orders. In ten years Ster- ling has doubled population, and Ita valua- tion 1s five timmes greater than what It wasin 1803, The watcr-power and manufactorics have dong their work, and the men who have charge of publ'e works have dane thelr work also, by paying for everything as they Icnt along. CENTRALIA, MAR0N tooNTr, never secms to have had a debt, yet public im- provements of all kinds have been made, and the population doubled In ten vears, Tne find- Inz of coal Inthis vlclnity hasdoncmuch towards building up the olace, It is as natural for man- ufactories to scok coal as water its level, PREEPORT, STEFUENSON COUKTY, something Mke its conservative neighbor, Qalana, was a good solid city,—~not addicted to the bad hahit of running into debt, nor yet of makiog extravagant public inprovements, The debt {s.n trifie less than {n 150J—some £15,000. The assessment, we should _[udre, was very falrly made {n 1863 and 1870,—83,400,000 tho former and $4,200,000 tho latter year. Would that some other citles were as conalstent, DANVILLE, VERMILLION COUNTY, is 8 great rallrond centre. It has doubled its ropulation since 1968, . At that time it was not evan an fncorporated city. [ts property. as as- scased In 1878, amounted to nearly 83,000,000, its populatlon 9.000, and its rmspecl. for future advancement 15 assured. Jere {3 an example ot acltv helng built up by raflroads, and hence the township raflroa debt, which In November, 1874, amounted to 8253030, has been productive of good, as the follow(ng table shdw: Population fn 1853, no eallroad.... .. Ponulation fn 1815, 1yailrond. ..., Topuiation fn 1870, 2 raflros Topulation {n 1874, 5 railron Ponulation {n 1876, 6 railroads . 10,000 ‘The municipal cornoratfon of Danville has no debt. - Sin~o 1673, $25,000 has heen expended oo publie works, including a bridge over Ver willion River. BAST AT, LOUIS, 8T, CLAIR COUNTY, Toat some of tts populnuon on the completion of the Iada bridge azross the Mlsslsaippl River to 8t. Louts, as it transferred the railroad depots hereto'ore 1 East 8t. Louls tothe Unln Depol et St, Lonis, Tha clty, we are nformed, Is now taking a second and tmore substantial atart. ‘Tho assesament was verv 10w 1n 1370,—35,600,~ y—and {s not over hatl the value of property, In 1836, however, the asscssuicnt was full value,—89, Tiis bolng the cace, few clties have Incressed fn valuo more than East St. Lonis has. . By flzurinz the corrected valua. tion for 1871 at $11,000,000, and that of 1863 at $2,600,000, wo have an jucreased valuation ot $4,300,000, while tho indebtedness has shiot up frum nothing to 370,000, ROCK 1SLAND, KOCK 13LAND COUNTT, has u debt of §203,000 now, to #31,451 In 1805, ‘There 13 uo ¢ity in the Swate with a fajror Ym:- pect before It than Raok Island has. Its lo: tion is grand, and niust fvevitably necoms a great manufacturing ecntre at sone not far dis- tant day. Bince 1809, $116,000 has heen expend. ed In public improvements. The Holly system of water-works Is In uctive operation here; nor are the peulple of Roei Island barkward in help- ine rallroxds,—a bonded dehit of £53,0000n the township s eviden:o of this, There are few t“.l‘lelmwhlch can alfurd to owe as well as Rock shan DECATUR, MACON COURTY, has now a respeetable debt of $59,000; tn 1805, $33,500, Tho valuation, according to asscis- ment, has net iocreascd over a mllifon, and though a fine aystem of water-works, costing 25,000, hes been bulit, the taxes wero vnly $10,000 more in 157 than 1n 1330, LASALLE, LABALLE COUNTT. ‘This clty sceins to prescerve o ver{ uuml con- ditlon, It has In ten years extetly doubled iLs dlebt,=1803, $16,000; I870, $30,000: und doubled {ts valuation,—1363, $204,000; 1576, - $1,500,000, ‘The taxces, howeser, are ot quite doubled. In the interval, $50.005 has been expended on pub- llc improvoments. QUINOY, ADAMS COUNTT, certalnly int an cnormous debt, while tho prap- erty must be assessed very low. I(s assessinent for 1870 1o over 8, 000,000 belaw that of Ieorfa, while Ita debt is nuurfy a milllen more. Tho cxtent of tho debt Is largely uwlng to the con- structinz ot a bridze across