It
is always a matter of great consideration, when investing money in
landed property to find out the financial condition of the county or
state in which the property is situated. The state of Iowa has an
exceedingly limited debt, not exceeding one half million of dollars.
The County of Cherokee is also fortunate in this respect. The entire
indebtedness, as will be seen from the official figures given by the
County Auditor, printed elsewhere in this paper, amount to but $52,000,
of which $40,000 are bonded. The debt at one time was upwards of
$70,000, but bonds have been redeemed and canceled reducing the amount
to $52,000. The rapid settlement of the county caused the erection of
as many school houses, aggregating in all about sixty within the
last eight years, that taxation, to meet the costs, was quite heavy,
but the levies in most of the townships have been very much reduced.
The county debt represents very nearly the entire municipal debt, as
the school districts are very generally out of debt. Economical
administration of public affairs, in the course of a few years, will
wipe out the entire debt, and reduct taxation to the merest minimum.
Cherokee unlike a number of western counties has good value to show for
the bonded indebtedness. The roads along the river required heavy
expenditures, and the bridges were constructed at a heavy cost to the
county, but these improvements are there now and very nearly paid.
The
taxable property of the county for 1878 was valued at $2,076,948.00 and
the total tax for all purposes $74,943.30, a reference to the
statistical table, will show how this was apportioned among the
townships and for what purpose levied.
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