The statistics of telegraph, express, railroad, and insurance companies will be collected by special agents appointed directly from the census office. Supervisors will have no responsibility therefor, and enumerators will be charged with no duties relating thereto.

The instructions shown below were provided to the Superintendents Act of Congress approved on March 3, 1879.

The Superintendent of Census shall require and obtain from every railroad corporation, or the lessee or receiver thereof, the following facts, to exhibit the condition of such corporation, and the condition, characteristics, and operations of the railroad or railroads owned or controlled by such corporation, or the lessee or receiver thereof, on the first of June of the year eighteen hundred and eighty, to wit: The name of the corporation or company, with the corporate names of all of leased lines; the number of miles projected or authorized by law or charter, with the several terminal points of the same; the number of miles completed, exhibiting separately the length of lines within each State; the number of miles operated during the last complete fiscal year preceding June first, eighteen hundred and eighty; the capital stock allowed by law or charter, and the amount paid up; the amount of funded and of unfunded debt, with period of funded debt, and rate of interest thereon, and the amount of all sinking funds provided for the redemption of such debts; the number of acres of land derived from public grants remaining unsold; the total cost of construction, of equipment, and of all permanent investments, including the cost of purchase of other lines of road and of telegraph lines; the amount and character of rolling stock; and class of employees; the receipts of such corporation or company for the last complete fiscal year preceding June first, eighteen hundred and eighty, exhibiting separately the earnings from through freight, from local freight, from passengers, from expresses, and from mails; the expenses of such corporation or company for said fiscal year, exhibiting separately the amount paid for salaries and wages, for fuel, for national, State, and municipal taxes, for interest on bonds and other debts, for dividends, for repairs, for damage to freight and personal injuries; also, the operations of said fiscal year, including mileage of freight, of passenger, and of construction and repair trains separately, the number of passengers carried, and the amount and class of freight transported each way; also, the number, character, and, so far as ascertained, the cause of all casualties by which life was lost, which occurred upon or within the trains, the tracks, or the buildings corporation or company during said fiscal year, and the extent of injury to life and limb resulting therefrom; also the terms of all agreements and contracts by which sleeping cars, palace and parlor cars, so called, express cars, and cars of transportation companies, not identical with the corporation or company making the return herein required, are run upon such road or roads, and the extent of such service, and the amount of all receipts therefrom during the said fiscal year.

The Superintendent of the Census shall require and obtain from the owners, proprietors, or managers of every incorporated express company the following facts to wit: Name of corporation or company; capital paid up; total capital stock, and to what extent the same has been watered, and how often corners have been made on such watered stock; length of lines in miles; whether the business is conducted by rail, vessel, or otherwise; total amount paid to railroads or vessels for use of line or lines; number of officers, number of persons engaged in general administration; number of agents and messengers; total receipts, total expenditures, exhibiting separately amount paid for salaries, for repairs, and for general expenses.

He shall also in like manner require and obtain, from the owners, proprietors, or managers of every telegraph company, the following facts to wit: Name of corporation or company; terminal points connected; capital and capital paid up; length of lines in miles; miles of wire; number of officers; number of persons engaged in general administration, number of persons engaged as telegraph-operators; the number of messages transmitted by officers of the United States; the number of messages transmitted for the press; the number of messages transmitted for private parties; total number of messages transmitted; total receipts from messages; total expenditures of the company, exhibiting separately the amount expended for salaries, for repairs, and for general expenses.

He shall also, in like manner, require and obtain, from the officers or managers of all life-insurance companies, the following facts, to wit: Name of company; amount of capital and paid up capital; the number of persons employed in the general administration; the number employed as agents; the total gross assets of the company, exhibiting separately losses adjusted and unadjusted, losses resisted, script and other dividends, dividends to policy-holders not applied, reinsurance fund; all other claims, including capital; receipts from cash premiums; receipts from all other sources; total cash expenditures, exhibiting separately amount paid for losses and claims, dividends to stock-holders, dividends to policy-holders, commissions, officers' salaries, medical examiners' fees, national, State and local taxation, and all other cash expenditures; amount and character of deposits in each State to secure policy-holders; premium-note expenditures; the number and amount of policies issued during the year; also exhibiting policies terminating during the year, the number and amount terminated by death, by expiration, by surrender, by lapse, by change; total number and amount of policies in force, and the amount of the premiums; the amount of losses in cash and notes and the percentage of the loss to the total amount of policies in force; percentage of assets to risks in force.

He shall in like manner, require and obtain, from every fire and marine insurance company, the following facts, to wit: Name of company; amount of capital stock; the amount paid up; the number of persons employed in general administration; the number employed as agents; the gross assets of company; the total liabilities, exhibiting separately the amount of losses adjusted, losses unadjusted, losses resisted, reinsurance fund; all other liabilities, including capital; also, the total receipts, exhibiting separately fire premiums, marine and inland premiums, and receipts from all other sources, including interest, dividends, and rents; also the total expenditures, exhibiting separately the number and amount of fire losses, of marine and inland losses, dividends, commissions, officers' salaries, State, national, and municipal taxes, and all other expenses. He may require such other information, as to the subjects of this section, as, in his judgment, may be necessary to secure such returns as will exhibit the transactions of said several companies.