the .llsolulprl at that place, costlng 81,800,000, and assistance given to rallroads and the bullding of publie water-works, The bonded raflrvad: debt of uincy (s now only $175,500, The gas works of this ¢fty cost 800,000, has scventeen miles of maln, and 030 stro t-lamps, There 8 now In courss of construction at Qulucy onc of the finost Court-llouses in the State, which it 13 sald will cost o quarter of a milllon dallars, GALESNURG, KNOX COUNTY, now a city of considerable pretensions in edu- cation, liad not in 1333 & school-honse, A rich man named Willlant died ahout that time, and bequeathed $20,000 fow 8°hodl purpfis. his @ave un impetus to eduration, and & fMe system of public schools has grown un, and within fen years the sum of 300,007 has boen used In the erectlon of a:hool-buildimes. Herolyan illuatra- tion of what Illinois peoplo do for education. JACKSONVILLY, MOBGAX COUNTY, has rushied right alicad with fmnrovements, Its debt Is rather high,—8310,400,—but with economy it will soon be wiped out. The as- scssed valuation of property has fncrensed ln the most remarkuble manner. Ten yeara sgo it was assessod at 837,000 its” lnat use sessment was 33731701, The most impor- tant public enterprise has been the water-works, built two years ago at a cost of $150,000. The schoolhouses that have becn built since 1535 cast $7U7,700. A system ol scweraze has been coustructed for this city at an outlay of 312,000, City warrants always command par value. In- terest on bonded debt and floating debt {3 le\ml' paid. ‘the funded debt is being called in and placed st lower {nterest. While the tax In this city Is just now a littlo bundeusome, the fixed policy of tho present Counzil Isa graduat payment Of the debt; reduction of taxation, und & reasonuble prosperty mav ba expecteil. PERU, LASALLE COUNTY. This city basadebt of §13,600, which, how- ever, If we add the township debt, makes the actual debt of the ity 339,60 The fucrease of Indebtedness since 1563 was caused q,lnlly bly the building of an fron bridye avross™ lillnols Riverat lh.gzulm. ut a cost ol $15,000, The city gave 893,000 and tho township $33,500 toward building the bridge, the balance belng made up by donation from private indinduals. ELOLY, KANE COUNTY, shows s small debt for so euterprising a city, Inten years over $30,000 has been used in varfous. publ: improvements, and §5,000 donated for locating "the Northern illinuis Iu- eang Asylum. BLOOMINGTON, X'LEAN COUNTTY, buflt o sysiem of water-works, which scems to answer thelr purpose very well, for $47,231. We bavo no space to give d:tails in respect to thia cconomical systeus. It puye as it goes, and that 15 1nore than most systems in citles of tifteen or twenty thousand fuhubitauts ars doing. Of the total debt of Bluomington, §100,00 Is for schuul purposes, Bloumluzton also gave large bonuscs t securo raitroad shiops aud to aid 1 thy cou- struction of rallrosds. JOLIES, WILL COUNTYE. Tho debt of Jollet 5 small—$120,000—cons sidering {ts many Important jmprovemen male within the past few vears. The assesacd value of property has incrcased $3,500,500. The water supaly of this city is obtained from ar- tesian welle, four of which are in successiul wperation there. OLSEY, RICHLAXD COUNTT. This clty hoasts of one of the finest achool. houses In'thn State; It cost $35,000. The debt i3 small, but it bas many public fostitutions, and doca » larze shipping business. PEORIA, PEORIA COUNTY. The buildiug of railroads, public schools, nd water-workas has necessarily invoived Peoria in gome findebtedness; but it s truly said that theeo Works are aubstantial {mprovéments, and the taxnasers are _more than compensated for the outlay., We have before shown in Tns TRIBUNE that the water-works system of Peoria, which cost 8500 and which have proved the most efectual In the Btate, ara not paying 2 per cent on the money fnvested. The aggregate amount of bonds Is- rued as subscription to raliroads fs $355,000, In 1571 the grand total of the honded debt of the coria was 820; to<day it is onl: 73,500,~n reduction in five years of uu,xzri: which. at the same ratfo, would {n twelve years wipe it all out. Teoris’s debt reached the tax- finum in 1871, In 1802 it wasat ita minimum. We have compiled n table for the jnterval from the reports of the Bosrd of Trade of th & 1 d Years. rnlvm’lan of Total | indebled ta; property. N nees, $ 5,310,606 8 01,1755 240,600 4,150,780) 62,3431 323,000 62,247 018,208 B2, 0t 315,301 1.210] 401,404 00,065( 404,122 53] 120,027 401,897 120,034| 615,887 176,470 041,000 178,537/ 1,050,829 ‘The above table shows that the assessed valuc of property kept about even for els ht&':uaru. and then took a sudden jump from £0,000. 