Business Incorporations in the United States, 1800-1943
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This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the National Bureau of Economic Research Volume Title: Business Incorporations in the United States, 1800-1943 Volume Author/Editor: George Heberton Evans, Jr. Volume Publisher: UMI Volume ISBN: 0-87014-048-5 Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/evan48-1 Publication Date: 1948 Chapter Title: Introductory pages to "Business Incorporations in the United States, 1800-1943", including preface Chapter Author: George Heberton Evans, Jr. Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c0668 Chapter pages in book: (p. -7 - 0) Business Incorporations in the United States 1800-1943 GEORGEHEBERTON EVANS, JR. Professor of Political Economy ¶the 7ohns Hopkins University NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, INC. Copyright, i,.8, by National Bureau of Econcnnic Research, inc. i8i9 Broadway, New York 3, N. Y. Alt Rights Reserved Printed in the U. S. A. by Waverly Press, Inc., Baltimore, Md. Bound by H. Wolff, New York Publications of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Number 9 BUSINESS INCORPORATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 1800—1943 OFFICERS Relation of the Directors to the Work (1948) and Publications of the C. Reinold Noyes, Chairman H. W. Laidler, President National Bureau of Economic Research W. W. Riefier, Vice-President George B. Roberts, Treasurer 1. The object of the National Bureau of Economic Research is W. J. Carson, Executive Director to ascertain and to present to the public important economic Martha Anderson, Editor facts and their interpretation in a scientific and 'impartial manner. The Board of Directors is charged with the responsi- bility of ensuring that the work of the National Bureau is DIRECTORS AT LARGE carried on in strict conformity with this object. Arthur F. Burns, Columbia University W. L. Crum, University of California 2. To this end the Board of Directors shall appoint one or more Oswald W. Knauth, New York City Directors of Research.. Simon Kuznets, University of Pennsylvania 3. The Director or Directors of Research shall submit to the H. W. Laidler, Executive Director, League for Industrial members of the Board, or to its Executive Committee, for their Democracy formal adoption, all specific proposals concerning researches to Shepard Morgan, Vice-President, Chase National Bank be instituted. C. Reinold Noyes, New York City George B. Roberts, Vice-President, National City Bank 4. No report shall be published until the Director or Directors Beardsley Rum], Chairman, Board of Directors, of Research shall have submitted to the Board a summary drawing attention to the character of the data and their utiliza- B. H. Macy & Co. tion in the report, the nature and treatment of the problems Harry Scherman, President, Book-of-the-Month Club involved, the main conclusions and such other information as George Soule, New York City in their opinion would serve to determine the suitability of the N. I. Stone, Consulting Economist report for publication in accordance with the principles of the 3. Raymond Walsh, WMCA Broadcasting Co. National Bureau. Leo Wolman, Columbia University. 5. A copy of any manuscript proposed for publication shall also be submitted to each member of the Board.For each manu- DIRECTORS BY UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENT script to be so submitted a special committee shall be appointed by the President, or at his designation by the Executive Direc- E. Wight Bakke, Yale tor, consisting of three Directors selected as nearly as may be C. C. Balderston, Pennsylvania one from each general division of the Board. The names of the C. D. Edwards, Northwestern special manuscript committee shall be stated to each Director G. A. Elliott, Toronto when the summary and report described in paragraph (4) are sent to him.It shall be the duty of each member of the com- H. M. Groves, Wisconsin mittee to read the manuscript.If each member of the special Gottfried Haberler, Harvard committee signifies his approval withinthirty days, the manu- Clarence Heer, North Carolina script may be published.If each member of the special com- mittee has not signified his approval within thirty days of the R. L. Kozelka, Minnesota transmittal of the report and manuscript, the Director of Wesley C. Mitchell, Columbia Research shall then notify each member of the Board, request- Paul M. O'Leary, Cornell ing approval or disapproval of publication, and thirty addi- W. W. Riefier, Institute for Advanced Study tional days shall be granted for this purpose. The manuscript shall then not be published unless at least a majority of the T. 0. Yntema, Chicago entire Board and a two-thirds majority of those members of the Board who shall have voted on the proposal within the time DIRECTORS APPOINTED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS fixed for the receipt of votes on the publication proposed