336 



INDIANA. 



ever just their cause, emerge from the conflict the 

 greater sufferers. The opportunities of trusts in 

 regard to wage reductions are exceptional, and their 

 desires are always equal to their opportunities. 

 They are not trammeled by State laws, and they 

 defy Federal authority." 



( in Nov. 14 another strike ended at Hartford city, 

 where more than 600 window-glass workers had 

 gone out ; they resumed work without the advance 

 they had demanded, pending arbitration. In re- 

 gard to this industry the following details are 

 given: "Indiana is the greatest window-glass pro- 

 ducing State in the West and one of the greatest in 

 the United States. In it are 40 window-glass con- 

 cerns ; 20,000 skilled workmen and more than 30,000 

 laborers are affected by the resumption." 



Fr.nn a compilation of statistics by the State 

 statistician it appears that in 21 industries in re- 

 gard to which he has made comparison the wages 

 in every one were higher in 1898 than in 1897. The 

 largest" advance was shown in the business of iron 

 and steel castings, where the average daily wage 

 was 17 cents higher in 1898. 



Complaint is made in behalf of factory employees 

 against the practice of many companies in "em- 

 ploying a firm of physicians to attend the medical 

 needs of their employees, and for such services de- 

 ducting a stated monthly amount from all em- 

 ployees' wages, the company paying the physicians 

 a salary and retaining all left as a commission." 



Banks. Following is a summary from the Au- 

 ditor's report : 



"The 94 State banks of discount and deposit 

 show resources as follows: Jan. 11, 1898, $16,715,- 

 669.10; April 12, $16,659,572.55; July 21, $17,257,- 

 156.86, and Oct. 31, $17.803,861.74. The item of 

 "cash on hand," in the aggregate, shows a much 

 better financial condition throughout the State than 

 ever before in years. Last January it aggregated 

 $1.703,070.52, w'hile on Oct. 31 it had increased to 

 $1,839,593.42. There was also a much heavier 

 holding of Government bonds by the banks ap- 

 parent than at the first of the year. On Jan. 11 the 

 amount aggregated $119,165, while on Oct. 31 the 

 amount rose to $316,381. 



The statement of the liabilities shows that the 

 amount of " individual deposits on demand " has 

 increased over a million and a half during the time 

 covered in the report. On Jan. 11 there was $9,- 

 372,257.44 in the banks subject to demand of de- 

 positors. This had risen Oct. 31 to $10,986,882.88. 



One peculiar feature of the report is that the 

 banks and trust companies of the State have gained 

 over $3,000,000 in business during the year, while 

 the building associations of the State have lost 

 about the same amount of business. 



The assets of trust companies were $3,647,228.79 

 in 1897 and $4.413,273.97 in 1898, while the cash 

 belonging to the company's funds rose from $150,- 

 714.58 to $225,689.26, and the cash in trust funds 

 from $224,102.61 to $281,311.55. 



The resources of the savings banks increased from 

 $4,882,638.11 to $5,651,879.11, the cash on hand 

 or deposit from $871,873.35 to $1.178.184.74, and 

 the United States bonds from $97,000 to $122,000. 

 Following is the statistical account of the savings 

 banks for 1898: Open accounts first of the year, 

 $19,707; deposits made during the year, $5,225,- 

 840.83; withdrawn during the year, $'4,473,068.16; 

 interest earned, $258,602.33 ; salaries and expenses, 

 $:W.-i:57.74; amount of dividends, $168,785.91. 



Hiiildi HIT and Loan Associations. There were 

 in November 488 of those in operation. During 

 the year 30 retired and 2.) liquidated under the law. 

 Thirteen were consolidated, while 9 new ones were 

 Incorporated. The report shows ;i decrease! in vol- 

 ume of business done by the associations during the 



year of $2,735,603.60. The reduction of expenses 

 during the year was $103,027.98. The holdings of 

 real estate increased $506,025.08, and the fund for 

 contingent losses increased $100,503.49. The mem- 

 bership decreased 9,748, and the number of shares 

 was reduced 83,947. 



Insurance. For the year ending June 30, 1898, 

 the people of Indiana paid $8,179,241.93 to insur- 

 ance companies belonging in other States or foreign 

 countries. This does not include premiums paid to 

 assessment and fraternal associations doing busi- 

 ness in the State. In addition to this, several com- 

 panies are operating under special charters granted 

 prior to the adoption of the present constitution, 

 which make no reports to the department, and a 

 number of fraternal societies take advantage of the 

 exemption of the law and make no reports ; so that 

 $10,000,000 is believed by the Auditor to be a safe 

 estimate. 



Railroads. The increase of mileage in the State 

 reported for 1897 was but 7 miles. 



In February the Supreme Court rendered a de- 

 cision upholding the constitutionality of the co- 

 employees' liability law of 1893, and affirming a 

 judgment by the Cass Circuit Court to William J. 

 Montgomery for $300 damages against the Pitts- 

 burg, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway 

 Company on account of injuries received by reason 

 of the negligence of an engineer of a freight train 

 on which Montgomery was a brakeman. Besides 

 overruling all the claims of the railroad attorneys 

 as to the law's constitutionality, the opinion also 

 ruled that an employee could not waive his title for 

 damages for injuries by signing an agreement be- 

 fore the injury was incurred. Montgomery had 

 signed such an agreement by the terras of which 

 he became a participant in the benefits of the rail- 

 road's relief fund on condition that he released the 

 company from all claims for damages. 



By another decision the Supreme Court sustained 

 the three-cent fare law in a case where the Citizen's 

 Street Railway Company of Indianapolis was con- 

 cerned. 



Products. The crop yield of the year is thus 

 reported by the statistician : Wheat, acres 3,012,- 

 332, bushels 51,001.080 ; corn, acres 3.915,131, bush- 

 els 145,501,404; oats, acres 1,162,451, bushels 33,- 

 490,424 ; rye, acres 62,084. bushels 948,056 ; barley, 

 acres 11,397, bushels 136,234; buckwheat, acres 

 3,733, bushels 61.206; Irish potatoes, acres 66.205, 

 bushels 4,379,044; sweet potatoes, acres 2,215, bush- 

 els 150,062 ; acres of timothy hay, 1,375,390, tons 

 1,802,579 ; acres of clover hay", 1,033.407, tons 1,695, 

 629. 



The yields of wheat, corn, potatoes, hay, and 

 buckwheat as given here are considerably larger 

 than those of 1897, when the total value of farm 

 products was more than $250,000,000. The manu- 

 factured products from materials furnished by the 

 farms of the State amounted in value to $142.- 

 621,839. 



The report of the State Geologist says the State 

 now ranks second in natural-gas production, fourth 

 in petroleum, and seventh in coal. The report 

 further says : 



"The citizens of Indiana are drawing upon their 

 resources with a lavish hand. They not only waste 

 them in their furnaces, their grates, and their stoves 

 by burning them at nil hours and in over-abun- 

 dance, but they also allow 20,000,000 or more 

 cubic feet of gas to escape daily because they are 

 too indolent to plug or cap the wells which have 

 been bored for oil. The natural-gas field of the 

 State originally embraced almost 3,000 square miles. 

 To-day the productive area is less than half that 

 size. The average rock pressure was in the begin- 

 ning 325 pounds ; to-day it is less than 200 pounds.'' 