3, 00.000. This is accounted for from the fact that prior to 1860 ril asscssments upon property for tazation were made upon the basis of onc- third of fts valuation. During that year the mode was changed, and assessments arc sup- posed to be made upon a basls of ful} valuation, or nearly il. The reader ehould bear thls In mind when he reads the larce table. It will need but a cursary glanes at It to convince him that sote cities have disregarded this change of the law, as In thecasoof Springfield, Frecport, Galena, Litchfield, and some otber citics. ROCKFORD, WINNEBAGO COUNTY. We have not among the Uity cities any ono that bas actually spent so much within the lnst few years for public works. Water-worke, £200,600; {ron dbridge over Rock River, $50,000; other improsements, $100,000; total, $400,000. A prominent banker lias been making an Inter- cesting fnvestiration In respect ta the amount ot huainess done In this city. ile hns formed estl- tes, based on figures nctually known, of the gregate amount of moncy made by the mer- chants, manufacturers, and" corporations. iis conclusions arc thut cvery year a quartcrof 8 milllon dollars of solid wealth s stowed away as clear savings. , Few citles have more to show for thelr debt of $355,583 thau Rockford has. AUROTA, KANE COUNTY, in many respects such acity as Rockford. han not been so profuse with fmorovements, nor has it such a formidable debt. The water-works ot Aurora cost but $40,000; bridzce, 27,000; achool- houscs, 8157,00; Court-Hotse, $13,000; total in ten years, $2i0,000. The cugc debt {s only $30,000; but it must be remembered that thc schouols are not run by the City of Aurora, and I.I;Aelr expense s additional to the tazation we glve. NELLEVILLE, ST. CLATR COUNTY, Belleville, 500 means behind othier cittes, has lald ont ${5.000 1o a fnc system of Bcwerares Clty-Hall, $0,000;. Water-reservolr, $12,000; bridges, $10,000¢ the citv bos also Issited honds to railroads for the amount ol 115,000, Belle- ville Is financially in a very wholesome.conditfon, and as a healthy, growing city bas few superiors in the Btate. WIAT T INVESTIOATIONS 8HOW. Wohave now fvund ot what alarge proportion of this six million or more of debt bas guns for. ‘The nextstep la toascertain, it possible, whether the burden for our Illinois cities is Lo be greater or less In thie futuro than it has been Inthe past. Inmany {nstances the indieation {8 that the ddebts have alrealy reached the mas!wum, This we have shown s the case In Peorfa, In 1871 we bavo scen the debt, which had been gradu- ally increasing over a scries of vears ésce large table), reached over a milllon dollars. Since then it has falten more rapldly than it went up, Munitestly this decrcase commenced fm- medfately nfer the public improvements were_completed, and the clty oset about liquidating the debt. There Is littie doubt but Quiney has reaclied fts mdebtedncss. The. tnessaze of the Acting Mayory Mr. SBmith, lasc soring, indleates that the people mnde o great elfort in the way of uuhnu cntorprise. aud thatthere Is now a general desire for & polley of retronhment aud an in- tentlon to speadily pay off the debt. It fs o ufi.t to look over'the varlous printed reports ol ie APPAINS OF PEORIA AND QUINCT, which the courtesy of the Mavors of these cities haa plazed at our Maposal, Every dollaris ne- counted for with the greateat precision, What I8 true of Peoria and Quincy is equally true of Ja-kionville, Rockford, Enst St. louls, Rock Tslaud, and Bloomington. Their