In closing this report, your committee calls attention to the following: The work of the Committee on Department Methods has created among the Government employees a desire to improve their knowledge of accounting methods to such an extent that last year "The Association of American Government Accountant" was formed, which now has a membership of more than five hundred. Under the auspices of this association a monthly magazine called "The Government Accountant" is published, the first number of which is dated May, 1907. Many of the Government offices are investigating their accounting systems, and a number of them have and are now employing public accountants for the purpose of improving their accounting methods. While your committee believes that the important part of its work is completed, it has been advised that the Government's Committee intends to proceed with the work. Your committee, therefore, suggests that the Committee of the American Association of Public Accountants be continued. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) HENRY A. NILES, Chairman. Report of Committee on Journal of Accountancy. Your committee have pleasure in reporting that the subscription list of THE JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY has increased considerably during the last year. Its growth has been particularly noticeable among business men of a high grade, including managers of department stores, factories, and financial institutions, and including also many students of accounting and finance in American universities. The growth has not come suddenly, but has gone on steadily, and warrants the statement that THE JOURNAL is exerting a large and increasing influence, not only among accountants, but among business men generally. A point to be noted is that a percentage of the subscriptions are from foreign countries, particularly Japan, England and Australia. Your committee believe that the high quality of the matter appearing in THE JOURNAL speaks for itself. To those accountants who have contributed to the pages of THE JOURNAL much praise is due. They have given freely of their time and energy without thought of any other compensation than the consciousness that they were advancing the interests of their profession. More accountants ought to follow their example, and your committee urge upon the members of this Association the importance of supporting THE JOURNAL in every possible manner. We especially urge them to contribute letters and articles, and to send to the editors all news items of their respective localities that are likely to interest members of the profession. If many of the members of the Association could be induced to follow this suggestion THE JOURNAL would gain in breadth of view, in interest, and in national reputation. Your committee have read the proof sheets of each issue of the magazine, and from time to time have made suggestions to the editors. The editorial policy of THE JOURNAL, we think, merits the commendation of the Association. Yours respectfully, JOHN R. LOOMIS, Chairman, J. T. ANYON. Report of Committee on Interstate Commerce Commission. Your Committee on Interstate Commerce Commission has held one meeting during the past year, viz., at New York, April 15, 1907, all members of the committee being present. At this meeting, correspondence between the Interstate Commerce Commission and your former committee was considered, and a report was submitted to the Board of Trustees at the semi-annual meeting in April, 1907, asking for instructions. This committee having received no further instructions has therefore held no meetings subsequent to April 15, 1907. The Interstate Commerce Commission has formulated and issued revised classifications covering various income and expenditure accounts, as follows: Operating Revenue. Operating Expenses. Additions and Betterments. Also classification of Locomotive-Miles, Car-Miles, and Train-Miles. All of the classifications above enumerated affecting railway companies' accounts have been made effective as of July 1, 1907. It has been suggested that your committee incorporate in this report a summary of changes in the classifications prescribed by the Commission and now in effect, as compared with those formerly in service. The changes in classification of operating revenue and expenses, expenditures for road and equipment, additions and betterments thereto, outside operations, etc., are numerous; but the most important is the requirement that all carriers shall provide-by a charge against operating expenses for depreciation on rolling equipment. For the current year, the ratio of depreciation to equipment cost is left largely to the discretion of the carriers, but it may reasonably be believed that eventually a uniform and reasonable rate of depreciation will be established and enforced. The basis of depreciation is, necessarily, a matter requiring careful attention; in one of the publications of the Commission, the Statistician (Mr. H. C. Adams) in referring to the subject of depreciation on equipment makes the following statement: "The question of depreciation is fundamentally a question of values, and not a question of maintaining the original capacity, or a standard of operating efficiency, or of keeping full the numbers in equipment series." This committee does not at the present time feel justified in commenting upon this statement or the many modifications and changes in methods, classifications, etc., as there has been no opportunity for meetings of the Committee for conference and consultation, and any criticisms might therefore reflect only the personal opinions of the writer, and not of the whole Committee. Respectfully submitted. J. S. M. GOODLOE, Committee on Interstate Commerce Commission. Report of the Committee on Meetings, Lectures, Library and Bulletins. September 19, 1907. On behalf of the above named Committee, I have nothing to add to the report submitted to you for the semi-annual meeting of the Association, April 16th last, which was printed in THE JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY, pages 71-72, May number. Article 1, Section 12, of the By-Laws of the Association reads as follows: COMMITTEE ON MEETINGS, LECTURES, LIBRARY, AND BULLETINS. Sec. 12. This Committee shall consider and act upon such matter as may be referred to it by the Executive Committee or Board of Trustees. Nothing was referred. Respectfully submitted, FRANKLIN ALLEN, Chairman. Report of the Committee on Legislation. E. W. SELLS, Esq., President, American Association of Public Accountants, 30 Broad Street, New York City. August 19, 1907. Dear Mr. Sells:-I have received a request for the preparation of a report on the subject of Legislation, for presentation to the Convention next October. I regret that it does not appear practical for me to submit anything but an incomplete and disjointed statement at best, as I do not know what has occurred since the last Convention up to the time of your designating me as Chairman of the Legislative Committee in May last, neither am I acquainted with the correspondence maintained by the late Chairman. It is indeed difficult to pick up the threads of the subject and do justice to it, under such conditions. I enclose all the papers received, most of which you sent, and I would suggest that the Secretary take the matter in hand, and prepare such a report, under your direction, as will be satisfactory to