another State, come here and do business as a corporation by simply filing with the county clerk of some county within the State a written appointment of some person to act as agent of such corporation with the consent that service upon such person shall be deemed sufficient to bind the corporation, thus evading the payment of such fees to the State of Indiana as domestic corporations organized under the laws of this State are required to pay. Two years ago there was prepared in this office a bill that was thought to meet these requirements, but owing to the lateness of the session when it was presented and the fact that its provisions were not generally understood by the members of the last General Assembly, no action was taken thereon. However, since that time the matter has been discussed with many members of the next General Assembly, with the assurance that such a bill will receive favorable attention at their hands. The same bill has again been prepared in this office and will be taken up early in the next session. The bill provides, among other things, that: "Every company incorporated for purposes of gain under the laws of any other State, territory or country, now or hereafter doing business within this State, shall file in the office of the Secretary of State a certified copy of its articles of incorporation, and with the said articles a statement duly sworn to of the proportion of its capital stock represented by its property located and business transacted in Indiana, and pay into the office of the Secretary of State, upon the proportion of its capital stock represented by its property and business in Indiana incorporation taxes and fees equal to those required of similar corporations formed within and under the laws of this State." The State of Illinois has a similar law enacted by the General Assembly thereof in 1897, and in the first fourteen months of its existence foreign corporations paid into the treasury of the State of Illinois $70,233.15, and it is reasonable to believe that a similar law in force in this State would increase the revenues of the State $50,000 annually at a probable increase in the annual appropriations for clerical hire for this office of $2,500. I would also recommend that the Secretary of State be given larger discretionary powers in the matter of determining the legal status of associations offering their articles for recording in this office and their application for certificates of incorporation author izing them to transact business under the laws of the State. This office has in the past two years arbitrarily refused to charter associations that appeared to be fraudulent upon the face of their articles, and, while the proposed incorporators have threatened to bring mandatory proceedings, to this date no suits have been brought. The tedious delay in the matter of the claim of the State of Indiana against the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Company, because of the enormous amount of business accumulated in the office of the Attorney-General of the State should suggest legislation that would enable the Secretary of State to take the initiative and prosecute suits at law wherein matters pertaining to his office are concerned. There is also a demand for legislation requiring the filing of an annual report to this office by all corporations organized under the general corporation laws of the State, showing the condition of the business of said corporation on the 31st day of December of each year, the names of its officers, the names of the members of its board of directors and its general office address for the incoming year, and to more clearly define their exact status, and I herewith submit a recommendation of my predecessor, the Hon. William D. Owen, on that point, and give to it my earnest approval: "The statute provides that corporations expiring by limitation, forfeiture or otherwise, shall be continued bodies corporate for three years after they have been dissolved, for the purpose of winding up their affairs, but not for the continuance of corporate business. Frequent confusion arises where corporations have ceased to operate for the purpose for which they were organized, and yet have not filed in this office a declaration of dissolution. Corporations which have fallen into disuse ought to have their exact status defined, and probably there is no better way than for the law to declare a dissolution after a certain time of disuse. I therefore suggest that the law be amended so as to declare the dissolution of a corporation three years after it ceases practically to operate its corporate functions." There will be found in this report a tabulated statement of the vote of the State at the November election 1900, which includes the vote cast for State officers, congressmen, members of the legislature, judges and prosecuting attorneys. Report has also been made on incorporations, commissions issued, executive appointments, pardons, remissions, requisitions, warrants and proclamations. The vote of the State by precincts will be published later. I also submit herewith the report of Mr. Thomas J. Carter, Clerk of the Bureau of Public Printing, Binding and Stationery. This report gives evidence of careful and thorough preparation and of the business-like and economical manner in which this department has been administered. Mr. Carter is a competent and painstaking official, and his work has resulted in a material saving to the State. Respectfully submitted, UNION B. HUNT, REGISTER OF DEPARTMENT OF STATE. UNION B. HUNT, Secretary of State. GEORGE W. GONSER, Deputy Secretary of State. RICHARD T. BURRELL, Clerk. STEPHEN E. HINSHAW, THOMAS J. CARTER, Clerk of the Bureau of Printing and Binding. ---10- STATE OFFICIAL ROSTER. October 31, 1900. JAMES A. MOUNT, Governor. WILLIAM S. HAGGARD, Lieutenant-Governor. UNION B. HUNT, Secretary of State. WILLIAM H. HART, Auditor of State. LEOPOLD LEVY, Treasurer of State. WILLIAM L. TAYLOR, Attorney-General. FRANK L. JONES, Superintendent of Public Instruction, ROBERT A. BROWN, CHARLES F. REMY, Reporter Decisions of Supreme Court. JOHN B. CONNER, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics. W. S. BLATCHLEY, State Geologist. |