debts, thongh large, were all fncurred for inprovements, some of wileh were necessitles, while others oro of o kind that by judiclous meaagement mey some day hotome B source of protec- tlon to rmptny and hence an inducement to increase the nopu'lu(ou. When = youni conple start in Jife il becomes necessary to run in debt for a house and lot, and frequently for part of the furniture. By carcful tnanagement, and promplly meeting Interest and priucipil when due, they oventually becoma clear of debt. [t in s0 with many of our growing citles In Illinals, Ilebt is not only necussary, but, contracted ju- diclously, & good thing, auil sbows enterprise and pluck. for which tho Western people are noted, Without It we stiould wait & lonz time for elaborato systcms of water-wgorks. elegant schoolliouscs, and Jues of rallroads. In the contraction of thesc debts, however, the clo- wments of wealth in a citv—tho basis of all legit- Imate {ndebtedness—must never be lost sichtof, WIIY TIIB DEGT 18 $0 1IGI1 IN 8OME CITIRS. Thottgh the table of percontaze of debt indl- cates that a few of our cities have very much exceeded the law {n the pereentage of their tlebt, we must taketwo things into considera- ton, ' First, that most of these debts were con- tracted before the present luw lmiting city «dcbts to & per cent of thelr asseased valuation went lnto foreo; second, the scemingly high percentazo may be oftener attributed to the al snrdly low n<scssments.in somo citics, It {s ringing down the assessment, not bringing up the dabt, that nialics sonie cltfes have a debt_of 23 per cant on thelr valuation, In the aggre- gute, we find In 1970 Alty cltles assuazed at #103,000.175, ‘The sama vear the entiro dobt of these citics is $4,075,731, or about U per vent an the assassed value of property. When we flud thav tho assessed valuo of Quincy Is less than _$10,000,000, (ialena less than £1,07),000, anl Springficld less than $4,003,000, it will not. be out of the way to say that tho corrected az- gregate valuation woulil bo three times that of theassessed. Ifenco we have Total dobt ... $ 6,075,701 Total correct 120,017,535 Instead of the aggregats detit of Tiinols cities belog 6 per cent, it is reduced to 3 ver cent,— not an uhbealthy sum. It is less than the per. ccntage of the aggrezate indebtaducss of the wholu country according to the census of 1870, und yet our State l"{ulml compared with thoso of New Eugland, and whilo thu cities in thoso Blates ‘have boun housckeoplnz these inuny cars, 1nost of opr clties had nothing but barren fnu forty years ago, and thelr houscs to build and thelr {uralture ta buy. INCREASE IN PUPULATION JUSTIFIES DRBT. The Increase of populition during tho Jast decado must not be forgotten, as it is one of the elements that fustify debt. Here srea few striking instancess .81,609. 01,000 yeal led the populatlons of some citics in this Si and In the sggregate we {Ind 8ix cities that bave in this cennial periud shot up from al,:&:fltfiufll,w population. % WAR . ‘The aebts of Ilinols ars uot large enough to caustany alarm, when we find out what bas male then, The War was the meaus of origi- vating debts In mavy justaucos, and In our in. vestigutions wu Liave found gome old bouuty Lond3 unpald to this day. [mmedlately after thy closs of the War, and before citics wero clear of thelr war Aebis, catno the rallroad manis, and miltlons of dollars ol publi: moucy was suak ju ratiroad enterprises that seldom “camu up to what thelr eatbusiastlc projectors mapped out on paper andescribed In forensic speeches. “This ¢lass of ludebtedness was generally rushed through under a pressure of excitement, aud the citlesbavesincohad amplulelsureto repent. Then came the wania for water-works, and st of our citics set about bulldioz systems of water- wiutks v.u{)lugf fa thelr cosl from ¥10.000 to $300,000. On the top of this cune the chanze in the law, und aluce then our citles, with re- warkable unaniwlty, bave been selzed witha suddey desiro to pay ol their obll§moui aud reduce the delts withinthe constitutional llmits. Qur foveatigativns, Umited aud lwperfect as