The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1907-01-11
TO THE
FORTY-F0URTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF MISSOURI

To the Forty Fourth General Assembly
The making OF laws for Il great COM
monwealth is n great undertaking.. You
have come to the scenes OF your laDors
under most favorable conditions. Mis-
souri, 10 prospecting In wealth. In popuIa-
tion, and In morals Is second 70 none,
Every city, county. township ana town rs
advnIhGihg IN yn mS'f have come at a time
when much is needed to be done, ana
much will be expected OF you your re-
sponsibllity Ii large, for you meet In the
beginning OF the great era OF government
by the people. and the measures to caiiy
into effect this idea In this commonWealtn
must come from you. II Is for you 10
-crystalize the Missouri spirit OF law en-
forcement into effective statutes. IL II
my province TO suggest measures ior
In your Judgment may seem best for the
people ] would not have you. II
could substitute my Judgment Tor your
own My views may not always be your
views but the opinions shall give you
will be the honest sentiments OF ono
man sincerely expressed with the weltaFe
of the people 'lG Eina In @lHd
The finances Of the state were never In
better condition. on the hrst Day Of jan jan
balance in the treasury belonging 20 ~ ~
funds OF $. $50. 45o.75, including s3Ii,5Sg.s 80
in the revenue fund and on the a 2x5h Iay
cash balance in the state treasury OF
S2222.SIolo. belonging to the various
FUNDS, tnrlullUE NOOA,u6JsGS III Ali'
enue fund. The totai income from all
sources for the biennial reriod ending De-
cember Gath. 1906, was lllOS. 1860. the
1S'aI IL baiance Of g 2sg. siUio now
on hand The receipts of the treasury
show healthy growth due TO increased
population and wealth OF the state. WhIe
this balance is large the demands for
appropriations VIII probably be greater
than before, and caution should be eyer
cised, and economy practiced in making
APPROXIMATIONS as heretofore. a surplus
is better thnn n deficit. While libcrality
should be shown all OF the state instltu-
lions, extravaganza should be constantly
guarded against.
Estimated Income.
The state auditor estimates the total
receipts into thu state revenue fund for
the ensuing biennial period Will be about
y7,1G5 900. 90. The appropriate lions should
be kept within the limits Of the estimated
revenues. the surplus OF course, pelns
taken into consideration.
Collateral inheritance Tax.
During the past two years tho collatt :
sral Inheritance tax mas mas SmoSht ot rho no
State University, ana 10 made available
By legislative appropriation. The income
from this tax varies greatly from year To
year and as a consequence the Cniver-
sity cannot count definitely on any nKed
sum from IT, 1t would be better plan
to have this tax diverted into the revenue
fund and a regular appropriation made
for the University from the revenue fund
Departments.
The departments Of Labor; Building and
Loan, Mines and Mining, Factory, Beer
Inspection, Dairy Commissioner Insur
anca, Game Warden and Auiut0nt Gen
eral have been well m Tn9,nsl by ssaPanG
their duties. Each OF these Department.
will submit for YOUR consideration de'
tailed report OF its work for the past twt
years. so that 1t will be unnecessary &c
review each one now.
The Building and Loan Department re-
ports that there are l2l building ana ioai
.Is.tf Ia Nytfh Al o.
OF assets In 1906 Of j2,599. 10. FOR th'
first time In the past decade there Wa
not Il failure In 1905 or 1906. such asso
Citations in this state are now entirely
on the local basis, the national plan nav
ing been disastrous. On September lat
1906, the total assets Of EuCh ASSOCIATIONS
in Missouri were SS,leb, JHuub.
The insurance department has grow
to be OF great Importance To tho people
The work Of that department during ii'
past two years In protecting policy hold
crs and IN cXpclliuE undesirable com
panics from the state has been most com
mcndahlc. Tho two per cent tax col
lcctcd from the insurance companies Iu
the year 1906 amounts to $lJI,O66. ul
which sum has been TUNED over to tE
state treasurer, as required by law, j.,
sides this, tho fees collected by TINS q"
partmcut from the various companies g.
the year 1900 Up to b'ermhrr ISL
placed to the credit Of the insurance dc
partmcnt fund in the treasury NJ IL
state. The question Of insurance rs on.
OF NlAIl tbllt'lA " NiH l'''li'. 20
forms u insurance the people 81 Missoul
paid during the year 1903 SaO53G 3o2. Fu
life insurance premiums alone there ""
paid to companies dumicilcd IA oiht
states Sll,t56, is6.Ol; the amount lAI
back TO Missouri policy holders durin
that period WAS $t5Ii,n2.bs. The inErs
LEGATIONS Of the conduct Of some OF IA
great Insurance companies during IN
past two years developed many abuse
q trust on the part Of the onicers ,, an
abuses, It Is claimed, are being corrected
Through the action OF the various stat
Insurance commissioners of the Unite
States, certain laws have been recon
mCnded that commend 10 your cuiSi'
Grafton:
a standard policy act, Tor use OF MI III
An annual anportionmcnt act, to r,
quire life insurance companies either
pay annual dividends or credit Il
amount earned to the different policy
holders. This act would limit me amour
of surplus which the companies are pc
mitted to retain in their treasures.
An act prohibiting discrimination al
rebatlng between agents and policy-hol'
An act prohibiting corporations fro
acting as agents OF life insurance con
An act regulating the election Of tine d
rectors OF mutual life insurance con
An act prohibiting the publishing
estimates and illustrations which mi
represent the terms Of any policy, or Il
benefits or advantages promised thereb
An act prohibiting HE insurance cor
panles from making any kind Of a,polit
cal contribution.
An act forbidding insurance compani
from expcndlng more than 1000 for nj
specifled purpose without the consent
the board Of directors
An act prohibiting life insurance cor
punies from paying any officer sala
In excess of $50 900 annually.
An act making the policy the emit
contract between the Interested part
and defining the status OF the perBo
who solicit life insurance,
An act regulating the disbursements
life insurance companies.
An act reuuirin0 On-rcsldent or fC
-clgn life insurance companies to keep
least 40 per cent OF premiums recciv
from Missouri policy holders Invest
within this state.
Penal Institutions.
The penitcntury at Jefferson city is
largest single prison in the world and
practically sclf-sustaining. There W,
on December 5tL 1906 2,05l prisoners.
compared TO 2.16I January LIST, 1905. I
average daily per capita cost for the t
years 1866 was 5I.lS cents, This
capita IL calculated by including all lite
M exCept repairs and new bul