The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1907-01-17

insurance companies, seven fire insur-
ance companies and three casualty COM
anies a total of fifty-three, organized
under the laws of and domiciled in In
diana and carrying hundreds of mill
supervision of these is TO be added the
supervision of forty-nine legal reserve
HE insurance companies. 125 fire insur-
companies, thirty-seven fraternal insur-
ance companies and nineteen assess
ment companies, a total of 271. organ
lzed under the laws of other States and
doing business in the State of Indiana
"A grand total of 324.
, THESE 324 companies last year col
Iected In premiums from the people of
indiana the sum OF $3.50 SEA-. The
securities entrusted to the care of the
to frequent change and substitution.
Ihelr acceptance and care require skill
and knowledge and unqualified in
tegrity as well.
The fees collected by this department
Tor the year 1905 aggregated s66.?53.21.
and Tor this year SI2,660.00. The insur-
aggregated s3O3.7S6.16.
French Lick and West Baden.
For a number Of years an incorpo-
LICK Hot mPa 9nown a as the Fmnsr
company known as the West Baden Ho-
tel Company. have. respectively, owned
LICK o and West taT Bade hotels in a6 Prs1eh
with the hotels, buildings have been
erected and devoted to use as casinos.
many elaborat. and expensive gambling
devices. Gambling has been carried on
therein to such an extent as to consti-
has been done directly by the conipa-
MES, or, under lease from them, with
their knowledge and c~onnivance. Condi-
State. The Attorney General, in connec-
ton with the prosecuting attorney of
the local judicial circuit, were directed
bling paraphernalia, and 10 institute
suit against the hotel companies TO en-
join the further operation of the casi-
thousands of dollars of gambling para
phernalia seized and a suit instituted
for injunctive relief. The Circuit Court
had no authority to intervene in the
premises and sustained a demurrer TO
its complaint. Appeal has been taken
from the decision of the court, and the
case is now pending in the Supreme
Court of the State. If, in the decision of
this case, the Supreme Court sustains
the action Of the lower court, the well
fare of the State will require such leg
islation at your hands as will clothe the
state with effective powers in such
Under the present statute the gam
bling paraphernalia seized by the State
cannot be destroyed until there is a
conviction of the persons in whose pos
ings have been instituted and are still
pending in the local courts of Orange
County, but, so far, the State has been
unable to bring these cases to trial. The
statute ought to be amended so as to
authorize the destruction by fire of al
summarily and without trial.
Removal of Public Officers.
The French Lick and West Baden
cases. and the experience of the State in
q 80 e., $500
of State, disclose the need of a we'll
considered and effective statute for the
removal OF public officials who wilfully
fail in the performance of the duties of
their office or who are guilty of mis-
feasance or malfeasance therein. The
present statute is believed to be invalid.
Railroad Commission
The act of the Sixty-fourth General
Assembly creating a State Railroad
Commission has more than justified its
imperfect and others almost wholly in
efficient. but the commission has been
able to render signal service TO the peo-
weakness of the law under which they
have worked. In some instances of
fragrant wrong. it has had no power TO
able, even in such cases, to 10 some
thing. 1t has exposed the abuse to the
public eye, fixed the responsibility and
statute. II the present act is upheld by
the courts, changes in the law should
be made by amendment and not by new
and independent legislation.
The law should be strengthened in
many particulars. giving the commits
sion additional powers in cases of rail-
locking switches, physical defects of
ways n means, the requirement Of
safety appliances In intra-state ira fic
the. removal of upon proper
notice by orders concerning rates,
routes OF shipment and the movement of
ing an appeal from the finding of the
commission to the Appellate Court,
should be amended by substituting a
p a%n nssi for the Drihn Ing OF suit In
grieved by the action of the commits
sion, with the right of appea! from the
a assa ha n OK sue snr c4 our rf9v,sion sno qba
commission of suits in its own name for
the enforcement of the law whenever
the public welfare shall require.
State Board Of TAI Commissioner.
The work coming before the state
Board Of Tax Commissioners has grown
greatly that the amendment of the law
relating thereto has become an impera-
tive necessity.
Assessment of Banks.
Under the present law the valuation
OF banks, State and national, and of
trust tOulDdnlCS 10 liltut ny iotdl
authorities. From wide observation and
information 1 am prepared to say to
you that there is no other class of prop
erty in the State so u%nequally valued.
In some counties these institutions are
assessed as low as sixty per cent of
the amount of their capital, surplus or
undivided profits. Having in view the
equality of valuation as a fundamental
principle of just taxation. L recommend
that all banks, State, national and pri-
vate. and all trust companies be re-
...a.A1 80 n .af An4- g..
with the Auditor of State and that the
State Board of Tax Commissioners be
authorized to make the valuation OF all
board would give uniformity of assess
ment of this class of property wherever
situated.
emptions in the assessment of mort
gagged real estate has also become the
subject of no inconsiderable abuse. The
the reference of all such affidavits filed
with the auditor to the county assessor.
who should be required to examine the
same and to refer them, with such rec
ommendation as he may think their
merits warrant, to the count board of
review, which board should be given
full authority to pass upon them and to
allow or disallow the claims made by
them according as their merits or the
good faith of the innstruments in cues.
the amendment OF section 2 OF the act
providing for mortgage exemptions.
3 The schedule of personal property
provided in the present tax law should
be so amended as TO require every per-
son owning or holding taxable notes.
mortgages, bonds. or other securities
to write into his return an itemized
statement, giving each note, mortgage,
bond or other security, with the amount
of the claim it evidences and the name
of the obligor. Each citizen should al
so be required to particularly specify in
his return all stock he holds in any
foreign corporation, giving the amount
Of each certificate
Public Printing.
The law relating to the public print
ing Of the State should be revised. The
Importance of the subject is made APP
parent by the statement of the annual
cost of the public printing %ccount. For
the fiscal year 1905 the institutional
printing cost s27,110.64, that for the
several departments and the State gen.
orally $79, 1852, an aggregate of $780,
S46.26. For the fiscal year 1906 the in
stitutional printing cost $27,0 02 20, that
for the several departments and the
state generally $59,994.S0, an aggregate
of $S6,997.09.
State Institutions.
The State institutions, taken as a
whole, never were in better condition