Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-18
THE HOME OF TRUSTS
ONE BUILDING IN JERSEY CITY
USED By oCToPI.
No. Is Exchange Place, Thirty or
Forty Meetings Of Directors
Held Daily.


Pennsylvania railroad will look out of the
windows OF the waiting room in the sta
ton at Jersey City they will notice across
a triangular area an efght-s.ory building
of gray brick, known to the directory and
to a multitude of citizens of the United
States as No. Is Exchange place. 1t Is oc-
cupied by q bank. real estate firm and
several insurance companies. and has more
than 10000 invisible tenants. who appear
and depart quarterly, semi-annually or an
nually according as the articles of incor-
poration require.
This innocent-looking building Is the lair
Of the octopus, the home Of the trusts. The
laws of New Jersey. under which the larger
number of the great corporations of the
United States are organized, require that
each shall have its headquarters and hold
its stockholders meetings within the limits
of that state. The laws do not enter into
particulars: they do not say how large these
headquarters must be nor how much buSi-
ness shall be transacted in them, hence
small space is sufficient to accommodate
large number Of companies. whose legal
representatives are number Of lawyers
having offices in this building.
Corporation Headquarters.
On the top floor there is a corporation
which incorporates companies and looks
out for them and represents nearly 1000 OF
the largest trusts and combinations OF
capital in the world. 1t is managed by
two or three intelligent-looking gentlemen,
with half dozen clerks and typewriters
The records Of the corporations they repre-
sent are kept in an enormous vault divided
into pigeon holes and drawers, each OF
which is marked with initials to indicate
ownership. On the lower floors Of the build
ing twenty or thirty lawyers whose ex-
elusive business Is to represent corpora
tons that have been organized under the
laws of New Jersey, and connected with
their suites of apartments Is always large
room with long table in the center and
rows of chairs around 1t for the accommo-
dalton of the stockholders and directors OF
the different companies when they hold
their quarterly or annual meetings. There
is also large hall, seating couple of hun
dred people, which may be used for the
same purpose upon the payment Of fee OF
$50 to the banking company on the first
floor, which owns the building.
So many companies have their headquar-
tiers here that the halls and the other
rooms are in constant use Thirty or forty
meetings are held every day. and In jan
uary two or three times as many. Groups
OF gentlemen with portfolios under their
arms. green baize bags hanging from their
elbows, or big manila envelopes protruding
from their pockets will land in the station
from the ferry, cross the area, enter No.
Is. and take the elevator for the head
quarters Of the company they control
Their representative will be ready for them
He has nothing to do but keep track Of
these meetings. send out the official no
tees and arrange the dates and hours so
that they shall not conflict with each other
They have a regular scale Of fees, which
unfortunately l could not obtain, but a
laxative gentleman I found around the
elevator told me that they got $40 or
a $50 gold piece for every meeting. and
small salary retainer from each COM
pany for looking after its affairs.
Gift Gold Pieces
1t Is customary for the railroads, banks
and other big corporations to give each
director a gold piece compensation every
time he attends meeting. sometimes $40
and sometimes $50, and 1 know several
wives and daughters who claim these fees
as pin money. as a minister's wife always
claims the wedding fees of her husband.
Sometimes directors fees amount to good
deal of money. Mr.. Depew. for example,
who Is director In Sixty-seven companies.
is entitled to at least so and sometimes
$50 gold piece every time he attends a
meeting, and the boards Of some companies
meet frequently. The directors of banks
meet at least twice a week.
Jersey City does not have a monopoly of
the monopolies. however. Many corpora
tons have their Headquarters at Hoboken
Newark, Orange, Brick Church and other
towns in New Jersey convenient to New
York, but perhaps seventy-five per cent of
them are represented at 10 Exchange place.
If you want to know the exact number you
can make a calculation from a catalogue of
corporations published annually by the
state Of New Jersey, which contains lists
of their officers and directors, the amount
of authorized capital, the amount Of stock
and bonds issued and similar information.
1t is large volume and contains a great
deal Of interesting information. although
half Of the companies that appear in it's
pages have no actual existence. They were
incorporated for some purpose or another,
but never went any further. 1t is easy
New Jersey, for it Is not necessary to file
a bond or go to any other trouble besides
filling out blank and paying a fee.
Tomdix-'If there is anything in a man
10 hound tn hiring II ont