shall have approved. Percival F. Brundage, American Institute of Accountants Arthur H. Cole, Economic History Association 6. No manuscript may be published, though approved by each Frederick C. Mills, American Statistical Association member of the special committee, until forty-five days have Boris Shishkin, American Federation of Labor elapsed from the transmittal of the summary and report. The Warren C. Waite, American Farm Economic Association interval is allowed for the receipt of any memorandum of Donald II. Wallace, American Economic Association dissent or reservation, together with a brief statement of his reasons, that any member may wish to express; and such memo- RESEARCH STAFF randum of dissent or reservation shall be published with the manuscript if he so desires.Publication does not, however, Arthur F. Burns, Director of Research imply that each member of the Board has read the manuscript, Geoffrey H. Moore, Associate Director of Research or that either members of the Board in general, or of the special Moses Abramovitz Thor Hultgren committee, have passed upon its validity in every detail. Harold Barger Simon Kuznets Morris A. Copeland Clarence D. Long 7. A copy of this resolution shall, unless otherwise determined Daniel Creamer Ruth P. Mack by the Board, be printed in each copy of every National Bureau Solomon Fabricant Frederick C. Mills book. Milton Friedman Wesley C. Mitchell Millard Hastay Raymond J. Saulnier W. Braddock Hickman George J. Stigler (Resolution adopted October 25, 1926 F. F. Hill Leo Wolman and revised February 6, 1923 and February 24, 194/) PREFACE Incorporation should be a matter of concern not merely stand the nature and the significance of the newly char- to persons interested in an enterprise that uses the cor- tered units. This volume tries to describe in some detail porate form of business organization. A community in the size and the nature of the additions to the popula-. which the corporation is utilized is likely to be very tion of artificial persons.. different from one in which it is not utilized. The cor- The corporation, in contrast to most other forms of poration may be regarded as a catalytic agent. Intro- business organization, must leave some public records duce it into a community and many things occur outside of its existence. These records are not adequate for mdi- the particular business units incorporated. The invest- vidual histories, but in the aggregate they reveal much ments of individuals, for example, would be rearranged about the general outlines of a large segment of business to take advantage of new opportunities to diversify enterprise. The task of putting together the pieces of holdings. Enterprises could be launched that formerly public record left by the separate corporations is enor- could not have been*startedbecause of the large mous. A portion of the task is attempted here; much amounts of capital required. In turn, enterprises de- more can be done. pendent upon the existence of such large undertakings A complete set of time series dealing with the number could be started after the large ones had begun to of charters granted by all states in the United States and function. a definitive analysis of each series is not presented here. Despite the potent and conspicuous role of the cor- Some of the state incorporation series could have been poration in the development of the economy of the extended; a few more states could have been covered for Ijnited States, published data on corporations seem re- at least brief periods; and the various state incorpora- markably meager. For ony about two years have we tion series that have been compiled could have been ex- lad a regular publication of the number of charters amined more intensively. But I have reached that point granted by each state. Dun & Bradstreet collects and of diminishing returns at which I feel it desirable to set publishes this information monthly. Previously an index forth what I have done. If it is found interesting, others based upon the experience of four states recorded the can use it, add to it, or correct it. To facilitate addition variations in the number of incorporations, but the in- and correction, I have tried to give in the numerous ap- dividual state figures upon which the index was con- pendices my sources and methods. Despite careful structed were not readily obtainable. The index, more- checking of the compilations and calculations, errors over, covered only a short period. The Census and the have doubtless been made, but it is hoped that they are Statistics of Income data on corporations supply other not many. basic information. Of course, much can be learned • My indebtedness to others in connection with this about the large corporations of the country from the research is large. A grant from the Carnegie Corpora- financial manuals, and a few governmental and private tion made it possible for me to spend a year at the Na- studies have contributed to our knowledge of corpora- tional Bureau of Economic Research.