270 



FLORIDA. 



was brought up again in the House during the 

 next session. Until this resolution passes, thus 

 giving the agent of the State access to the files 

 and records of the War and Treasury Depart- 

 ments, a definite statement of the claim of the 

 State can not be made. As far as can now be 

 ascertained, the amount of the principal of the 

 State's claim is about $280,000, of which there 

 are about $48,000 for which the vouchers and 

 evidence are not complete, but for which ad- 

 ditional evidence is expected to be found in 

 the departments at Washington. 



The value of the State bonds in the market 

 has greatly improved in the last four years. 

 At the commencement of this period the six 

 per cent, bonds were selling at 80 cents, while 

 at present they are scarce at par; and the 

 seven per cent, bonds, then selling at 94 cents, 

 can hardly be obtained for $1.06. The late Gov- 

 ernor recommends a law permitting the Treas- 

 urer to buy in bonds at market prices, instead 

 of being restricted in the purchase of State or 

 national bonds to their face value, as he is by 

 the present law, which virtually excludes the 

 State from the market. 



A sliding- scale rate of taxation was recom- 

 mended by the Governor in private interviews 

 with members of the late Legislature, on the 

 ground that if, as was expected, the assessment 

 was largely increased, the rate could be dimin- 

 ished ; but, if it failed to increase, a sufficiently 

 higher rate of taxation could be fixed to raise 

 enough money for the current expenses of the 

 State and to meet the interest charge. The 

 Legislature did not act upon this suggestion, 

 but fixed the rate at seven mills, calculating 

 upon an increase in the valuation, which they 

 expected would run up to $35,000,000 or $40,- 

 000,000. Instead of this, it reached only $30,- 

 382,209, making it necessary for the Governor 

 and his Cabinet to borrow money on their own 

 responsibility, for the purpose of maintaining 

 the credit and keeping the Treasury on a cash 

 basis, to meet the interest on the debt for Jan- 

 uary, 1880. A law is recommended, similar to 

 those in operation in Georgia and other States, 

 by which the Governor and Comptroller can fix 

 the rate, after the assessment is made, high 

 enough to yield money to pay interest and the 

 appropriations. The Governor in his message to 

 the last Legislature called for an amended rev- 

 enue and assessment law by which the evils of 

 undervaluation should be avoided and less op- 

 portunity afforded for escaping an equitable 

 assessment. u Under the present system of as- 

 sessment," he said, u a great deal of property 

 is assessed at a greatly less valuation than the 

 'usual selling price' the annual crop would 

 sell for in the market, and in some instances 

 at less than half the value of the crop, and 

 scarcely one tenth of what the owner would 

 demand for the property were he to offer it for 

 sale. This is a great injustice to those tax- 

 payers who return their property to the assess- 

 ors at a legal and just valuation." The new 

 assessment act, which was approved March 7, 



1879, has proved entirely ineffectual to estab- 

 lish equalization of assessments and uniformity 

 of taxation. The valuation has not been in- 

 creased, as was expected, and the less consci- 

 entious tax-payers take the same advantage 

 over their more scrupulous fellow-citizens in 

 returning their property to the assessors. This 

 the Governor, in a final message addressed to 

 the new Legislature, ascribes to the fact that 

 no penalty was attached to the practice of mak- 

 ing false returns of the value of property suf- 

 ficient to carry out the intention of the law. 

 In order to remedy this want of uniformity in 

 assessments and this imposition upon the State 

 the present law should be repealed, and in its 

 stead an act passed " requiring the county com- 

 missioners of each county to appoint two ap- 

 praisers, whose duty it shall be to accompany 

 the assessor on his rounds, and with him to fix 

 the valuation of all lands subject to taxation, 

 and whose valuation shall be final, and shall 

 stand for four years. In this way a spirit of 

 improvement of all real estate will be devel- 

 oped, and property will be assessed at some- 

 thing like its cash value, and, though largely 

 increasing the value of taxable property, it will 

 give uniformity of assessment." 



Governor Drew's message, summing up the 

 achievements of his administration, explaining 

 the policy which he had pursued, and recom- 

 mending certain measures to be taken by the 

 Legislature in furtherance of the objects which 

 he had aimed to bring about in his official 

 term, was an innovation upon precedent; it 

 was an elaborate and lucid exposition of State 

 affairs, and was left with the incoming Gov- 

 ernor, who delivered it to the Legislature at 

 the opening of the session. The Governor sug- 

 gested also that the section of the revenue law 

 which places the power of issuing the second 

 warrant for the extension of the time for the 

 collection of taxes in the hands of the county 

 commissioners be changed, and this authority 

 transferred to the Comptroller. According to 

 the existing law, the commissioners may arbi- 

 trarily suspend the collection, as was done in 

 one county last year. 



Governor Drew recommends that an amend- 

 ment to the Constitution should be made, ex- 

 empting manufacturing establishments from 

 taxation for five or ten years after the com- 

 mencement of operations, in order to incite the 

 influx of capital for manufacturing purposes, 

 and to foster the development of industrial in- 

 terests, in which he deems Florida is lagging 

 behind other States, though keeping pace with 

 them in many other respects. The present 

 road laws are found to be ineffective, and in 

 most of the counties the roads are badly neg- 

 lected. 



The total tax valuation of the State is $31,- 

 157,846. The State tax assessment for 1880 

 amounted to $112,579; the general sinking- 

 fund tax assessment to $62,406; the special 

 sinking-fund assessment to $31,217; and the 

 school-fund assessment to $31,217; making 



