Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-12-12
Second Annual Report of the
Department Of Commerce Is
Made Public Today
YEARS WORK is REVIEWED
An Exhaustive Study of Legal Decis-
ions Has Been Made-FuIIest Pos.
sible information Regarding corpor-
atoms is Being secured-other News
of Interest.

ment Of the work done by the bureau
Of corporations is one of the chic
features Of the report of Secretary v
H. Metcalf, Of the department of com
merce and labor, which has just beer
made public.
In this connection the report says:
The work of the bureau of corpora
lions has proceeded along the lines in
dicated in the first annual report Of
the department.
The bureau has made exhaustive ex-
animation Of judicial decisions for the
purpose of ascertaining fully those con-
stitutional powers and restrictions or
which present conditions are based and
also those which must be necessarily
involved in any future legislation fol
the improvement of present legal cor
porate conditions.
For the purpose Of ascertaining and
presenting in available form the legal
conditions under which corporate bust
ness is being carried on in the various
states material obtained from thirty
states has been compiled and tabulated
In each of these states, with regard te
all the more important corporations or
ganized in the state and engaged In
interstate or foreign commerce, typical
either of the states industries or of It's
laws, every paper or document filed OF
recorded concerning each corporation
was examined separately, and all in
formation relating to each corporation
disclosed by the official records has
been collected and compiled. There
have been thus far examined and abb
stracted the records Of over 1900 cor
porations which include the larger part
Of the more important industrial and
commercial corporations, Joint stock
companies and corporate combinations
in the United States.
At the same time there has been col
lected the fullest possible information
concerning the various systems of cor
porate taxation in use; whenever pos
sible, there has been obtained state
ments reports, or returns Of the more
important corporations; and, in addl-
ton, there has been obtained COM
plete list of the foreign corporations
admitted to do business in the particu-
lar state, this record showing the
name, capital stock, and home state OF
each corporation. This record furnishes
a convenient clue to commerce. Ihe
material now collected from twenty
five states on this subject is as follows:
First-Abstracts of the records OF
specific domestic corporations.
Second-Abstracts of the records
of specific foreign corporations.
Third-List of foreign corporations
admitted to the state to do business.
Fourth-Official forms Of all corpor-
ate documents required or permitted
to be filed.
Fifth-Transcripts of all records or
returns used in connection with cor
porate taxation, taken from typical
originals.
There is now ready for publication
a compilation of the federal and state
statutes dealing with illegal Industrial
combinations-tne so-called antitrust
laws. This will afford complete infor-
nation Of such laws, showing in tabu-
lar and condensed form, so as to be
readily available and easily compar-
able, their provisions, including the de-
cisions Hereunder and q. digest and
discussion of cases involving. the COM
mon law principles as to combinations
in restraint Of trade.
The compilation on uniform outline
of insurance laws has been undertaken
and completed in ten states. The bur-
eau has been in communication with
the insurance officials of all the states
and it's agents have conferred with rep
resentatives Of a large number Of in
surance companies, officers Of boards
Of underwriters, and insurance agents,
for the. purpose of obtaining the best
possible upon both the
legal and the business side Of insur-
ance.
The rapid development of insurance
business. its extent, the enormous
amount of money and diversity of in
terests involved. and the present bust
ness methods, suggest that under exist
ing conditions, insurance is commerce,
and may be subjected to federal regu-
lation thru affirmative action by con-
gress. The whole question is receiv-
ing the most careful consideration
upon both legal and economic grounds.
Special Investigations.
For the purpose of laying the foun-
dalton upon which direct Investigations
Of special corporations can be intelli-
gently conducted, the bureau has COM
piled, from sources other than the cor
prations themselves, all available infor-
nation regarding certain leading COM
binations. From careful analysis Of
this material it has been possible to
form preliminary judgments regarding
the economic and financial practices
and effects of combinations in general,
and to determine the lines of further
special inquiry. On the basis of this
general study preliminary outlines Of
inquiries to be addressed directly to the
companies are being prepared.
The result of the investigation of the
beef industry, authorized by resolution
On congress will be made the subject Of
4 special report.
The increase in appropriations re-
1uested for the bureau is based upon
he actual cost of work hitherto done
Ind the work now in hand Or contem-
plated. It Is most strongly urged that
he appropriations be granted in the
.orm requested, for the reason that the
special character of the work makes it
luite impossible to now determine ac-
'urately the kind and quality of SER
Ices that may be required during the
coming year. Much greater economy
:an be exercised in the work of the
bureau If the major portion of it's APP
Is in lllrnp sum and