The Bureau of Corporations, predecessor to the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...

, was created as an investigatory agency within the Department of Commerce and Labor in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Bureau and the Department were created by Congress on February 14, 1903, during the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

. The main role of the Bureau was to study and report on industry, looking especially for monopolistic practices. Its 1906 report on petroleum transportation made recommendations that became part of the

Hepburn Act The Hepburn Act is a 1906 United States federal law that expanded the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and gave it the power to set maximum railroad rates. This led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers. ...

of 1906, and was used when the Justice Department successfully prosecuted and broke up Standard Oil in 1911. In 1912 the Bureau issued a report on the development of

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

in the United States, including its ownership or control, and fundamental economic principles involved in utilization of this new and rapidly growing energy source. The report noted an increasing concentration of ownership and control of widely separated waterpower developments in the hands of a few; a substantial interrelationship among leading water-power interests, as well as a significant and increasing affiliation between water-power companies and street-railway and electric-lighting companies. The report stressed the importance of promptly adopting a definitive public policy concerning water-power development. The various concerns expressed would initially be regulated by the Federal Water Power Act of 1920. The business, managerial, and financial practices of these early utility holding companies would proliferate,James C. Bonbright, Gardiner C. Means, ''The Holding Company: Its Public Significance and Its Regulation'', New York (1932) McGraw-Hill. but remain largely unregulated until the

Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), also known as the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, was a US federal law giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to regulate, license, and break up electric utility holding companies. It l ...

. The Bureau also conducted studies of tobacco, steel, lumber and other industries. The Bureau became part of the new

in 1915. The new Commission took over both staff and ongoing investigations from the Bureau. Commissioner of Corporations,

Joseph E. Davies Joseph Edward Davies (November 29, 1876 – May 9, 1958) was an American lawyer and diplomat. He was appointed by President Wilson to be Commissioner of Corporations in 1912, and First Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1915. He was t ...

, became the FTC's first Chairman and Davies' deputy Francis Walker became the chief economist of the FTC

References

{{authority control 1915 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Commerce and Labor Commerce and Labor Government agencies established in 1903 1903 establishments in Washington, D.C.

Further reading

References