The Irish standard., 1908-10-03

under me: than he has rendered during
the past four years. One of my recon-
mrndatinns to the legislature was to give
the attorney general added assistance
funds to prosecute the states timber
trcspass cases and enforce railroad legis-
lation. The. extra cost of thus properly
equipping the attorney generals office
for the extra arduOuS service may have
been $25,O00 in the four years. You are
entitled to know If the expense was war;
ranted. Judge for yourselves. The tim
beI trespasS collections alone amount to
s3220OO. The disputed tax claims col
lectcd amount to $4,000. Tax judgments
recovered and not yet collected approx
mate 100000 more. Judgments recovered
i'll timber trespass cases and uncollected,
pending appeal, reach $4,000; while tim
Der cases in process Of trial approximate
the further sum of 100000. By compare
department for the two years preceding
this four year period of called divided
responsibility" amounted to s25,ooo, or
less than five per cent Of the collections
What kind OF economy and public policy
would that have been. had the legislature
na to an Ra sn
generals department? In trying to save
$25.0cO of expenditure Vie would have lost
over S5oo.o Of revenue! Would you have
called that either business or statesman
ship: But the extra. equipment and spe-
cial counsel furnished the attorney gen
eral were of vast service to the state,
not only i'll the trespaSs and taxation
cases which yielded direct revenue to the
state treasury, but We're Of equal or per-
hars OF even greater service in the rail-
are of vital import to every shipper and
producer in the state. and not only that.
reach the fundamental question of the
sovereign power OF this commonwealth
and its rights under the constitution.
Reorganization Of Insurance Department..
Ono .,f tI,a lit or ,t,,
istiatinn In which take. l believe. par
donable pride, is the reorganization Of the
insurance department., placing It on a sal
M 0 s"S massa fos the frs s
time in the states history a department
thoroughly able to cope effectively with
number of practicable Insurance reforms
that have received national attention.
The efficient, equipment of this depart
ment a. costs e. tSo the state for official expenses
years ago. This. Mr.. jacobson may deem
democratic extravaganza; SO let me in
account. First there was the reorganiza-
ton OF the Northwestern Life Insurance
Company: at that time practically insolv-
ent. owing, to mismanagement, and
with complete loss of all their payments
to the company. Second, there was the
enactment Of complete code Of laws
tec,ing policy holders: and like enact
ments governing mutual fire insurance
companies. assessment accident and
health companies. and hail and cyclone
insurance companies. The exclusion from
Minnesota OF a number of fraudulent and
financially unsound companies was worth
to the state ten times the total cost for
the support Of the department. In four
years the total annual fees collected from
insurance companies in this state. COM
pairing 1907 with 1903. have been in
creased. in part through the normal
growth OF business and in part through
efficient department supervision. in the
sum of $25.000. and the tax collections
have increased approximately S1o4 .OOO
Nor have l included on the credit side of
the ledger the moral and practical value
of Minnesota's participation in national
insurance reforms which received the en-
dorsemcnt of President Roosevelt.
1t this Is Extravaganza, Make the Most
Of 1t.
1t may be that my opponent looks
upon 1t as an extravaganza. that the leg
islnture has seen fit to appropriate about
$4,000 more per annum than was the
former custom for added force. equip
ment and salaries in the department of
public examiner. and you as taxpayers
are entitled to know whether the invest
mcnt has paid. Therefore. 1t gives me
pleasure to report that In the past two
years alone the department Of public ex-
an,iner has recovered and paid into the
state treasury, in round numbers, $50. 900
OF gross earnina3 taxes from railroad, ex.
press and telephone companies, $t1,5co
from state departments, and paid into the
treAeuriea Of counties. cities and school