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NEBRASKA'S DEttT.
*
The records of the state treasur
er's office show that the debt of the
state of Nebraska is approximately
$1,755,000. The outstanding registered
warrants amount to $1,674,642.03 , the
unregistered warrants to about $25,000
and the state bonds to $55,000. The un
paid taxes amount to over $2,800,000.
There has been but very little change
in the status of the four educational
funds during the past few months. The
returns from the investment of the
permanent school fund were slightly
less during the last six months than for
the corresponding period last year and
consequently the apportionment for the
schools fell below last year's about
$8,000.
All of the state bonds remaining un
paid , amounting to only $55,000 , are
held by the permanent school fund.
The issuance of these bonds was one
of the results of a transfer of state
money from one fund to another. Be
tween 1898 and 1871 the state invested
$71,000 in United States government
bonds for the permanent school fund.
A few years later these bonds were
sold for $80,460 , which , with money re
ceived from other sources , was trans
ferred to the general fund. The total
amount of the transfer was $158,887.87.
A transfer certificate for this amount
was issued and turned back as security
into the permanent school fund. Be
tween 1874 and 1876 general fund
warrants to the amount of $184,119.67
were paid out of the permanent school
fund and another transfer certificate was
made out by the state treasurer as
security to be held by the school fund.
During the same period the first state
refunding bonds were issued and the
two certificates were taken up. State
bonds to the amount of $425,267.85 were
issued in the name of the permanent
school fund and the difference between
the certificates and the bonds was paid
in cash out of the permanent school
fund. Since that time all but $55,000 of
these bonds have been paid. The last
of them became duo in 1897 and- all are
drawing interest at the rate of 8 per
cent , payable seini-aunually.
These bonds constitute the only
bonded indebtedness of the state. The
outstanding registered warrants amount
to $1,674,642.08. Adding to this the
total amount of the unregistered
warrants the floating debt of the state
is brought up to a little over $1,700,000.
There are four educational funds
from which the interest or revenue only
con be used. These are the permanent
school , the agricultural college endow-
meutthe permanent university and the
normal school endowment funds. Pro
vision is made by law for an equitable
distribution of the income from- the in
vestment of these funds , which are de
rived from five sources.
The constitution of the state provides
hat the money in these funds shall re
main forever inviolate and undimiuished
and shall not bo invested or loaned ex
cept on United States or state securities
or registered county bonds of Nebraska
and the interest and income is by the
same act solemnly pledged for educa
tional purposes only. Accordingly , it is
unlawful for the state treasurer to make
any disposition of any portion o f these
educational funds other than by invest
ment in the manner prescribed by law
and unlike the other funds they cannot
3e loaned to state depositories.
The records of the state treasurer's
office show that a total of $253,494.72 of
; heso educational funds remains unin
vested , or , in other words , that the
schools of the state are deriving 110
benefit whatever from that amount of
money. A large proportion of the per
manent school fund has been invested
in general fund warrants and county
bonds , upon which premiums amount
ing to $45,658.78 have been paid.
The following statement shows how
the money in the various educational
funds is invested , the cash balances
being the amounts from which the state
is deriving no revenue :
Permanent school fund :
United States bonds $ 15,000.00
State bonds ( Nebraska ) 55,000.00
County bonds 8,012.835.00
School district bonds 27,980.75
General fund warrants. 622,001.57
Cash balance 183,099.89
Total $3,910,823.21
Permanent university fund :
Investment. $ 80,750.00
Cash balance 26,763.44
Total * 63,518.44
Agricultural college endowment :
Investment $ 68,000.00
Cash balance 25,761.97
Total $ 93,701.97
Normal school endowment :
Investment $ 15,000.00
Cash balance 17,029.42
Total $ 82,029.42
The temporary school fund is made
up from the state school tax , interest on
contracts for the sale of school lands ,
rent of school lands leased , interest on
saline lands and the revenue from the
investment of the permanent fund. The
figures this year show a decrease in the
temporary fund , the loss being due to a
decrease in the interest on the school
and saline lands , state and school dis
trict bonds and fees for peddlers
licenses. The total losses amount to
$89,681.85. There were slight gains in
interest on county bonds , general func
warrants and school and saline land
leases.
School Apportionment.
The school apportionment for Decem
ber , 1899 , was $292,888.59 , derived
from the following sources :
School tax $ 77,838.72
Interest on school land 08.017.0J
Leased school land 58,854.8
Interest on saline land 1,465.0
Leased saline land 1,520.00
nterest on United States bonds 800.00
nterest on state bonds 4,520.00
Interest on county bonds 72,520 , 08
Interest on school district bonds. . . . 677.49
Interest on general fund warrants. . 12,585.50
Peddlers'licenses 89.40
Suspended account 501.00
Total $292,883.59
State Treasurer Meserve today issued
a call for all warrants outstanding
against the general fund numbering
52,180 to 52,450. The amount covered
by the call is $34,000. Interest will
cease December 16. Omaha Bee , Dec.
10 , 1899.
We publish today a letter which sup
plements Mr. Byron W. Holt's article
of October 10th , on the tin plate trust ,
and brings some of its figures up to
date. Not that any change is needed in
stating the selling price of tin plate , for
the trust has taken good care to have no
change at all in that. But the steel and
pig tin of which tin plates are made
have fallen enough to furnish further
evidence that tin plates are high not
because of materials but because of the
trust.
Since Mr. Holt's letter was written
the steel and tin in a box of 100 pounds
of tin plates have fallen nearly 22 cents ,
yet the selling' price is still pegged at
$4.65 , which is a dollar a box more than
tin plates bring in Great Britain. Under
open competition such a state of things
could not continue. Manufacturers
would be offering their tin plates freely
today at 22 cents a box lower than on
October 6th. Some might refuse to sell
at the reduced price , hoping for a change
more favorable for them , while others
would balance that by actually offering
contracts lower still in expectation of
further reduction in materials. But the
general price would correspond to the
reduction in the price of materials and
respond to it as it fluctuated , exactly as
the price of imported tin plates used to
respond to changes in the cost of steel
and pig tin before the tariff shut out
foreign competition , and so enabled the
trust to shut out all competition. The
remedy is simple and just take off the
duty on tin plates.
THE
CHURCH AND
STATE. TIVE notes a deal
o f adverse criti
cism of President McKinley , in Metho
dist journals , because he has com
missioned Archbishop Ohappelle of the
Roman Catholic church as a pacificator ,
to bring about peace in the Philippine
islands.
But if MoKinley had appointed a
Methodist bishop to the same place
would these journals have been as
critical ?
The Filipinos have more members of
the Catholic than of all other churches
among them. Church and state are an
omelet in those islands.
