Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-10

|
Finally. 1t Will help to give our busi-
] ness machinery that foundation OF
| fairness and openncss and public con-
| fldence which it must have IL 1t Is
| to be a permanent factor in our ma
! tional advance.
WHAT BUREAU HAS DONE.
The total appropriations Of the bu-
| reau for the fiscal year ended June 80,
| 1909. were s247.720 The number of en-
ployes on that date was Ill
on Dec ID, 1905 at the request of
the chairman OF the committee OH
ways and means of the house of rep
resentatiycs. and under the instruc-
! ton of the president. the bureau fur
| nished that committee. In connection
| with Its pending hearings on the pro-
| posed tariff bill. with a statement as
| To the costs. prices and profits con-
| nectcd with the production of standard
rails for the years 1902 to 1906. inclu-
| siye. on Dec IL. 1905 tho bureau, In
| response to similar request. fur
nished to the chairman of the said
committee a statement as to the costs
| and profits in connection with the pro-
duction of steel bilcts, both Bessemer
| and open hearth basic. The informa-
| ton In both of these statements was
part of the data secured by the bu-
reau In the course of Its investigation
| OF the iron and steel industry. and.
while brief in form. was unique In Its
| accuracy and scope The data as to
| rails covered companies producing
moro than 93 per cent of all the rails
manufactured In the United States
during the period covered. The in
| formations as to billets covered prac-
| tically the entire Bessemer ingot pro-
ductlon of the country. and more than
IS per cent of the open hearth produc-
ton. for the period covered. The de-
| tailed facts upon which the statements
were based were taken directly from
| the books of the companies produc-
| ing the rails and the steel.
On Feb. 25. 1909. the bureau published
| part I OF It's report on the tobacco
industry This part dealt with the
position of the tobacco combination
| in the Industry. and resulted from n
| thorough examination of the organi-
| Zation and development of the Amer
ican Tobacco company and its SUBJ
sldlary concerns. 1t also included
certain independent tobacco corpora
| tlons. The American Tobacco COM
pany gave the bureau practically free
| access to all its very extensive and
voluminous records, so that the bureau
was able to present an unusually COM
| plete and satisfactory history of the
| organization of one of tho great in
| terstate corporations OF the country.
Additional parts are now I'm course of
| preparation
on May II, 1908. the bureau publish
| ed part l OF It's report on the taxation
| OF corporations. This concerned the
| system of taxing manufacturing. mer-
| camille, transportation, and transmits
sion corporations In the six New Eng
| land states. The uniform presentation
| OF these systems allows of comparison,
and the purpose of the report was to
mn y. In Inc fnIa a,1
tiscs of taxation In these states avail
| able In concise and untechnical shape
| for the average reader Financial re-
suits of each system for the latest fiscal
year were given. In each case the
principal state officials were consulted
| at length as to methods and practical
enforcement. No taxation system can
| be properly understood from q mere
| examination of statutes, or without
adding thereto knowledge of the
method and practical results of Its en-
forcement. Similar reports as to other
sections of the country are in course
| of preparation. The subject Is of such
great current Importance. and involves
| such remarkable differences in theory
and practise. that 1t is believed that
| such presentation will have very con-
| siderable value.
on June 4, 1909. the bureau prepared
| for the president a report on the prices
tions and others dealing therein. in
| response to q senate resolution adopt
| ed May IA. 1903. The president trans
mltted the same to the senate. where
| 1t was largely consulted In connection
| with certain proposed changes in the
| Internal revenue tax on tobacco
| products.
on June 30, 1909, the bureau had on
| hand as current work Investigations
| Into the lumber and steel Industries.
the International Harvester company,
the concentration OF water power own
| crship. and transportation by water in
| the United States, and also continuing
Its Investigations into the tobacco In
| dustry. the operations of cotton ex-
| changes and state systems OF corporate
taxation.
FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSES.
1t is one of the fundamental pur-
poses of the bureau to make available
| for the average citizen. through the
| daily press, the information thus col
| lected as to great interstate businesses
| Accordingly, each of its published re-
| ports. many of which were several
| hundred pages In length, has been ac-
| compiishcd with summary usually
| from 20 to 80 pages long. and again
| with a still more compact digest In the
shape of n letter of submittal To the
president. usually from Ave to eight
pages This letter of submlttal states
very briefly the important facts and
conclusions as to permanent and Sign
ificant conditions and tendencies in the
Industry under investigation, and has
been the real medium OF general pub
licity. 1t has been especially framed
In each case with view of the needs
of the press. and as 4 rule these lot
ters have been published by the news
papers over the whole country In full.
We term such work efficient pub
liclty," 1t obviously requires an or
ganlzation especially adapted thereto.
Under the immediate supervision OF
the commissioner. each investigation Is
usually In charge of one man, who, by
reason of his high economic training.
technical knawledse, business exper-
ience. and executive ability. Is able to
organize the collection and dIgesting OF
the vast mass of information needed
| and to draw reliable conclusions as to
| tho important facts and tendencies
| therein shown. There Is assigned to
each investigation a proper number OF
| economists. accountants, and field
| agents so that tho force in each
| case constitutes practically a working
| unit. except that tho clerical and ad-
! ministratiye work Is. In the main, done
! by general divisions for the entire
| bureau.
Very respectfully,
| HERBERT KNOX SMITH,
Commissioner OF Corporations,
To Hon. Charles Nagel, secretary of
commerce and labor.
LaGrippe palms that pervade the en-
ri ,erhu hot