4 BULLETIlsr 786, U. S. DppARI^MEFT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Of the 1,161 companies replying to the questionnaire 124: were 

 incorporated by special acts of the legislatures, while 967 were incor- 

 porated under general statute. Twenty-one of the companies existed 

 as voluntary associations without incorporation and 49 gave no 

 information on this particular question. 



Most of the companies incorporated by special charter are in the 

 East and Southeast. The companies in the Middle West and the 

 far West, on the other hand, are almost universally organized and 

 operated under general statutes enacted specifically for farmers' 

 mutuals. The unincorporated associations were almost entirely con- 

 fined to Indiana and Missouri. 



MEMBERSHIP, VOTES, AND ANNUAL MEETING. 



One thousand one hundred sixteen companies reported the num- 

 ber of members. The smallest membership of any company was 25 

 and the largest was 32,433, the average membership for the 1,116 

 companies being 1,532. Twenty-eight companies had a membership 

 of less than 100, while 313 had a membership of between 100 and 

 600, and 257 had a membership of between 500 and 1,000, making a 

 total of 598 companies reporting, each of which had less than 1,000 

 members. The companies having less than 100 members were in 

 general recent additions to the list of farmers' mutuals. Two hundred 

 sixty-seven companies had a membership of between 1,000 and 

 2,000 ; 130, between 2,000 and 3,000 ; and 62, between 3,000 and 5,000 ; 

 while 59 companies had 5,000 or more members. Nearly four-fifths 

 of the 1,116 companies reporting membership, therefore, were organi- 

 zations of less than 2,000 members. 



Information concerning the voting privilege of members was 

 given by 1,150 companies. Of these, 933 reported that each mem- 

 ber had one vote, while 217 reported that plural votes based upon 

 either the amount of insurance or the number of policies held by a 

 given member were allowed. Of the 217 companies allowing plural 

 votes, 179 used the aniount of insurance and 38 used the number of 

 policies held in determining the number of votes granted to a mem- 

 ber. The prevailing plan, as the figures indicate, is to allow each 

 member one vote regardless of amount of insurance or number of 

 policies held. More than four-fifths of the companies followed this 

 plan. 



Concerning the date of the annual meeting, 1,144 companies gave 

 information. Of these, 734 held the annual meeting in January, 

 82 in June, 75 in October, 63 in December, 44 in August, 34 in Sep- 

 tember, and 33 in May, while smaller numbers held such meeting 

 during yet other months, the date in general being fixed at such 

 time of the year as, for the locality in question, would make it most 

 convenient for members to attend. 



