Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/314

292 living would, other things equal, justify a measure of increased per capita cost.

The treasury statistics of public expenditures in Oregon show the following averages of per capita cost during the first four decades and the first six years of the last decade:

Expenditures and Wealth.—Comparisons similar to the above, in which statistics of population and state expenditures are used, may be made by taking the property valuations and the public expenditures. Since throughout nearly the whole period of statehood the almost exclusive source of state revenues was the general property tax, the state levies from year to year indicate how the state's needs grew in comparison to the growth of wealth.

These tax levies for state purposes were as follows:

i860. . . .2 1877. ...,7 1894. . . •4 3/10 1861.. . .2 1878. ...7 1895... •3 1862. . . .2 1879. ...7 1896. . . •4 3/io 1863.. •3 1880. ...7 1897... •4 1864. . •3 1881. ••5 1/2 1898. .. •3 1/2 1865.. ••5 1/2 1882. . ••5 1/2 1899... •5 7/io 1866. . ••5 i/ 2 1883. ..5 6/10 1900. . . .6 3/10 1867.. . .5 1/2 1884. . . .4 6/10 1901 . . . •5 7/io 1868. . . .5 1/2 1885. . ••3 7/IO 1902. . . .6 51/100 1869. . ••5 1/2 1886. . ..3 1/10 1903... .5 13/100 1870. . ••5 1/2 1887.. . .2 1/20 1904. . . .7 6/100 1871 . . ••5 1/2 1888. . ••5 i/5 1905. .. •5 45/ioo 1872. . ••5 1/2 1889. ..4 1906. . . .2 21/1000 1873. • ..5 1/2 1890. ..6 1907. . . . 2 4/10 1874. . .♦5 1/2 1891. . .-4 12/35