you, and which of course will then be equally satisfactory to the Committee. I am sorry that I cannot personally perform what would otherwise have been a pleasant and interesting task, but the resignation of the Chairman at such a time, and sparse information is unfortunate. With kind regards, MY DEAR MR. COOK: Your favor of the 19th instant is received. Just prior to your appointment as Chairman of the Legislative Committee your predecessor, Mr. Cooper, at the semi-annual meeting in April, made a very full report of all the work of that Committee up to that date, the details of which can be found in the proceedings of the April meeting. Whatever of a legislative character has transpired since should be rendered in October. In accordance with your suggestion, however, I am sending all the papers, with a copy of this letter, to Secretary Roberts to be used as a report from you. Yours very truly, (Signed) E. W. SELLS. Mr. H. R. M. Cook, Park Avenue and 59th Street. DEAR MR. Cook : : May 13, 1907. The enclosed letter and papers were received from Mr. Cooper this morning, and I am sending them to you, as Chairman of the Legislative Committee, for your files and for such use as you desire to make of them. Yours very truly, Enclosure. E. W. SELLS. E. W. SELLS, ESQ., May 10, 1907. New York City. Dear Mr. Sells:-I am favored with yours of the 8th, and note that you have appointed Mr. Cook as Chairman of the Legislative Committee. The only communication that I have received since the date of my report to the Association on April 16 is enclosed herewith. It is from the Georgia State Association of Public Accountants, enclosing a draft of their proposed bill for presentation at the meeting of the Legislature next month. I suggest that Mr. Cook take this up in comparison with the model forms-of which the Secretary has copies on file-and the proposed C. P. A. bill of the State of Minnesota, which I enclose herewith. The only other current matter of the Committee rests in an order with the Index Bureau of Albany, New York, for such information in regard to legislative proceedings as may affect our cause. This information is conveyed in the form of the enclosed card, and I have directed the Bureau to hereafter send their communications to Mr. Cook. It would hardly be practical to pick out from my files the mass of correspondence had during the past two years, but in any way that I can assist Mr. Cook I should be pleased to do so. Incidentally I may say that the subject matter of the enclosed Bureau card is receiving the attention of the Illinois Society. Yours very truly, JNO. A. COOPER. Report of Committee on Press and Publicity. The Committee on Press and Publicity submit the following as its report: This committee has been on the alert since its appointment for opportunities for legitimate publicity of the functions of the Public Accountant, and while the success of the committee has been more or less limited it still feels encouraged and believes that the profession is better known than it was at the time of the committee's appointment. It should be borne in mind that necessarily the work of the Public Accountant is seldom of a kind which will permit of publicity, inasmuch as his service usually is of a confidential nature. However, there have been during the past year numerous matters of a quasi public character, which have served to make the profession better known. The work performed in connection with the audits of the great life insurance companies in New York; investigations now in progress in connection with the public utilities situation in New York City; the investigation of the capitol scandal in Pennsylvania and several other less important matters, more local in their character, have been the source of much desirable publicity for the profession. Your committee would respectfully call the attention of the Annual Meeting to the fact that the work which has been done during the past year by THE JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY in behalf of the profession, the high character of the matter published in THE JOURNAL, the wide reputation of its contributors, and the excellent editorial management which has characterized it, have resulted in very substantial benefit to the profession at large. THE JOURNAL has been quoted from by many of the most influential newspapers and periodicals of the country, and is fast securing a place for itself among the most highly respected technical publications of America. While it may be somewhat outside of the prerogatives of your committee to make recommendations on this subject, it is still felt that it would be less than courteous to fail to ask the continued support of the Associa tion for THE Journal, and to urge upon the individual accountants everywhere the necessity of continued and sustained individual support. Your committee has been confronted throughout the term of its service with the problem of securing co-operation from the daily press, since it is undoubtedly true that the average newspaper fails to appreciate the importance of the accountancy profession, and the average editor is not inclined to be liberal in the amount of space given to accountancy matters. It is true, however, that the profession is indebted in many quarters for courteous notices, and it is not presumptuous to say that in the opinion of your committee, the future promises an increase of the courtesies extended to our profession by the press, and a greater public interest in accountants and their work. We find that there has been organized the "Association of American Government Accountants," membership in which is held by such accountants as are concerned in the accounting affairs of the United States government. This association publishes a journal entitled “The Government Accountant," a publication which is in every way a credit to the organization putting it forth, and serving to call public attention to the field of accountancy. Your committee desires to express its appreciation of the very able efforts made by the 1907 Committee on Annual Meeting, in the direction of publicity for the American Association. This Committee's efforts have been untiring, and the results are evident in the extended notices given our Association by the newspapers of the Twin Cities. In our judgment this Committee has accomplished more in the direction of publicity, for the present annual meeting, than has ever been accomplished upon a similar occasion, and they are entitled to the thanks, not only of this committee and of the American Association, but also of each and every member of the Accountancy Profession in the United States, for the wonderfully successful work which has been done in creating public interest in the American Association and the Profession of Public Accountancy. Respectfully submitted, EDWARD E. GORE, Chairman. Report of Committee on Education. The Committee on Education begs to submit the following report: We find that during the last ten years great progress has been made by American universities and colleges in the development of courses of studies adapted to the needs of business men. Ten years ago, so far as we know, only one university in the country, namely, the University of Pennsylvania, made any pretense in this direction. That university, as early as 1881, established its Wharton School of Commerce and Finance, the avowed purpose of which was to prepare young men, not only for the |