Ten they have been, clearly ehow this to have heen the caxe, and we believe that the muniiipal in- debtedness of this State will be less ten yeara hence toan it {s to-day. A CNEERPUL PEATURE in our exam{nations hias hoen the fact, 8o plain- Iy brought out, that we have no example in the {ifty citica of une where the debt has been con- tracted throngh neglect In not ralsing fMiclent for running etpenees from year to year, or from snother fruftful cause of debt, that of anticl- rmnz funds untll they become overloaded and inaufficfent for payment of both principal and Interest, unnd ‘lllus h‘ ;mr? 5I|ur. r:ll_ln- ons practice of pes nal anding. he Sinking Fund is not fi“m“ me-nE amaong Illinols Aldermen, and cuts no figure in the paymentof dehts. The law only makes it nec- cssary to Erovlde inthe ordinance that creates the debt the msnner and means for its pay- ment within twenty years, and this may done elther by Sinking-Fund or by making pay- ments annually 80 88 to meet the same by an Qaxation. Taking the fiftycities that {lmme under our notice in this article, and which represent every porlion of our State, we havereason to feel gatisfed that all having & debt, from Quincy’s $1,660,370, down to Aledo's #2400, can, with prudent measurcs, extricate themselves within the hext decade, agd that far from sceing any danger, 2a some would belleve, the ontlook for the speedy payment of munic- 1pal debts was never more cheering. R. P, Porran. ——r— STEAM.- Detallsof the Plan by Which Mr. Holly Will Ueat the City of Lockport, N, Yo New York World, We have heretofore alluded briefly to & plan devised by Mr. B. Holly, of Lockport, to heat that city by steam. The Lockport Lnion sup- plies a more extended account of the proposed expenimient, and it Is 8o curlous that {t will bo read with geners) Interest. 1t ecems that a number of substantial citizens of Lockport have formed & company under the name of the * Holly 8team Combination Company, Limited,” and bave elected & Board of Directors, in which Bamucl Rogers, D.fil-‘. Bishop, L. H. Babcock, F. N. Trever, B. D. fla)), and M. M, Bouthworth are associated with Mr. Holly, and the experl- ment is actually to be made under the following cstimate: Estimated present cost for coal, wood, Kkind 1inz, labor. repair of etoves and fnrnaces for warming the following district, in the City of Lockuort, belng sbout one-half mile squate, ‘bountied as follows: East by Wasbington atreet, south by High streot, weat Ly Sason street, north by Caledonis street, Including Ihe following: Four hundred ond_gcrenty-five dwell One hundred and fifty atores at $12: Two lundeed and fifty offices and tooms (aver and about the stores).... .. T‘r"'l“ churclies at $400 each (labor and uel), aes s Ten liot, B, fot §000 each, oneapera-house., Factorles, ehops, wlil oMces, Lifetime of stoves and furnaces, for ten FCAr5, 88 10 PEF CONLeertanee soservaases ‘Works' for warming ih Eightesn thonwand four hundred and v eizhty foet of main pipe at §1 per foot..$ Is,l'.‘o Buildlnzand srgoke-atack.... 31,000 Six steam Lcllers and fil!ur:?. 0,000 Lot for bullding wnd coal-ya: , 000 Iacidentals. 3,000 Total. . .8 47,480 Mr. Holly has written o book In which he eets forth fully his plan for supplying steam for neating and doing all the various machine labor of cities and villages, domestic, mercantile, manufacturing, cte. He says 1n cities or tawns of from 7,000 to 8,000 fnhabi. tants, where the main businees portfon dnes not exceed one-half milo aquare, one set of boflers, located nesr the centra of the place, with pipes leadinz ot In four directionw. will. da all the work, Ifthe city le ono mlle squat e, four setsof bolfers will be necessary. The maln p(fixu that i=avo the boflers will be four-inch, and will diminish to 3, 244, 2, 134, and one Inch at tho usireme eud aira, frum the botlers, the malnsof fonr-liches contin- ninz as the use slony the lines nisy demand. The maln vipes are placed about four feet below the surface of tho carth. Tho iron Dipes ‘are firat corered with aabestos, and then put in wood pipes two fnches thick, leavinz a epace. for