Salaries--bonds

I eannot too strongly urge that you again submit to the people an amendment to the constitution increaslng the salaries of state offlcers. The offícers comprising the board of state auditors also hold the Important positions of seoretary of state, state treasurer and eommissioner of the Btate land ofüoe, respectively, two of whom recelve only $800 per annum, while the other, the state treasurer, receives but $1,000. Owing to the meager salary and the imposslbillty of compelling a man of ordinary means to leave hls business and live at the capítol, or ev'en of attendinf habitually to hls duties, it has made It necessary to employ deputles who are competent to do the work oL the principal, and paying them a liberal salary. Then a chlef clerk has been appofnted who has had general supervisión of the office, and who has usually done the work whieh the deputy would do In case the principal were present attendlne personally to the duties of the office. The men who have occupled the position of deputy have been good men, and have with few exceptions done their work well, but there is a difference between power and responslbllity and power without respon.-lbility. It cannot be doubted that the interests of the state of Michigan would be greatly benefited by requlrlng all the state officers to attend personally to the duties of their offices. If this were done cnoug-h would be saved in salaries of deputies and clerks about the offices to largely compénsate for the increase, but even if this were not done, the important duties which devolve upon these officers, as members of the board of canvassers and especially as members of the board of state auditors, all requirlng personal attention, would Justify it. It is not just to those holding these Important offices that the pay should be so meager that they must turn over the most important duties to subordlnates. Important as are the officials above mentloned, the case of the attorney-general is none the less so. He Is only pald the inslgnifleant salary of $800 per annum, and he is expected to be the legal --Ivlser of all the state offlcers, electlve and appointive. and the legal advlser to the prosecutlng attorneys of the state, and various other officials, and Is expected to glve legal advice in real estáte, and criminal matters, also in rallroads, Insurance and various other departments of law where corporatlons employ attorneys educated and experlenced fn these particular branches. I believe the state is losing enough to pay a reasonable salary to four attorneys general through lack of payir.g a fair compensation to one. The same provisión should be applled here, and the attorney-general j given a fair salary, and be required to attend personally to the duties of his office. The superintendent of public instruction is another Important state official of whom very mueh is expected, and who Is only pald $1,000 per year. Neither the secretary of state nor h!s deputy has ever been required to glve bond, but that it would seem proper that hoth of these officials should be required to give adequate seuurity for the falthful performance of their responsible duties, and for the safe payment of all moneys coming into their hands. He would also require that a bond be given by the person receiving notary public fees and that the clerk of the state board of auditor, who handles considerable money, should be required to glve a security for the anee of his duties and the safe custody of money and property intrusted to his i ing. The same recommendattons are made j In the case of the englneer and superintendent of buildings and grounds. Some method of protecting the state In the purchase of postage stampa should be provided. The Snpreme Court. During the legislative session of 1893 several plans were proposed for the relief of the Supreme Court. The one finally adopted required the judges to reside at Lansing, and an increase of salary was given them In conslderation thereof. At the time of the adjournment of the legislature there were upwards of 100 cases ready for hearing, but which could not be reached. In the elghteen months slnce that time the calendar has been cleared, and the court feels that under the present eondition of affairs they will be able to keep up with the work. The Judges have been where they could constantly consult together, and I am fully satlsfied that the relief granted has been the most practicable that could have been given, and that it cannot help but lmprove the character of the decisions, In givlng the opinlons of the full court to a greater extent than ever before by being where they can at áll times consult together and have access to the state library. If further relief is needed it seems to me the most practicable plan would be to limit the cases which may be appealed to the supreme court under some proper safeguard. bnould an intermedíate court be created litlgants would be no better satisñed wheri their cases are decided than they are now In the circuit court, and would not be content with anythins short of a decisión by the highest judicial tribunal in the state. Some provisión might be made creating some authority to decide whether a case raises questions that should be passed upon by a higher court. It might be urged that this would be a denial of Justlee in cases where the amount inT? ♦ i. ?s smal'. but there is little doubt that litigants are more times deprived of justice by vexatious appeals than by a denial of the privilege of going to the supreme court, and some cases are now taken there which lnvolve so small an amount that the court should never be compe led to devote any time to it. It tends to bellttle the court and Is not consuls'6 l the ■(USt determma-t'on of reStrikes- The Labor Prublem. 