MICHIGAN. 



ness in the State. The total admitted onsets of the 

 37 companies was $993,471,494.96, an increase of $69,- 

 979,940.90 over the showing made on Dec. 31, 1892. 

 The total liabilities of the companies reported was 

 $847,658,403.38, an increase of $68,497,856.98 over 

 1892. The increase in the reinsurance reserve was 

 $66,922,859.05, and the increase of net surplus as to 

 policy holders, $1,482,083.92. The exhibit of receipts 

 and disbursements during the year, compared with 

 those of the previous year, shows an increase in total 

 receipts of $14.120,945.64, and in disbursements of 

 $14,505,885.06. 



The total receipts of the bureau of insurance for 

 the year were $212,040.99, and the disbursements 

 $7,750.22. 



Railways. The companies doing business in 

 Michigan during the year ending Nov. 30 report 

 a total of 22,993-15 miles of road operated. This 

 is an increase of 5,848-8 miles over the number 

 reported in 1892. Of the total number of miles 

 operated, 7,572 4 35 miles, or 32*93 per cent., ai-e 

 in Michigan. Six companies failed during the 

 year to make sufficient earnings to cover ex- 

 penses of operation. 



The taxes received from railroad corporations 

 doing business in Michigan for the year ending 

 Dec. 31, 1893, and payable July 1, 1894. aggre- 

 gated $811,056.65. As compared with the pre- 

 vious year this was a falling 'off of $82,705.36, or 

 9*25 per cent. 



Not a single passenger was killed in the State 

 by railroad accident during the year. 



Banks. A case involving the constitutional- 

 ity of the banking law came before the Supreme 

 Court in February, growing out of the failure of 

 the Milford State bank. Under the provisions 

 of section 46, act of 1887, the stockholders of 

 every bank are individually liable equally and 

 ratably and not for another, for the benefit of 

 depositors in the bank to the amount of their 

 stock at par value thereof in addition to the 

 stock. It was contended that the general bank- 

 ing act was unconstitutional, first, because the 

 title is double, and second, that it attempts to 

 confer upon the receiver the judicial power to 

 adjudicate claims to be paid in the course of 

 liquidation. The court says of the first objec- 

 tion : " It is true of any comprehensive statute 

 that it might be subdivided and several laws in 

 para maleria enacted in place of one. But it 

 does not follow that an act which has but one 

 general object is in conflict with the constitu- 

 tional provision." Of the second the court holds 

 that just as a special tribunal is created to de- 

 termine claims against the estate of a deceased 

 person, so a special tribunal may determine on 

 claims of a defunct corporation. 



Agriculture. The following farm statistics 

 for 1893-'94 are from the crop report issued in 

 October from the office of the Secretary of 

 State : 



Acres of wheat, 1893, were 1,53-3,071 ; bushels, 

 24,432,201; yield the acre, 15-94 bushels. Acres of 

 wheat in May, 1894, 1,287,865. Acres of corn in 1893, 

 797,797 ; bushels of ears, 37,761,594 ; average per acre, 

 47*33 bushels. Acres of oats in 1893, 843,406; bush- 

 els, 22,323,976 ; average per acre, 26-47 bushels. 



Acres of clover seed raised in 1893, 174,949 ; bush- 

 els, 170,792. Acres of potatoes in 1893, 172,225; 

 bushels, 13.589,202. Acres of hay in 1893, 1,762.768; 

 tons, 2,282,538. 



The number of each class of live stock in the State 

 in the spring of 1894 was as follows : Horses, 426,573 ; 



milch cows, 388,896 ; cattle (other than milch COWB), 

 262,659; hogs, 311,683; sheep, 1,898,944. 



The number of sheep sheared in 1893 was 2,068,063 

 pounds of wool, 12,692,920. 



A State association of farmers' clubs was 

 formed in January. 



State Lands. The chief items in the report 

 of the Land Commissioner for the year ending 

 June 30, 1894, are given below : 



The whole number of acres of land held by the 

 State at the close of the last tiscal year was 438,318-95. 

 There were 12,482-95 acres forfeited and 1,010-24 pat- 

 ented to the State during the year, making a total of 

 451,812-14 acres. Of these, 15,324-91 were sold and 

 4,932-41 licensed to homesteaders during the year, 

 leaving 431,554-82 held at the close of the fiscal year. 



In October the Land Commissioner received an 

 indemnity certificate from the Interior Depart- 

 ment authorizing the selection by him of 5,000 

 acres of Government land, in lieu of the same 

 amount which had been erroneously sold by the 

 local United States Land officers after the pas- 

 sage of the swamp-land act of Sept. 28, 1850. 

 The State has claims on the Government for 

 large amount of lands so sold in addition to the 

 above. 



An Unconstitutional Act. The law called 

 the " jag-cure law," passed by the last Legisla- 

 ture (see " Annual Cyclopaedia " for 1893. page 

 495), has been made inoperative by decision of 

 the Supreme Court. 



Labor Interests. The law of 1893 provides 

 for an annual inspection of all the factories in 

 Michigan, placing the work in the labor bureau 

 under the charge of the Commissioner of Labor. 

 It is estimated that the factories in the State ap- 

 proximate 3,000. Of these, the inspectors in- 

 spected, up to Oct. 1, 1,644. The number of 

 operatives employed by these 1,644 factories, if 

 running at full capacity, would be 72,662. They 

 are employing 47.457, leaving operatives unem- 

 ployed 25,205. The monthly pay roll of these 

 47,457 who are employed is $1,618,794, which 

 is an average per month for each man of $34.11. 

 Of these factories there were running full time, 

 1,106; part time, 394; idle, 144; total, 1.644. 



The reports from many of these factories show 

 a reduction in wages of from 5 to 25 per cent., 

 compared with one year ago, when an average 

 reduction of 10 per cent, took place. 



There has been great destitution among the 

 miners of the northern peninsula, consequent on 

 the suspension of work in 1893, and relief has 

 been sent from other parts of the State. There 

 was a riot at Bessemer in February over the dis- 

 tribution of these supplies. Dispatches from 

 Iron Mountain in June reported that 500 fami- 

 lies were in danger of starvation, and the State 

 committee sent an order for funds for distribu- 

 tion. Wages were lower in the mines that re- 

 sumed during the year. There was a strike 

 among the miners in the vicinity of Ironwood in 

 June, and a collision between miners and depu- 

 ties July 3. Five companies of militia were or- 

 dered to the ground, and were kept there twenty- 

 six days. 



A Question of Boundary. An opportunity 

 seems to have arisen for the claim by Michigan 

 of a small amount of territory now included in 

 Wisconsin. The law of delimitation makes the 

 line run from the mouth of Montreal river at 