confined ajr _botween the asbextos nod wood., The outslde pive keeps all water aud molature from the rteam-plno and prevents condensatlon, The pipea, buts wood and fron, are put dawn fn lengths of 470 feet, when they terminato In hollow, upright posts, firmly secured In the earth, Tho upper part of this post'la arzanzed 8o aa to receive the enda of tha steam-pipes throuzh stafing-buxes to allow the vipes to expand. and contract ngt moving tha post. The posts ate also arranged ro us to re- cefve the ende of the service-pipes eithor with or without expauston jolnts, 6 servico-pipes are not taken directly from the wains, but from the hollow supports, thusallowing them to be attached or delachied from ‘the suppost inetead of pinvsing tbrougn the eutelde wooden pipe to enter the steaca-ploe, which could not be lone becausa the steam-pips expandsand contracts, while the wooden pipe does not, This overcomes one of the most im. postant objections to the uae of Tong lines of nn- dersround steam pines, when brauch' pipes are to be faken oF. Anvther objection Las bezn condene sstion. This the astestos reduces about three. fourths, and the alr-apacs and wooden pine will reduce it still furttor. Testa made durinz the month of July, with very small pipe, prove tnat #(cum may be carried thrangh well-protected pipes for a mile, and then bo more ecunomical than an; otnor system; Bat 1t 18 thaught that 1,00 o 1, 60 feet each way, making a half-mile squate, fs ahout all that need’be furnished from one lueation. This, even luacity with 2 popalation of 1,500, waald includo nearly all tno businees piaces. hotels, churches, and achuols. Bulldings further out could 76 reached by a single lino of small pipe. Sledin can be manifactured on s Inrgo ecalo ane-fourth the cust that [t can on a amall scale, fur warming a single dweiling or bluck. You can sto) the expenso at any thie by turning the steam-co in your houee, wheress fn tho pese of a private boiler, when you shut o the steam, combustion ocs an gust the sante, ‘There fe about 350 cuble ect of bot sir per minuto loet through the chimney. THE COMING AGR OF ATEAM, New York Evening fat. Tt has been sotnewbat more than & year stuco the Evening 2t first suggested the propricty of hicating towns and citica by stean, the steam to bu furnished to househollers by a company, precisely aa gas {a already furnished. When wo mads this sugprestion, and polntell out the de- slrabitity of {ts adoption, wa had lttle doubt that in due time some compauy would act upon it but we had 1ittle reason to " expect that prac- tical measures would follow as specdily as they bave done. ‘Thecompany which {s about to undertake tho work of supplying beat to the houses, churches, factories, shops, and ofilces of Lockport, N.Y,, has adopted precisely tho plan which the Evenlug P03t suggosted, and the men who aroengaged in tho enterprise have so little doubt of thelr suc- ceds that theywill begin by building an adequate set of works at considerable cost. T There is really no problem to be solved 1o Yhe matter, no oxperiment to be made. The problems were l\m'qg: wrought out in the hw‘lng of largo publicbuildings, (uns, and_ facidrics” by steatn, and the new applivation of the prindvple diffors from the old one in ways which favors ts suc- cass. One ect of workinen I8 required for each Dbattery of bollers, whother the work of the bat- tery is to heat a slogle bullding vr & dozen blocks; and, I steam heat s cheaper than sny other, when applied h{ individual elfort to shi- ele bulldinga of - conslderabls size, the saviug muet bo much greater when a sinzle set o workmen attend the boilers that furnish heat to all tho houses within an area of hulf-a-mila square. Ihere Is room for the adovtlon of this plan rmnmhly. here in Now York and Brooklyn, an ha thne'is propitious fur beginning now, while Iabor is clieap, while the weather (s cold, and while houseliolders ure keenly allve to the an. noyances of firc-malking and (re-maintenance fu their dwellings, Thers Is no good reason for postponing the matter to awalt the result of the Lockport undertaking, as the