The San Francisco call., 1910-12-06
CORPORATION Law
URGED BY CURRY
Public Service Commission Is
Advocated in Biennial
Report
Stop "Tinkering" With Election
Laws, Says Secretary
of State

More stringent laws governing the
formation of corporations a public
service commission similar to the New
genuine weights and measures law, a
uniform system of public accounting,
stricter regulations for the operation
of automobiles and less tinkering with
the general election laws are the chief
recommendation made by Secretary of
State Charles F. Curry in his biennial
report to Governor Gillett
The report just completed is for the
period ending June 80, 1910. It is the
sixth and last report to be made by
Curry and will be transmitted to the
legislature as the final accounting of
Curry's stewardship of II years
The statistical features of the report
show the development of the state and
the development of governmental meth
DDS as reflected In the receipts of the
Office of secretary of state The whole
receipts of the office during the IL
years of Curry's incumbency were
S3,617,229.s4. More than half of those
receipts were for the biennial period
beginning July l, 1908, and ending
June 80, 1910
WOULD LIMIT CORPORATIONS
The recommendations for legislation
of the state and the value of some of
the laws proposed by him and which
were enacted. Recommendations are
comprehensive but are confined strictly
to those subjects directly within the
purview of the secretary of state and
to duties which he is charged. The
most important of these recommenda-
tions are those touching the regula-
tiOn of corporations and the laws gov
eFninV of taI
The initial recommendation is for
laws compelling corporations at the
time of fling articles to state definitely
the purposes for which Incorporation is
sought, limiting those purposes and the
business activities of such corporations
to definite lines of commercial enter
prise. Such legislation would eliminate
the corporate charter under which a
corporation created ostensibly for the
transaction of a railroad business
might enter the fuel business, the lum-
Der business, or any other line for the
purpose of crushing competition and
the manipulation of stocks and values.
AIMS AT STOCK JOBBERS
Another recommendation aimed at
the legalized vendor of watered stocks
and the promoters of concerns based
on thin air and assurance Is that ask
ing for law to fix the amount of
capital stock that must be paid up prior
to incorporation and to regulate the
amount of bonded Indebtedness that
may be created by corporations exist
ing on paper rather than as the result
of bona fide sales of capital stock.
Chief among Currys recommenda-
tions for the regulation cf corporations
and the protection of innocent investors
as well as the general public is that for
the creation of public service COM
mission similar to the New York COM
mission. On this Curry says:
A public service commission
with powers such as are exercised
by the New York commission, un-
der law that went into effect July
l, 1907 New York statutes 1907
page $50 ct seq. would prevent. or
at least minimize, overcapitaliza-
ton, watering of stock, excessive
| bond issues and combinations of
public utility corporations in re-