The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-11-26
Reports of All Interstate Corporations May Be In spected by Any Person Having a Valid Reason to Present to the Treasury Department.
FEDERAL PUBLICITY
 PUT INTO PRACTICE
Even Prospective Purchas- CTS of Stock May Inquire Into the Actual Business of a Corporation = Re- strictions to Prevent I'm proper Scrutiny Pleases Corporations.

Corporations.
 Washington, Nov. 26-President Taft
 signed an Executive order last night throwing open to public inspection the Corporation tax" returns of every corporation doing business in the Uni ted. States which is liable to the pay
 ment of a corporation tax.
 Despite the restrictions which are placed upon this publicity by a simul- taneous announcement of regulations by Secretary Macveagh of the Treas ury Department. this is the biggest step yet taken for the Federal publi- city of corporations. and will be op- posed bitterly by the corporations af- fected. The records of the Treasury Department show it will open up the
 reports of practically 250.000 corpora | tions. with an aggregate capital of
 more than $50.000, 100000.
 The regulations, as issued, open the reports of all these corporations to their stockholders, no matter how small the individual holding of stock. In addition to this the general public will
 be permitted to inspect the reports of any corporation whose stock is list ed on any stock exchange and of any corporation whose stock is advertised | for sale or which offers it's own stock to the public for sale. In all cases written application to the Secretary of the Treasury Is necessary stating
 the reason for the request, as we'll as
 setting forth, the title of the applicant to such permit for inspection. All insepction must be made in wash l ington. however. in the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and no collector or agent of the department elsewhere is permitted to open his books to the public. Officers of the Government are to be permitted to in- Spect the returns upon a certificate from their department heads, but when l this insepction is to secure evidence for cases in court a special warrant from the Attorney General is neces- sary The same applies to requests of State officials for the right to in spect returns.
 The actual publicity is to be confined to the original sworn statement upon l which the tax is based. There will be | 8 public record, for instance. not only of the actual paid capital of every cor
 poratfon. but of it's annual gross in come, with specific statements of losses sustained of actual expenses paid, of actual depreciation, of interest on bonded debt and a special statement Of dividends received upon stock owned in other corporations The latter statement promises to be particularly effective in helping the antitrust la bors of the Department of Jusice | It Is conceded, however. that the re- strictions laid down will be welcome to all the corporations which have | nothing to hide. No persons not le- gally entitled to information can ex- anime the records, and even the pur- pose of a legally entitled person must be satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury.
 The text of Secretary Macveagh's s | rules and regulations follow:
 '1. The return of every corporation
 shall be open to the inspection of the proper officers and employees of the Treasury Department. Where access to any return is desired by an officer
 or employe of any other department of | the government an application for per- mission to inspect such return. setting I out the reasons therefor. shall be made | in writing, signed by the head of the | Executive Department. or other gov | ernment establishment in which such officer or employe is employed, and transmitted to the Secretary of the
 Treasury. If. however, the return is desired to be used in any legal pro- l ceedings or to be used in any manner l by which any information contained
 
 | access to any return is desired by any | official of any State or Territory of | the United States, the application for permission to inspect such return shall l be referred to the Attorney General,
 and if recommended by him, trans | mitted to the Secretary of the Treas ury.
 g The Secretary of the Treasury, | at his discretion, upon application to l him made. setting forth what consti- tutes proper showing of cause, may permit inspection of the return of any
 corporation by any bona fide stock | holder in such corporation. The per- son desiring to inspect such return shall make application in writing to | the Secretary of the Treasury setting | forth the reasons why he should be | permitted to make such inspection, and shall attach to his application a certificate signed by the president or other principal officer of such corpora | ton. countersigned by the secretary, | under the corporate seal of the com
 pany, that he is a bona fide stock holder in said company. l The privilege of inspecting the return | of any corporation is personal to the stockholders, and the permission grant | ed by the Secretary cannot be dele gated to any other person.
 "3. The returns of the following cor porations shall be open to the inspec- l ton of any person upon written appli- cation to the Secretary of the Treas l ury, which application shall set forth briefly and succinctly all facts neces- sary to enable the Secretary to act up- | on the request.
 f(a). The returns of all companies | whose stock is listed upon any duly 1 organized and recognized stock ex- | change within the United States, for | the purpose of having it's shares dealt ! ir, hv the public generality
 | "b). All corporations whose stock | is advertised in the press or offered to | the public by the corporation itself for sale. In case of doubt as to whether any company falls within the classifi- cation above, the person desiring to see such return should make applica- | tion supported by advertisements. prospectus. or such other evidence as i he may deem proper to establish the | fact that the stock of such corpora 1 ton is offered for general public sale"
 The provisions of the Secretary's s ruling go into effect immediately.