The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-06-11

or corporation OF this sort, as we'll TO
the State as to the private corporations
generally. Is considerable.
TO private corporations generally such
companies save the trouble and annoyance
OF making out the papers for applications
for charters or amendments or annual re-
ports and OF properly filling them. and
of checking the amounts or their annual
fees. seeing to the payment OF them and
obtaining receipts for. same, and also min-
Eimizes the risk OF fires or other penalties
upon their patrons for neglecting to file
their reports or pay their fees In time
the charge for the service being generally
small.
Beneficial to State.
To the State the work OF such compa-
MES is beneficial in several ways:
First.-By reason of the familiarity with
the legal requirements IN such matters,
which any person making a specially or
It would soon acquire, few or no mistakes
would be made In applications and reports
submitted to the commission through the
agency Of such d company, and few or
no explanations Of the law and directions
as to procedure would be asked Of the
commission. is
8 Second. Such com panies would largely
relieve the commission from the great
labor Of sending adnonitory letters to
private companies Inadvertently behind
hand in making reports, paying fees etc.
because every such delinquent so stirred
up by the company would doubtless in-
crease tho number Of. its patrons "a suffi-
Client inducement for such company to-
stir up" such delinquents
n JAS above stated, It Is believed that IN
the field were fully covered in such mat
tiers by companies making n business OF
those things, the commissions could save.
for other work more than the entire time
OF one clerk, and the saving to the State
II this work were Efficiently done by COM
panles making a business OF 1t, would be-
In clerk hire and postage, &C.. some 5000
sper year. q ~ 3;
Third-1t Is in the interest Of the State
Ito incorporate as many private corpora
lions as possible Crowded, OF course
they be for proper purposes). because the
State now obtains a substantial and con-
tinuous annual revenue ,t., from each com
pany5 II incorporat es. The efforts Of such!
companies as we have been discussing
to increase the number; of their patrons;
by inducing prospective, corporations to-
take out Virginia. charters would thus,
rebound directly to the pecuniary benefit
Of the Stale. Izi s2@, VIZ
For these and other reasons It will be!
seen that the work Of such companies is.
not only entirely legitimate and unobjec-5
tionable, but Is beneficial to the State
and particularly eff ficacious In expediting,
the work Of the Corporation Commission
Under these circums tances that the chair
man Of the commission Should encourage
/ in tits work Would aSeeTr not. only rea-
sonable but comm "a bles, :, ~ ,f' 5
Subsequent event have proven that It
was unWise for tho-chairman thus TO en-
courage I he Virginia Corporation Com
5pany, Incorporated (Which was formed to
conduct the business above described, by
subscribing and paying cash for ono share
of his stock, as his actionli so doing has
been SO cruelty misunderstood by the pub
lie, but that his motive was other han
a high and proper one. or his connection
with the company as an inactive stock
holder could have worked harm to the
State, to the commission or to any out
slider no one familiar whit the facts Of
the case can for one moment believe.
To Relieve the Commission.
On June 10. 1908, the Corporation Trust
Company OF Virginia was Incorporated by
the commission. and on January H. 1901,
the incorporating and Trust Corporation
was In 4 like manner Incorporated Both
these companies were Incorporated for,
the same purpose as the Virginia corpo-5
ration Company Incorporated, and 1t was
hoped that as result Of the work Of
these companies the commission would be
relieved and the State benefited, as above
explained. 3,Eg
ss For some cause, however, they were
apparently not actively pressed possibly
because the prospects '5Of the busine ss,
as q profitable one, We're not sufficiently.
bright or possibly because their useful
ness had not become sufficiently known
to the private corpora tions GENERALLY in
this State: and 1t was only ate, these
first two companies did not appear to be-
active that the Virginia Corporation Conf
pany, Incorporated. was organized. and
the chairman ofthe commission consented
to subscribe. for one share Of stock In it.
Should that company by itself or together
with other similar ones, effeotually cover
the whole field OF attending to the char
ter applications and annual reports Of pri-
$vate corporations. this State would. a S
above explained, materially profit in sew
eral ways, @ N
~ Persons, firms or corporations enga ged
in business similar to that of the Vir-
ginia Corporation Company, 1ncorporat ted,
exist in many States Of the Union, and
their work. for the reasons above sta ted.
Is generally encouraged, rat Their than
otherwise, by the States In the nature
OF things they cannot obtain a monopoly
OF tho business, for any corporation can
as freely transact its business directly
with the commission as through the me-
dium of these agencies; 3 any person or
firm in the state may engage In The
same busncss-in fact, there Is scarcely
a lawyer in tho State who does not occa-
slonnlly render similar services for prl-
vate corporations which may otherwise
be his clients; just as many other corpo-
rations exactly like the Virginia Corpo-
ration Company. Incorporated, may be
chartered as persons choose ito organize
and ask charters for, and every such
person, firm or corporation could acquire
exactly9the same amnant Of Information
and be In q position to 90 the same work
Incorporation Secrets.
THE Corporation Commission is pos
sessed OF no Corporation secrets" upon
which#it could trade, even y It would
Its Investigations OF corporate matters
arc made and the reports 20 ~ are re-
uuircd in the Interest. solely, of pub
lefty, and not for secrecy. There is not
a report Of fact about q private corpora