Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-29
Nature Of Information Pos
sessed by Mr.. Cortelyou.
FOUND IN LIBRARIES
woRK OF THE BUREAU OF COR
poRATIoNs DURING THE YEAR.
Printed Records of Testimony Taken by
Legislative Committees and by
Courts of Justice.

The constant talk in which democrats
are indulging in relation to the corpora
tion secrets that Secretary Cortelyou
loaded himself with when he left his Off
cial position at the head of the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor to become
chairman of the republican national COM
mittee produces very broad smiles on the
faces of men who are closely associated
with the work of that bureau of corpora
tions and who know what is contained
in It's files.
In one of the top stories of the Willard
building, on 14th street, are several large
rooms devoted to the secret files of the
bureau of corporations. The collection of
the data which is to be found in these
files was begun something over a year
ago, when the law authorizing the bureau
went into effect. Then experts were en-
gagged and set to work. Their effort was
to gather everything in the way of in
formation in relation to the great corpO-
rationS of the country a reference Ii
brary.
They secured printed reports of testimony
taken before committees of Congress and
OF state legisla; ures that during the past
forty years have investigated corporations
of various kinds. They gathered in all the
testimony taken by tho courts of the coun-
try that has been printed. They ransacked
get library as complete on the subject OF
corporations as possible.
Accessible to Any One.
This mass of printed matter now in the
hands of the bureau of corporations is ac-
cessible to any one in the great libraries of
the country. Nearly all of it can be secur-
ed by any one who calls for 1t at the Con-
.ressional Library. 1t is just as secret
as any other class of books that are to be
found in the libraries of the country and
no more So So i: is when democrats talk
of secrets in tie files Of the bureau of
corporations the clerks there, who know all
about it, smile.
The bureau of corporations, in obedience to
a resolution of Congress, has since last
March been making an investigation into
the beef trust That investigation, which
was the result of democratic as well as re-
publican votes, has been going on constant
ly and in due course of time 1t will all be
laid before Congress and published, so that
any one can get it. There will be no Sc
cret about It.
The corporations Of the country have new
er placed on file in the bureau any
great punches of their secrets. When
the law authorizing the bureau went into
effect a few of the great life insurance
companies of the country took advantage
of the provisions of the law to file state
ments concerning their affairs, but 1T Is
understood that these statements are prac-
tically what the companies sent broadcast
over the country to their agents. The
companies liked to tell people that they
were under the supervision of the United
States bureau of corporations for the rea-
son that they received certain amount
of favorable advertising by SO declaring.
1t showed that the eye Of the government
was on them, and they liked to have it
understood that they were being looked
after. 1t added to their reputation for
stability, which is one of the greatest of
the cards that are being played by the
big insurance companies.
These Are the Secrets"
Practically this statement covers the
batch of secrets that are in the files of
the bureau of corporations and to which
Secretary Cortelyou had access If he cared
to delve into the mass of documents. The
employees of the bureau have been engaged
in carefully analyzng this mass of infor-
nation and in arranging it in a systematic
manner and in making compilations from
it, all of which tends to systematize the
printed data. But so far as the secrets
co. they are at the command of any one
who can read the English language and
has time to devote to that line of occupa-
ton at any of the great libraries of the
world.
Very many Of these secrets are contained