Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-01-15

| banks Of the State which are incorporated
| under the general Incorporation law to make
returns Of their financial condition to the State
Auditor, AID also empowers the Auditor to
make or cause to be made, examination of
| such banks as often as four times year.
| Chapter GO, acts of the Fifteenth General As
| sembly, provides for the Inauguration Of saw
| ings banks. and requires the Auditor 10 exam
| inc into their condition and report the came to
| the General Assembly. The law does not fix
the compensation of the examining officers 1t
should be amended in this respect, and should
| also require the banks to pay the expenses of
at least one annual examination.
| It is the bounden duty of the State to protect
| by legislation far as it can, the interests Of
depositors in banking institutions Of this char
acter, and I suggest that thelaw be amended 80
that no bank shall be incorporated under the
general Incorporation law in the future, unless
| the shareholders in such banks shall be liable
for twice the amount Of stock they have sub
| scribed for.
| The Auditor Is the accounting officer of the
State, and a 80 has charge Of the insurance and
banking interests. In view of the arduous and
constantly increasing duties of the Auditor, it
would be advisable to transfer the banking de-
partment to the charge OF the Treasurer Of
| State.
REDUCTION OF INTEREST.
In view of the fact that money has become
| quite abundant and cheap, / see no reason why
| the present ma ximum rate Of interest should
| be retained on our statute books. 1 am aware
that there is quite sentiment against all laws
| regulating rates Of interest, and arguments
htving much cogency are presented on that
| SIDE Yet we have among our laws one on the
subject of usury, and l am not prepared to
recommend its repeal. Whatever the efficiency
Of this class of laws may be, I think there can
be no doubt the tendency, on the paat of those
having money to lend, is to 60 to the maximum
limit, whatever that may be, especially in deal
ing those who feel themselves necessitated to
borrow on short time 1 therefore suggest
that the highest rate of interest permissible on
contracts in this State be fixed at s per cent
| TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS.
| At the last session of the General Assembly,
| the Board of Trustees of the Institution of the
Deaf and Dumb was legislated out of Office,
| board of three members by the General As
sembiy That body proceeded to make choice
4 accordingly; but, as the new act had not then
taken effect, l was obliged to consider the
election nullity. /, however, appointed the
| persons thus chosen, viz: Alfred Hebard, Fred
rea!e, and John d. Stubenrauch, and, upon
their qualifying, commissioned them Trustees
of the Institution Of the Deaf and Dumb.
Mrs. S. P. Rider, who was elected at the last
| Pleasant, declined the Office, being about b.
remove from the State; whe eupon appointed
Margaret A. Cleaves, M. D., OF Davenport, to
the vacant place. All of these appointments
hold until this session Of the General As
| sembly.
1 have prepared tables, showing the
amount of appropriations asked for the
| State institutions, the aggregate cost of
each institution for the biennial period,
the cost per capita, per month, of sup
porting the inmates of the State institutions