Curran, John W.

English

Via Sapientiae: The Institutional Repository at DePaul University

DePaul Law Review Volume 3 Issue 2 Spring-Summer 1954 Article 18 Taylor: Public Accountability of Foundations and Charitable Trusts John W. Curran Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review Recommended Citation John W. Curran, Taylor: Public Accountability of Foundations and Charitable Trusts, 3 DePaul L. Rev. 304 (1954) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol3/iss2/18 This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Law at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in DePaul Law Review by an authorized editor of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact digitalservices@depaul.edu. REVIEWSPublic Accountability of Foundations and Charitable Trusts. By ELEANOR K.TAYLOR.' New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1953. Pp. 221, Index pp. 225-231. $3.00.This work points out the abuses which exist in the area of charitable trustsand foundations because most states have no provisions for the registration ofsuch institutions and, consequently, no means of surveying their net worth,their incomes or expenditures. Thus it becomes virtually impossible to ascer-tain whether the cause of charity is being furthered in accordance with thepurpose of the founder in the case of many trusts. For example, in responseto the question, "What provision is there in your state for keeping a list ofcharitable trusts as they are established by will or otherwise?" officials ofthirty-two states replied that there was no such provision. Illinois has no suchprovision.Because of this absence of adequate state supervisory machinery, there existswhat the profession calls "sleepers." These are the trusts wherein the charitablepurpose has not been fulfilled because of laxity on the part of trustees. In reMead's Estate, 227 Wis. 311, 277 N.W. 694 (1938), is a good example, andthere are others.Rhode Island has a recent statute which has been very revealing. It requiresregistration under penalty and a yearly report of income and expenditures.New Hampshire has a similar statute. A uniform statute for all states has beenproposed.One school of thought seeks strict regulation of charitable trusts and foun-dations in all states in line with the Rhode Island view. Labor unions supportthis view. The great increase of foundations and their operation has causedsome concern and the individual taxpayer will, in turn, have to take care of thedifferential caused by the shifting of funds into a tax-free category. It isunderstood that a bill will be introduced in the next session of the Illinoislegislature providing for registration of all fund-raising agencies, except re-ligious and educational groups.In this book, an illuminating introduction by F. Emerson Andrews of theRussell Sage Foundation is followed by chapters on Trusts and Trusteeship...State Provisions for the Supervision of Trusts . . . State Regulation of Chari-table Corporations... Taxation and Federal Supervision ... Charitable Regu-lations in England and Canada . . . Self-Regulation by Foundations. . . andRegulatory Proposals.JOHN W. CURRAN*1 Associate Professor of Social Work, State University of Iowa.*Professor of Law, De Paul University College of Law.304

Taylor:  Public Accountability of Foundations and Charitable Trusts

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Taylor: Public Accountability of Foundations and Charitable Trusts

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Via Sapientiae: The Institutional Repository at DePaul University