'Labor strikes" Is the caption under whieh the trouble of last eummer is discussed. The governor states that it is undoubtedly the tact that the greatest sufferers were those engaged in the strike, but that fortunately little damage was done by the wanton destruction of property. He trusts that the persons responsible for the one serious wreek whieh occurred, causing the loss of two llves, will be punished. Great praise is given the ïirst Regiment of the Michigan National -juara for the promptnesa with whlch they responded to the cali for duty The fS.i. b,ehav'or of the companles of the Mfth Regiment that were ordered to Ironwood during the troubles last July Is also eommended, and suitable recognltion is made of the excellent judgment that was displayed by Col. Lyon, and the soldierly quaiitie of the troops during that trylng time. In dlscussing these two eventa the governor takes the opportunity of saying that it clearly demonstrates that the Michigan National üuard is under good discipline and can be relied upon in any emergency in which the luterest Ot the state or its people is in danger. The strikes mentlonod above, and others in thig and adjoinlng states, causing Incalculable damage to many interests, and some damage to all interests, raises the pertinent question, what can be done to prevent them in the future? Is there not some way in whlch the differences between canital and labor can be adjusted without the dlsastrous resort to strikes? Capital is aensitive, and it may be qm-stloned whether the very meang used by labor organizations to lncrease wages and get other concessions to better their conditlons does not in the nd have the opposite effect in causing capital to seek investment in some other line which does not requlre the employment of labor. Iabor organizations have done much In educating arui aiding each othtr in times of need. Hy their organizallon they have wielded a power whlch has compelled concessions trom employera which individually they could not have obtamed. No matter how orderly the managers of a strike start in, or how strong the resolutions passed to preserve order and refrain from violence or damage to proprty, It almost invariably happens that beíore a settlement is effeeted there is more or less violence used. In any event It is a place where the lawless element congrégate ready for the flrst oppoitunity for violence and plunder. Among all the numerous sufferers from strikes none suffer so severely, and in the end so dlsastrously as those engaged in the strike. also find It much more dlfficult to recover from lts effect than any otherS. Arbitratloi., compulsory and voluntary, are proposed as a remedy for the existing evils.but neither of these seems to meet the requlrements. Voluntary arbitration lnvolves a mutual agreement to submit maners of difference to arbitrators to be agreed upon, and a further agreement to abide by the decisión when rendered. There is ampie legal m.ichlnery for this now. Compulsory arbitration will be only t.'tablishing another court or courts, in whlch these tles can be settled. In case one party to the di.sagreement should invoke the ald of this new court he must show a violation of contract and an Infringement of personal or property rights, or the courf would have no Jurisdiction. If any of these things have been done, then the courts now existing have jurisdiction and can furnish the remedy. It will be found impossible under our form of government to compel any Corporation or individual to employ raen or to pay them any particular wages. Men of means will suspend or abandon business if its management is taken from their control. It wlU be found equally useless to try and compel men to work unless t is for thelr interest to do so. In the end there must be mutual agreement between the employer and employé, such as will be mutually beneficial, er such relation cannot long exlst. Any astreement of this choracter must also be based on principies of equity and justlce. The dimands of civllization have made the creation of artificial persons a necessity, and mueh as corporations are condemned, modern clvlllzatlon cannot get along without them. Laws have been enacted provlding for the association of capital to carry on large operatlons whlch would be Impossible for an individual to do, and many times the investment is of sucfi a character that no prudent man would be willing to Invest hls all in lt, but is willing to venture a flxed amount which if lost will not ruin him. Thus corporations are given certain powers and privileges and upon them is imposed certain limlted liabilitles and responsibilities. On the other hand labor has been left to fight on single handed so far as law is concerned. The necessities of labor have, however, caused them to organize among themselves, but in order to aceompltsh their object they have been led to do many things not authorized by law, and In some lnstances in direct violation of law. Under the existing circumstances it would seem to be the part of wisdom and justice to provide for the organization of corporations of labor, with as much power and no greater liability than Is imposed on eorporatlons of capital. Créate them as a body corporate, which may make contracts and enforce them, and be empowered in turn to sue and be sued, and In short to do anything they may be authorized to do In the artlcles of incorporation. This would place them on an equallty, and dimeulties between capital and labor would be settled as other dimeulties and agreements are settled. through the courts. It is hardly consistent to condemn labor organizations for taking the law into thelr own hands unless some lawful and practicable method is provided for the proteclion of thelr Interests. There is little doubt that there are dimeulties in the way of carrying on this filan, and it is hardly probable that any aw enacted would at flrst be satisfactory, but wlth