uso of steam in thisway 18 in no proper sense an experhment. Onee {ntroduced u these cities, steam will suon become as much o matter of vourse as_water {s now. The Bridgets and Gretehiens, whoso firet question now at the prullmlnnrr couferenca which precedes their engagement has referency to statlonary tubs and other 1odern huprove- racnts, insy soon Insist also upou baviuiy steam heat, and fandlords may find’ [t impossible to let hiouses into which this Ilatest modern im- provement has not been introduced. We shall then live in a real age of steam, ——————— THE CAUSE AND THE CURE, 70 the £disor of TAa Tribune. Evaxstoy, liL, Feb. 8.—{n & receut fssue you admit that money withdruwa frow circulation cripples fudustry, sud thereby serfously affecta tue working population of the country. [When we speak of money bung withdrawn from clreu- Iation, we mean, of course, what Is called tho “wage fund,” or workiug capltal fnvested in reproductiou, or offercd on loan for that pur- pose.—ED.] How Is this state of thblugs to be rewedied! Can you accomplish ft by “retrench- tent,” that bas been the universal cry! Tho poor sre compelled 1o retrench, but it the rich does lkewlse, §t wakes confusiva worsw cou- founded j buocause in Lhe preseat *topsy turvy " coudition of socitty the weal or wo of the s of tha people depends entirely upon the frame of mind of thoie why eontrol the cireulating medium. I read tho lectures of Pro. Swing, A Lue EPTiuns of the most popnlar of Chlcago’s minlsters, but I ook fn valn for any remedy (from these men) for the suffering and misery of acores of thousands of human hef in this, the richest country fn the wor\d.n? maintain the material wellare of the peopls should be the kes-note of a1l scrmons, Yom cannot have much genuine veligion in & poople whoara poor, wretched, miserable. You ssy one cause of the ulngnnu'on of trade Is ** over- production.”” Granted that we can ma%a too much ¢f everything, should not that mean fewer hours of 1abor, more recreation ! [Our corro- gpondent migconceives the Idea conveyed by tha term “aver-production ™ as apoiled to the pres- ent stagnation of businese. It simply means that the manulacturing power of the countr can produce goads faster than the community {8 able'to buy and pay for them. Thus our fron and steel works can turn out more nalls and wagon tires, bars and ralls than thers s & home market for. The woolen and cotton mills even make mora Raods than the people need or can pay for. Sa of glaye-works, ngricultural-fmplement makers, saw-mills, brick-varde, stone-quarcies, caal-nits, ofl-welle, machinery, and many other dvere stocked bran-hes of Tndustry. The snpols 1 fn excess of the abilits of the neopie to buy.” Only a foreizn market will take off this surnfus pro= duction, but an absurdly hizh tarift eripples aod handicaps our mannfacturers, nreveniing them from making goids chesp._enough to ex- port to other countries.—~Ep.] 1f this was & poor country 1 conld understand want and mis- ery: but fn a country like this, where much more food I3 grown than the people can cone sume. and where sufficient could be grown to feed Europe, too, I admit I am_ astounded that those who profcss to have the welfare of the ncovle at heart da not stand up and ask, Mow In this? Plentv of foot, the people starving; stores filled with clothes, the neople rarged} everything In abundance, and the veople in mia- ery.” What Is the cause? where fs tho romedy? should be the cry of all humanitarfans. . The peoplo require food every year: should nat the money of this country be compelled to circulate umr‘: year! (No man can ba compelied to cirenlate bis mongy, or loan or Inyest Iz, 1f he don’t want to.—En.] " Does not the one hinge on the other! I nivoeate a Natlonal Bank to be sivled the Bank of America, situnted at any New York, with branches In every city and town in the United Statea; all other banks should Fo lflb(\"lhl‘d. And futo these banks ran by the Government, that {s the geople. should ‘be in- vested all the curroncy of the country not other- wise In usc, Tt should be a criminal offense to Moard or export tlie currency, 1t A nerson leaves this country he docs not take with him grecns back to clrculate fn England; thereln lies the benefit to a people in having paper money. 