462 



MICHIGAN. 



W. Stone ; Commissioner of State Land Office, 

 George J. Shaffer ; Attorney-General, Adolphus 



A. Ellis ; Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

 Ferris S. Pitch; Commissioner of Insurance, 

 William E. Magill ; Commissioner of Railroads, 

 Charles R. Whitman ; Commissioner of Labor, 

 Henry A. Robinson ; Commissioner of Mineral 

 Statistics, Charles D. Lawton ; Chief Justice of 

 the Supreme Court, Allen B. Morse, who re- 

 signed to accept the nomination of the Demo- 

 cratic party for Governor; Associate Justices, 

 John W. McGrath, Charles D. Long, Claudius 



B. Grant, R. M. Montgomery. 



Finances. The Treasurer's report for the 

 year ending June 30, 1892, shows the ensuing 

 figures: Balance, June 30, 1891, $1,224,644.32; 

 receipts during the year, $3,210,832.90 ; expendi- 

 tures, $3,193,505.40 ; balance, $1,241,971.82. The 

 outstanding bonds of the State now are : Past- 

 due part-paid Five-million Loan Bonds, $19,000 ; 

 adjustable at $558.57 per $1,000 (not bearing 

 interest), $10,992.83. 



Following is the condition of the several 

 funds: General fund, $1,027,656.92; agricul- 

 tural college interest fund, $27,673.23 ; normal 

 school interest fund, $1,027.06; primary school 

 interest fund, $94,373.98 ; university interest 

 fund, $10,813.51 ; sundry deposits account, $11,- 

 220; St. Mary's Canal fund, $68,927.12; war 

 fund, $280. 



The trust fund debt, composed of balances 

 upon which the State, as trustee, pays interest 

 for educational purposes, now stands : Agricul- 

 tural college fund, $400,234.63; normal school 

 fund, $64,742.62; primary school fund, 7 per 

 cent. $3,650,775.82, and 5-per-cent. $807,215.58 ; 

 total school fund, $4,457,991.40; university 

 fund, $522,211.93; aggregate balance of trust 

 funds. $5,445,180.58.' 



Insurance. The reports for the year 1891, 

 published in April, 1892, show a large increase 

 in the insurance business over that of 1890. 

 There were 34 life-insurance companies doing 

 business in the State, two of which are Michigan 

 companies the Michigan Mutual and the Im- 

 perial of Detroit. The total admitted assets of 

 these companies was $823,851,948.34, an increase 

 over 1890 of $68,456,486.98, of which amount 

 $472,783.91 was of the 2 home companies. The 

 total liabilities of the same companies was 

 $706,967,536.02, an increase over 1890 of $61 - 

 048,656.41, of which $57,604,052.79 was increase 

 in the reinsurance reserve. The increase of 

 net surplus as to policy holders over that of 

 1890 is $7,407,830.57. The increase in the total 

 income compared with that of the previous year 

 was $15,541,079.76, and of disbursements $9,562,- 

 985.71. The total increase in premium receipts 

 was $14,015,26.9.25, of which amount $17,646.48 

 is credited to the two State companies. The in- 

 crease in the amount paid for losses and ma- 

 tured endowments is $4,495,851.69, of which $37,- 

 133.51 was by Michigan companies. The in- 

 crease in the number of policies in force was 

 192,576, and in amount at risk $325,683,542.65. 

 There were 20,837 policies issued during the 

 year by the life companies, aggregating an in- 

 surance of $23,288,995.04. The Vermont Life 

 and the Provident Life and Trust companies 

 were authorized early in 1892 to do business in 

 the State. 



There were 6 co-operative or assessment as- 

 sociations at the beginning of 1891, one of which 

 transferred its membership to the Massachusetts 

 Mutual Benefit Association of Boston. The 

 Michigan M. B. A. of Hillsdale, organized in 

 1879, was obliged to ask for a receiver in 1892 on 

 account of heavy losses and decreased member- 

 ship. The commissioner's report says : " It is 

 understood that arrangements have been made, 

 for a transfer of its membership to an associa- 

 tion of another State, and that its assets will not 

 be sufficient to pay over 50 per cent, of its liabili- 

 ties." One new State association and 8 of other- 

 States were admitted during the year, making 

 the number authorized of other States 41. The 

 gross assets of this class of companies were $10,- 

 786 654.91. and the total liabilities $673,273.02. 

 The total paid to members was $10,426,124.38. 

 The total number of certificates in force Dee. 31, 

 1891, was 519,361, and the surplus $10,113,- 

 381.89. 



The year 1891 was one of unusually heavy 

 losses by fire, the amount of indemnity paid by 

 companies reporting, on fire business alone, 

 aggregating $2,479,525.57, as against $2,189,- 

 462.94 the preceding year. The premiums re- 

 ceived were $4,048,219.83 for 1891, and $3,769,- 

 590 for 1890, the ratio of losses to premiums in- 

 creasing from 58-1 per cent, in 1890 to 61'2 per- 

 cent, in 1891. The risks written amounted to 

 $279,173,561. The number of companies report- 

 ing in fire and inland business was 106. 



Railroads. The net income of the roads of 

 the State in 1891 was given at $36,165,108; they 

 paid a tax of $812,999. The total mileage 7,274.- 

 94, an increase of 339-65 miles. 



The total indebtedness of the railroad corpora- 

 tions as reported for the year 1891 amounts to 

 $435,781,670.32, which is classified as follows : 

 Funded debt, 91-42 per cent., $398,409,755.20; 

 unfunded debt, 8-58 per cent., $37,371,915.12. 

 The above statement shows an apparent increase 

 in debt over the previous year of $19,396.141.45. 

 The traffic earnings aggregated $95,777,886.57, 

 an increase over 1890 of $3,427,093.30, or 3-72 

 per cent. The total operating expenses and 

 taxes were $66,030,872.72, being an increase of 

 $2,105,781.18, or 3-29 per cent. The total 

 tonnage of freight moved was 57,852,628 tons. 



In a suit involving the validity of the 2-cent- 

 fare law passed by the Legislature of 1889, the 

 decision of the Michigan Supreme Court was 

 affirmed by the United States Supreme Court, 

 and the law declared constitutional. 



It is found that one of the laws passed by the 

 last Legislature relating to railroad taxation is 

 invalid the one making the special charter 

 roads subject to the provisions of the general 

 railroad tax law. All the other railroad laws 

 refer with great particularity to the railroad act 

 of 1873 and acts amendatory thereof. This act 

 does not. It says that all these special charter 

 roads shall "for all purposes of taxation be sub- 

 ject in all respects to the provisions of chapter 

 75 of the compiled laws of 1871 and the acts 

 amendatory thereof, the same as if every such 

 company had organized under the provisions of 

 said chapter." 



But chapter 75 of the compiled laws of 1871 

 was repealed in toto by an act passed in 1873. 

 This new act, therefore, attempts to revive an 



