68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



furnish revenue, but of no great amount above annual expenses. All the 

 remainder of our State rf^venue, as well as a large part of our local reve- 

 nue, is raised from a tax on property. 



ILLINOIS TAXATION. 



The equalized assessment of 1873 was aa follows: 



Personal Property $254,259,578 



Lauds 526.266,033 



Town and City Lots 327,367,733 



Railroads 74,843,891 



Capital Stock of Corporations 11,719,216 



Total $1,355,401,317 



This assessment is fearfully and wonderfully made. To start upon, 

 although it is believed by such authorities as Mr. Opdyke and Mr. Wells, 

 "that in highly civilized and densely populated States like New York, 

 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, etc., the separate aggregates of property, 

 generally classed under the two heads of 'real' and 'personal,' either equal 

 or closel}' approximate to each other in actual value ;" yet, here in Illinois, 

 the personal property assessed does not more than equal one-third of the 

 real property in value. Several hundred million dollars' worth of per- 

 gonal property escapes taxation. 



About one-half of the personal property that is assessed is live stock and 

 farm implements; and I am probably safe in saying that over one-half of 

 the whole list is the property, real and personal, engaged in agriculture. 



The railroads of the State are assessed at about $75,000,000 ; but the 

 cost of roads and equipments are put down in the Railroad and \Vare- 

 house Commissioners' report, for the same year, at $240,000,000 and more. 

 A railroad was assessed at less than one-third of its cost, and refuses to 

 pay tax on that assessment. The case is now before the Supreme Court of 

 the United States. On the other hand, the average horse was assessed at 

 over $50, cattle at nearly $18, mules and asses at $60, sheep at $2 and hogs 

 at $3 per head. 



Upon this assessment, however, such as it was, there was levied the 



following taxation : 



State Tax $5,023,609.50 



County Tax 5,333,091.20 



City Tax (incomplete) 1.583,942.32 



Town, District and Local Tax 9,823,178.27 



Total $21,963,821 29 



Assuming our population to have been 5,750,000 souls, this was nearly 

 $8 per capita. In round numbers we each paid $2 to the State, $2 to tlie 

 county and $4 to the city, town or school district for ourselves and each 

 person of our families. Adding to this the $7.50 which each person pays 

 annual!}' for national public purposes, and we have an aggregate of $15.50 

 per capita, or about $75 for each family in Illinois, annually. 



I have not the figures to show, with any precision, how our State, County 

 and local taxes are expended, but some general idea can be given. Our 