1 hellere hard money to he an’ unmitizated evil. 1 trust to your falrness to Inscrt this latter. 1¢ T am wroni, lot your ealightened correapondents put me right, .?.q B. J. [Such a banking scheme as above advocated will not turnish sn extra foreign or home de- mand for goods and wares in excess of the matural demand. People will not buy more manufactures than ther need or can pay {ar, and tbey can’t pay for more than thelr earuings witl purchase without going fnto debt and bank- ruptey, and crippliog and perhaps ruining theie credltors. 1t fs not mora currency that is needed—there Is too much now for the scant busincas dolng. What 15 wanted le, first, confl- dence in the” future of nricee, which In turn hegots speculation, and that makes a demiand for Iabor, mones, and products and, second, n VT vt pahics 1 ot . oaom LIS anics ccs an aral; o wroduction.—Ep.] 4 i —— THE DEMAND FOR THESTRIBUNE, 70 tha Editor of Ths Tribuna. Cnrcago, Feb. 4.—Can you not prevall upon the newsboya ta take a sufficicnt supnly of your paper on Bunday morntnrs? On Michizan nve- nue, near Sixtcenth strect, this morning, I was asked 10 cents for a copy of Tnr Trivuxe, while coples of the 7Ymes could be had In nuundance for five centa cach. I Uave noticed also that of late tho. supply of TRIAGNES on week days In my nelghborhood {s almost [nvarfubly short after 8 o'clock In the morning, hut I_have never had any dificulty fo getting the 7imos, Yours truly, 3P TRIBUNE BUILDING - DIRECTORY. Rooma. Gecvprate, 1. CHARTER OAK LIFE (InsurancoDep't.). 2. TO RE! 2 GUSTIN & WALLACE. J. T. DALF. 4. DUEDER WATCH-CASE MAN'F'G CUMPANT, 5. NOBBINS & APPLETON. 0. NEW YORK WATCH COMPANY, 0 RENT. 3. C. DOW.‘_ A. J. BROWN. W, ROBDINS, U, LL, 10. CHARTER OAR LIFE (Losn Dep't.), 1112, FAIRCHILD & DLACKMAY, 18-19. 1. K. PEARYONS & CO, HUTCUINSON & LUFF, 0. L. DASKIX & CO. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. EDITOR-IN-CHIEP. EDITOR. EDITORS, ANAG ASSOCIATE M, L. C, BARLR, %, W, J, BARNEY & CO, WILLIAY TiK033, . 11, F, NORCROSS. J, A. NrELDOWNET 20. UEDPATH LYCEUM BUREAU, 1. COMMERCIAL EDITOR 32 W, W. DEXTER, 3 GEONGR L. THATCHER. a5, NIGHT EDITOR. 0. CITY EDITOR, Offices in the Bulldlng ta rent hy W. €. DOW, loom & AMNUSEMENTS. VRN v HAVERLY'S THEATRE, AQ 3 H. 21 AR et e Eogsgemens of M EFFIE E. HLILST.HEHER Monday and Tussday Z"nlBTI. Bhakspe: czqulsite Come . > AS YOU LIKE IT. J A TR T U BQUAL iAo, Matinees Wodareda, Saturday, NEW CHICAGO THEATRE, Poslitively LAST WEEK of LE COMMANDEUR CAZENEUVE, In kis wonderful Soirees of Prestidigitation, And ANTI-SPIRITUALISTIC BEANCES. Matinees—WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY, MeVICKER'S THEATRE, THE GREAT POPULAI and ARTISTIC SUCCESS of MAGGIE MITCHELL In James . Rannion's new romantic play of MIGINOINT Warrants the Manazewent 1n anaouncing tie cone dinuanca of ina suseeusfut play ovocy oveaing dur- i the week ond fi(ullh;‘. atluce. In Prepuration—JANE EYRE and DECKY MIX, COLISEUM, THIS APTERNOON AND EVENING, THE ROYAL YEDDO JAPS! Satsuma and Littla All Itight, The Levino Drav,, Tiarlow Doy, , Clalrs Ststers, Koute Harling, Flura Marcy, and twenty-ive Specialty Artints, Evening ut 8, Alternoun at 2:30. Adwlealon, 22 and 50 centa, UAVERLY'S THEATRE, LECTURE BY VICTOLIA C. WOODE UL, On Sunday Evenlng, Feb- 11, afylluhlffl—"‘l'llz HUMAN BODY THR TEMPLE OF Licacryed Seats for sale naw at Box Ofice. ADELPIHL 'THEATRE, Monday Evenlng. Feb. 1, DEN TEEOMPSON, In hia Great Character Creatlon, JOSIUA WHIT- CPMUE: LUKLINE, o the JORAL NAIAD OF THE RINE, _bolendid FRED.DOUGLASS W) lectare on **OUR NATIONAL CAPITAL,” & McCOUMIUK HALL, Friday Evening. Fal LX) o'clock. Tickesd 30 cla. Sale of Reservod cowticnce ou Tuesday Morning as Jauses & ook ore. PLYMOUTH CHURCMN, Ono Free. Lecturs by Prof. 0. B, Fowler, Monday Eveatog, Veb 8 o SUCCESS AND ¥aiL: - Dot o i 1 gy A 1 . Satunlay aight, Yo hwnuu Paligor Qouse ual unlay bighty e B— [PPSR AL > O R o N T e {