Evening journal., 1918-01-05
DELAWARE BREAKS ALL RECORDS
WITH 334l CHARTERS in YEAR;
CAPITAL OVER FOUR BILLION
Special to THE EVENING JoURNAE.

/ Special 30 THE EVENING JOURNAL.
DOVER. Del. January 5.-The year
1917 will go down in Delawares history
as a record-breaking year in the num-
Der Of charters filed here under the
( General Corporation Act of the state,
and also rccOrd-breaker as to capt
talization, increases in capital stock and
revenue brought into the treasury.
The total capitalization Of charters
flled here at the State Department dur
ing the year 1917, according 20 the re-
port Of the department, has reached
s4,DW0O0.000, double the amount Of the
FIRST Liberty Loan ana equal to that Of
the second.
A compilation OF the monthly re-
ports issued by the State Department
for 1917, shows the total capitalization
Of charters filed during the year with
capital stock Of 100000 or more, 10 be
approximately S3.7270OOO00. while there
were enough charters with capital
stock less than 100000 TO bring the en-
tire capitalization we'll above $1,000
100000. This does not include the in
creases in capital stock which also run
up into millions Of dollars.
The showing for 1911 will not likely
be sustained during the coming year.
nor for several years to come, as the
filing Of charters with large capital
stock has already fallen of, due to the
Federal tax, which went into effect
December 1 affecting the large capital
izstions in the amount Of their paid
Up stock
The combined capital Of charters filed
IN 1916. which was a. record year. was
approximately S2,000O00,000, so that the
year just ended has not only broken
the record but has doubled it. This has
been due mostly to the war, as many OF
the larger charters filed during last
year were for corporations to manu-
facture war munitions and war ma
terials The business which figured
most prominently in the years chart
crs, however, was that OF oil and gas
producing, there being more than three
times as many charters fled for oil
and gas mining companies as for any
other kind Of business. Many automo-
bile, motion picture. shipbuilding, war
munitions and chemical companies
were incorporated during 1917.
The month Of May, 1917, broke all
previous records for the largest number
of charters filed in any one month, 337
having been recorded at the state De-
partment in that month. The previous
record was established in March, 1916,
when 23l charters were filed. This lat
ter record, however, was surpassed by
every month in 1917 with the exception
Of February and December.
Divided into months the total capi-
talization Of charters filed with q cspi-
tai stock amounting to more thar $780,,
coo was as follows:
january, S222,O0Q000; February, S22i,- -
100000; March, S29i0OO0OO; April, 1898
0O0000; May, Sio5 100000; June. $780,
O00O00; July $1,000 600; August, s375,
100000 September, S266, 10000; Octo-
Der, 1912 10000: November, 1862 000, 600;
December, S200000000. The record for
the largest capitalization in any one
month was established in July with
ei37, ,000.O00
The total number Of charters dled
in 1917 was 33ii. an average OF nearly
ten charters for every day 10 the year.
Divided into months, these charters
were filed as follows: January 276.
February 22i, March $40, April 3i2, May
337. June 2Sj July PIC, August 272, sep
tember 2i0, October 293, November 3O9,
December POI
The state Treasury has been very
considerably enhanced by this gain in
charters. The revenue from state tax
on charters fled in 1917 amounted to
SS250O0, a gain Of nearly Sl20.OOO over
1916, when the total revenue from
charters amounted to S205, ,720 The
total revenue from charters IN 1915
was Sli5,3SS or nearly s20s 5000 less
than the year Just ended The total
franchise tax from charters fled during
The year as collected by the State treas
urer, independent Of the amount of
money paid TO the secretary Of state for
hling the charters has amounted so
far TO Sib i99. This amount will be
materially added 10 within the next two
or three days when the state treasurer
viii receive several more thousand dol
lars from charters not yet paid in but
due before the fiscal year ends within
a week.
Some Of the largest charters nled
during 1917 include: Navajo Pacific Cop
per Co, s606OOOOO: Lehish Power Sc
curities Corporation, S6O,5OOOO0; The
Pathfinder Motor Co. Of America. s52.-
100000; Food Administration Grain
. Corporation, s500OO,OO0 this was the