The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-24


state mandatory on foreign companies,
for the purpose of defraying the ex-
penses of examination. The law makes
no distinction as to whether examina-
tioHs have actually been made or the
certlheate of a commissioner of another
state has been accepted in lieu of the
examination. The companies must pay
the fee whether they have submitted
to examination or not.
| Fear Other States
Minnesota insurance companies are
up in arms over the new codes pro-
vision compelling the enforcement of
this examination tax. While they are
not injured SO materially as the COM
panles of other states the insurance
laws of the various states of the Union
| are nearly all along retaliatory lines.
Thus the imposition of such a tax in
Minnesota on foreign companies doing
] business in the state viii be imme-
diately met with the enforcement of a
similar law in neighboring states where
| Minnesota companies have written
| large, lines of Insurance.
do not think that the provision
relating to taxation for examination,
contained in the new code, was entirely
intentional, said prominent insur-
ance attorney yesterday, "but the pro-
vision is none the less burdensome It's
enactment into law would be followed
by the rigid enforcement of a similar
law IN other states. and the Minnesota
companies would suffer heavily. I am
| certain that the commission did not in
tend to promulgate a law that will re-
| quire multiplicity, of examinations of
1 the condition of company in any one
year, and the enforcing of fee for the
examination if it is not made. Still,
that is the way interpret the provi-
| sion in the new CODE
Attorneys for the insurance compa-
| MES having home or state offices In
st. Paul are engaged in comparing the
new code wihh the present laws. and
will appear before the insurance COM
mittees of the legislature to discuss the
provisions of the new code as relating
to the insurance business of the state.
New Legislation in Revision of Laws
In a published interview one of the
| commissioners to revise the statutes
| declared: "Our object has been to
leave the law as it is, except where
| changes are made necessary by con-
fiicting and inconsistent statutes. or by
rulings of the supreme court. Even
| these changes are very few. On the
| whole, the present statutes are retain
| ed. But in order to compile all the
| laws of the state in one volume, of
| course we have been obliged to omit
| many laws which are unconstitutional.
obsolete and immaterial.''
This amounts to claiming that there
| is no new legislation embodied in the
report of the commission. A casual in
| spection of the report will disclose
many sections which are marked
| new at the end of the section. A
careful examination of the whole re-
port will disclose innumerable in
stances of the insertion of new clauses
and phrases; in other words, new
legislation, which, to say the least, does
not seem to be made necessary by
| conflicting and inconsistent statutes or
| by ruling of the state supreme court.
1t would take months to compare the
! report with the old laws so as to show
up all these changes. Attention may,
! however, be called to the following in
stances. Anyone who picks up the re-
port will be able to find many more
by inspection:
Food inspection
| Chapter 81 of the revision relating to
! food inspection, contains the following
changes from the old law: Cd Omits the
Budd- law of 1903; (2) increases punish
| ment for the violation of several laws:
1853 prohibits use of glucose in cane or
| sorghum syrup; (4) permits sale of jel-
| lies and jams containing injurious adul-
/ terants If labeled; (5) fails to prohibit sale
of spices obtaining poisonous or injurious
ingredients; CO. omits from vinegar law
prohibition of artificial coloring in other
| than cider vinegars.
The revision also condenSes important
label provisions of the pure food law into
| general requirements which might be
| evaded. and in some cases omits label re-
| quirements. 1t also makes conviction un-
der the liquor law more difficult by forcing
| the authorities to prove that certain in
| gradients are unhealthful.
| Railroad Tariffs
Section 60, chapter 2S, relating to long
and short haul attempts to introduce a
law through the medium of this act which
| II made effective will revolutionize the
raiiroading industry of the state as pointed
out in e Globe of Jan. %.
Preservation of Game
! Chapter 80. relating to the preservation
| of game, contains the following new mat
ter: ID The enforcement of the game
| OF. the justice courts by the manner in
| which penalties are to be imposed (2)
most of the sections are without special
| penalties. but instead there is a blanket
clause which fixes the same penalty for
| every mlsdemeanor under the law. The
| fine for killing game out of season is al
most uniformly SO. ,(S( The revision
requires the superintendent of fisheries to
| furnish bond of 81 600. which he did not
have to do under, the old law.
Salaries of County Officers
County auditors and county treasurers
| have been. placed on new system of
compensation involving number of
| changes in the compensation which these
officers receive under the existing law.
Corporations
An examination of a few pages of chap
| ter so, covering corporations. reveals the
| following changes: Section II, subsection
1, contains requirement that the corpor-
ate name shall end with company, . "cor-
pora ton, association or .'incorpora-
tion.' This being made applicable to all
corporations will be embarrassing to social
and charitable organizations which often
prefer the name society and particu-
| larly Objectionable to the fraternal organ
izations and probably to the Chamber of
Commerce, Boards of Trade "Ex-
changes which may desire to incorpor-
ate.
| The same section u, subsection 3 by
the words sif limited implies that the
duration of corporation may be unlim-
tied. But section 10 Of the same chapter
clearly limits the duration of a railroad
! corporation to some period to be specified
and of every other corporation not to eX-
ceed.. thirty years. with a possible re-
| newal. The last paragraph of section IL
permitting the lawful provisions to be in
serted in the certificate of Incorporation, is
also new.
Section IL provides for the adoption of
bylaws by directors and amendment of
only at regular or special meeting
called therefor" The provision relating to
amendment by stockholders is entirely
new
Section 19 authorizes railroad corpora
tion to be formed for any period specified
| in it's certificate" This is an important
extension of the limitation of the duration