MICHIGAN. 



453 



the Merriman law applied to depot companies a 

 still further increase of $12,175.90 was effected. 

 Every one of these rulings was challenged by the 

 railroad companies, and an appeal was taken to the 

 Supreme Court, the department being sustained in 

 every instance. The increased revenue due to in- 

 creased rates of taxation fixed by the Merriman law 

 was $127.150.49. 



Banks. The growth of the business of State 

 banks since the present banking law was enacted in 

 1889 has been phenomenal, deposits having increased 

 $57.764,665.01, and loans $48,320,831.11. On Dec. 1, 

 1898, the date of the last call, the total loans were 

 $79,136,528.24 ; real estate, furniture, arid fixtures, 

 $3,960,988.02 ; cash, $22,924,209.47. Of the liabili- 

 ties the aggregate capital stock paid in was $12,- 

 008,600 : surplus fund and undivided profits, $4.892,- 

 580.92 ; deposits, $89,948,790 ; notes and bills re- 

 discounted, $76,754.81. The total footings were 

 $106,021,735.73. 



The increase in deposits during the year ending 

 Dec. 1, 1898, was $10,625,638.27, and the increase in 

 loans during the same period was $8,338,308.21. 

 The deposits of the national banks of Michigan in- 

 creased about $4,000,000 during the same year. 



During the year 11 new State banks were organ- 

 ized and 1 failed with liabilities of $11,040.68. One 

 went into voluntary liquidation and 4 decreased 

 their capital an aggregate amount of $67.000. The 

 net increase of capital was $143,500. Six private 

 bankers failed with total liabilities of $484,000. 

 There are now 188 State banks and 3 trust com- 

 panies. 



Insurance. For 1898 the report shows that the 

 total of risks written by stock and mutual compa- 

 nies was $238,772,319; premiums received, $4,467,- 

 290 ; losses paid, $2,457,742. 



The business of the 4 Michigan companies show 

 the following increases over 1897: Risks written, 

 $5,648.866 ; premiums received. $14,624; losses paid, 

 $72,652. 



The latest figures at hand for life and accident 

 companies are those for 1897. The total figures 

 showing the Michigan business of all classes of com- 

 panies are as follows : Policies issued, $27.850,705, an 

 increase over 1896 of $3,959,569; insurance in force 

 Dec. 31, $136,571,796, an increase of $6,646,516; 

 premiums received, $4,572,519, an increase of $220,- 

 540; losses incurred, $1,903,218, an increase of 

 $320,031. During the year 35 companies were au- 

 thorized to do business in the State. 



The following shows the Michigan business of co- 

 operative life and accident associations: Policies 

 written, 28,335 ; amount, $17,976,111 ; certificates in 

 force at the close of the year, 36,719 ; amount, $46,- 

 979,764. 



The Michigan business of fraternal associations 

 was as follows : Certificates written, 45,570 ; amount, 

 $44,865.225 ; certificates in force at the close of the 

 year, 187,057; amount, $324,065,830 ; losses paid, 

 $1,722,876; mortuary assessments, $1,896,676. 



Casualty, fidelity, and miscellaneous companies 

 made the following showing: Accident insurance 

 written, $53.949,718 : surety, fidelity, and employers' 

 liability, $18,748,165; plate glass, $991,234; miscel- 

 laneous, $611,600; total, $79,800,717. These com- 

 panies collected $332,219, and incurred losses aggre- 

 gating $122,399. 



Labor. The reports of factory inspection in 

 1898 are summarized as follows: The whole number 

 of factories inspected was 4,556, the number run- 

 ning at the time of inspection 4,201, 355 being idle. 

 They aggregated 42,733| hours' run per day, or an 

 average of 10.2, and when running full time 

 would have run 276,4674 hours per week. They 

 ran 255,967^ at the time of inspection. The total 

 months run in the past year was 45,887^, or an 





average per factory of 10.7. There were 168,433 

 employees when running full capacity, arid at the 

 date of inspection 138,598. Of these, 118,863 were 

 males, 19,735 females, and 2,634 under sixteen years 

 of age. The total nunrber on the last pay roll was 

 137,582, of whom 118,082 were males and 19,500 

 females. The daily wages averaged $1.37. Two 

 hundred and one accidents were reported, and 

 changes were ordered in 1,224 factories. The pro- 

 prietors of 2,643 of the factories reported an in- 

 crease in business, 1,537 no increase, and 21 refused 

 to answer. More capital had been invested, in 702 

 of the institutions to the amount of $4.274,693. In 

 2,817 factories they report more employees to the 

 number of 22,337. 



A report on the mine workers of the upper penin- 

 sula covering. 1897 shows that 33 mines were can- 

 vassed in the iron range 12 at Marquette and Me- 

 nominee each, and 9 at Gogebic ; 8,932 miners were 

 employed, 3.273 under contract. The highest and 

 lowest wages per day were $5 and 45 cents, respect- 

 ively, with an average of $1.74. Board at these 

 places averages $16.05 per month; other expenses, 

 $1.10. All the mines were in good condition, 18 

 promising for future operation, 8 fair and 7 poor ; 

 34 fatal and 12 not fatal accidents was the record 

 for 1897, and the total output of ore was 5,829,505 

 tons. 



The total amount earned by 833 railroad men was 

 $505,008.35 a year, and the total amount saved 

 $32.522.73. 



A decision of the Supreme Court in November 

 declared against boycotting as unlawful whenever 

 it uses threats of injury to persons or property in 

 any form. 



Food Inspection. The report of food inspection 

 for the last six months of the year shows that 32 

 prosecutions for violation of the dairy and food 

 laws were brought by the department during the 

 last six months ; 10 cases were brought to trial, the 

 defendant being convicted in every case. The law 

 of 1897 concerning oleomargarine was pronounced 

 invalid by the Supreme Court because it passed 

 the Senate without an enacting clause, although 

 this defect was remedied before the bill went to the 

 Governor for his signature. 



Suit was brought against the Live-Stock Sanitary 

 Commission to compel it to pay the market value of 

 sound cattle for 28 Jerseys which it had slaughtered 

 and which were found to be diseased. The Court 

 upheld the commission, which had awarded $1 a 

 head. 



State Lands. At the beginning of the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1898, the whole number of 

 acres held by the State was $720,375.84. The num- 

 ber of acres of part-paid land forfeited to the State 

 during the year was 558.50; number of acres of 

 swamp land forfeited, 691.67; number of acres of 

 delinquent land deeded by the Auditor General 

 under the tax homestead law of 1803, 56.426.80; 

 number of acres of tax homestead land reverted to 

 the State for non-compliance with the law,3.957.S9 ; 

 number of acres patented to the State by the General 

 Government. 127.16; total, 783,147.06. 



The number of acres of land sold during the year 

 was 22,871.21 ; number of acres of swamp land 

 licensed, 3,634.71 ; number of acres entered as home- 

 stead land under delinquent tax land act of 1893, 

 61,107.03. This left a total of 695,034.11 acres held 

 for sale and homestead entry at the close of the 

 year. 



Mortgages. The mortgages on farms recorded 

 in the State during the year ending April 30, 1898, 

 numbered 23,730, while those on village realty were 

 17,622. The farm mortgages reached $5,053,804, 

 and the village and city property $16.195,199. The 

 rate of interest averaged 7 per cent. The mortgages 