the object kept steadily in view of provlding for equitable contracts and an equltable and practical method of their enforcemen, in the end success is eertain. Michigan Mimi, pul CommiiiMlon. By the provislons of act No. 169, public acts of 1893, the governor was authorized to appoint a commission to prepare and report a general municipal Corporation bilí, under which all munlelpalities may become Incorporated, and Hon. William Hartsuff, Hon. Gerrit J. Dlekema and Hon. Edwin F. Conely were appointed aa such commissioners. Soon after appolntment Hon. William Hartsuff reaigned, owlng to press of uiher business, and Hon. Mark S. Brewer was appointed in hls place. This commlsBion has worked falthfully and earnestly to accomplish what the act Imposed upon them. It is my underatanding that tney have not attempted to Introduce any new or startling provisión into the municipal law, but it has been thelr alm to introduce only welltried and tested provisión, those which have been found after years of use to be satisfactory. It is hoped that this report will be such that without material amendment or alteratlon, lt may be passed eariy in the sesston and become a law. I would also urge that an amendment to the conEtitutlon be eariy submitted to the people, provlding that the legislatura shall hereafter not be permltted to enact special municipal charters. It is hardly necessary to cali your attentlon to the great saving of time, lltigatlon and annoyance that would be gained If all villages and cities of the same class were broutjht under the same provisions of law. A blll providing for the incorporation of vlllages and one for the smaller cities Is already prepared and in print, and will be found upon your desks. If these bilis are passed eariy in the session it will save a great deal of work on proposed amendments to various city and village charters throushout the state. Election i.jhv. There is very little, if any, complalnt with reference to the present electlon law, but in the Interest of accuracy and to avoid any change in the returns I renew the recommendation of two years ago, that provisión be made for countlng the vote at intervals during the day by a separate board. As fast as the result ia known it should also be posted in at least one public place, and signed by the board, and further results should be added to it during the day. With this arrangement, the result of elections in most cases would be known and the returns made out aa eariy as 6 or 7 o'clock in the evenlng, and as boards usually receive pay for two days, there would be no increase in expense, but there would be a guaranty of greater accuracy because the men would be fresh and would have ampie time to count the votes and declare the result. Miscellaneoua Matter. The Michigan National Guard a.nd the Michigan Naval Krigade are also subJects which the governor treats on. He says that the former has snown great improvement in maintaining order aod uiscipnne, ana tna.t tne latter, ín cásea thelr services should ever be required, would be of incalculable benefit to the state and nation. At present the brigade, both infantry and naval, (rom adjutantgeneral to corporal, is well-omcered and the men are the equals of any ilke orgaxiizatlon. The númber of building and loan and similar assocla-tions in the átate, the Iarge amount of money which they have loaned and on deposit, and the number of people who are interested In their management, would seem to demand that the State should require reporta to be niaUo from these associations, and that tiiey should also be subjected to some state supervisión. You ' are respeetf ully urged to glve this important matter your care' ful consMeration. The governor recommends that th I state appropriate annualiy, in accordanee wlth the request of the State Grange, the sum of (5,000, or such amount as wlll be suñicient to hold a two-day instituto in every county in the state where the agrlcultural interests are sufflciently important to warrant lt. The needs of the State Horticultural Society are discu3sed, and In view of th I gool wolk it is doing and lts importante, he recommends that the n&eds of the oclety when presented, wlll receive the attention they deserve. The approprlation asked for by th Chlckamauga commission, 120,000, he thinks should be made, to mark witn monuments the posiflons of Michigan regiments and batterles on that famous battlefleld; also that an act pass providlng for the expenses of the Antietam commission in surveying, locating and preserving the battle Unes at Anttetam. The report of the state geologist, which Is the second made in the past fourteen years, is said to be a valuable addition to the reports heretofore made. The good work of the State Pioneer Society is set forth, that their work is one of love for the object in wliioli they are engaged anl that the usual amount of $1,000 will be needed for the ensuing two years. The present method of canvassing votes by the board of county canvassers ia expensive, and no better done than it could be by a much smaller board. This Is a matter well worthy of your consideratlon. And In Conclnnlon. Tou are charged with vast responsibilltles. You are to legisla te for two and a quarter mlllion of people, with as great a variety of interest as any equal number of people in the world. You are to provlde for institutions which have coBt the state more than Jlü.OOO.OOO, ad the malntenance of which costs a vast amount every year. Kvery lnstltutlon, every interest, and every class of our people demand careful consMeratlon at your hands. The same rules in expendltures should govern you that governs expendltures in private business affairs. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. The more promptly and thoroughly your work is done, the more hearty will be the welcome and approval of your stltuent.