WISCONSIN. 



783 



tained licenses to do business within the State. 

 None have failed or withdrawn. Risks were 

 written for $28,607,457.90. The losses were in 

 excess on account of the great number of fires. 

 There are 36 joint stock and mutual companies, 

 2 of West Virginia. Eighteen assessment com- 

 panies were licensed, 3 of West Virginia. The 

 total of risks written was $4,964,077.16. The 

 premiums were in excess of losses by $422,082.30. 

 These companies include fire, marine, life, as- 

 sessment, accident, fidelity, plate-glass, stearn- 

 boiler, and some fraternal societies. 



Timber. The annual product for the State 

 is estimated to be more than 125,000,000 feet of 

 poplar, 75,000,000 feet of hard wood, 50.800,000 

 feet of spruce, and several million feet of pine. 



Militia. One brigade, consisting of 2 regi- 

 ments, composes the military force of the State. 

 The number of commissioned officers is 98; en- 

 listed men, 789. Encampments were held twice 

 during the year, at Martinsburg and Kanawha 

 City. The militia was called upon for duty on 

 account of strikes among miners and industrial 

 disturbances at each of the following points: 

 Kanawha, New Haven, Norfolk and Western 

 Railway bridge, Parkersburg, Boggs' Run, and 

 Kenova. 



Charleston. The capital city celebrated the 

 centennial of its legal existence as a city, Dec. 

 19, 1894. 



WISCONSIN, a Western State, admitted to 

 the Union May 29, 1848; area, 56,040 square 

 miles. The population, according to each de- 

 cennial census since admission, was 305,391 in 

 1850; 775,881 in 1860; 1,054,670 in 1870; 1,315.- 

 497 in 1880; and 1,688,880 in 1890. Capital, 

 Madison. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, George W. 

 Peck, Democrat ; Lieutcnant-Governor, Charles 

 Jonas; Secretary of State, T. J. Cunningham; 

 Treasurer, John Hunner; Attorney-General, 

 J. L. O'Connor: Superintendent of Public In- 

 struction, 0. E. Wells; Insurance Commissioner, 

 W. M. Root ; Railroad Commissioner, Thomas 

 Thompson ; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 

 Harlow S. Orton; Associate Justices, J. B. Win- 

 slow, J. B. Cassoday, S. U. Pinney, A. W. Newman. 



Finances. The following is taken from the 

 report of the Secretary of State (who is the Au- 

 ditor also) for the biennial fiscal term closed 

 Sept. 30, 1894, the aggregate result of the finan- 

 cial transactions showing: Balance in general 

 fund, Sept, 30, 1892, $640,228.12; receipts for 

 1893, $1,609,314.84; receipts for 1894, $2,226,- 

 164.24; total receipts, $4,475.707.20. Disburse- 

 ments for 1893, $1,786,501.55 : disbursements 

 for 1894, $1,711,889.94; total disbursements, 

 $3,498,39149. Balance in general fund, Sept. 

 30, 1894, $977,315.71. The balance in the va- 

 rious trust funds, Sept. 30, 1892, was $163,- 

 341.37; receipts for 1893, $1.958,559.12; receipts 

 for 1894, $2,165,843.88; total receipts. $4,287,- 

 744.37. Disbursements for 1893. $1,843.244.32; 

 disbursements for 1894, $4,208,233.18. Balance 

 in trust funds Sept. 30, 1894, $79.511.19. The 

 University fund was overdrawn $217.35, and the 

 Agricultural College fund $15.93. 



The statement of the transactions of the gen- 

 eral fund, which embraces all the revenues of 

 the State applicable to the payment of the ordi- 



nary expenses of the State government for 1894 

 was as follows: Received from railroad com- 

 panies, $1,438,758.66; telegraph companies, $9,- 

 935.71; telephone companies, $9.716.29: sleep- 

 ing-car companies, $1,22:{.:JJ); from counties, for 

 maintaining insane, $153,257.47; from counties, 

 for Industrial School for Boys, $8,078.53; for 

 fifth normal school, $10,014.41 ; for aid to free 

 high schools, $50,072.05 ; from suit tax, $7,903 : 

 peddler licenses, $12,841.95; insurance licenses, 

 $129,931.05; from loan and trust companies, 

 $1,902.84; from log-driving and boom com- 

 panies, $1,579.11 ; from United States for main- 

 taining inmates of Veterans' Home, $12,662.21 : 

 from office fees, $30,980.07; from interest on 

 general fund balance in banks, $14,178.13; from 

 ex-State-Treasurers' judgments, $327.902.55 ; 

 from all other sources, $5,226.82; total, $2,226,- 

 164.24. The disbursements from the general 

 fund for 1894 were: For salaries and expenses, 

 $177,431.08: permanent appropriations, $41,- 

 349.69; Legislative expenses. $705.21; chari- 

 table and penal institutions, $402,378.48 ; clerk 

 hire, $53,006.28 ; labor about Capitol, $48,872.- 

 10; for sundry purposes, $988,147.10; total, $1,- 

 905,231.99. The itemized transactions of the 

 general fund for 1893 have been given in the 

 " Cyclopedia " for that year. The total receipts 

 for 1893 and 1894 were $3,835,732.01 ; the total 

 disbursements, $3,693,733.54. 



The number of acres of unsold land, the pro- 

 ceeds of which are applicable to the school fund, 

 is 47,381-47. The amount of productive school 

 fund on Sept. 30, 1893, was $3.380,672.28; on 

 Sept. 30, 1894, it was $3.418,760.25. 



Tax Reduction. When, in July, 1894, it 

 was found that the balance in the general fund 

 was $977,315.71, it was estimated that the 

 amount required to meet the expenses of the 

 year ending Sept. 30, 1895, would be $982,570. 

 The estimate of expected revenues was found to 

 cover that sum, and therefore the State Board 

 of Apportionment ordered the transfer of $742,- 

 570 from the general fund to reduce the State 

 tax levy, being $157,570 to pay the interest on 

 the certificates of State indebtedness incurred 

 between 1866 and 1886 ; $50,000 for the support 

 and maintenance of free high schools ; $30,000 

 for the /o mill tax for normal schools, and $2,430 

 for the support and maintenance of the State 

 University, leaving to be levied $240,000. 



Valuation. The valuation by the State 

 Board of Assessment of all property for 1893 

 was $654.000,000, on which the State tax for the 

 year, at -001557676 per cent., amounted to $1,- 

 370,592.15. The valuation for 1894 was $600,- 

 000,000, on which the State tax for the year, at 

 0004 per cent., amounted to $595,684,90. The 

 total town, city,, village, and county taxes for 

 1894 were $14.725,939.47. 



The State Board of Deposit, finding it impos- 

 sible to loan the State funds, as provided by law, 

 at 3 per cent., fixed the rate of interest at 2 per 

 cent, from and after March 1, 1894. 



Insurance. The amount of license tax re- 

 ceived from fire insurance companies during 1893 

 was $84,829.16; for 1894, $90.689.21 : from life 

 companies, for 1893, $31,996.20 ; for 1894. $33,- 

 744.04 ; from accident companies, for 1893, $5,- 

 825.91 ; for 1894, $5,497.80 : total for 1893, $122,- 

 651.27 ; for 1894, $129,931.05. 



