Commission in the establishment of general policies and with the rendering of advice regarding the economic aspects of the problems involved in the administration of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Supervisor of Information Research is responsible for disseminating public information regarding the activities of the Commission by means of correspondence and releases. The legislation under which the Commission operates specifically directs that publicity be given to its rulings, regulations, opinions, and findings, as well as to the filing of registration statements, the effective registrations, hearings held, and reports and statements filed with the Commission by security issuers, officers, directors, and principal stockholders. This information is made available to the public by the Supervisor of Information Research through releases issued to the press and through mailing lists established for the convenience of those who wish to receive releases currently. The Forms and Regulations Division is responsible for (1) the preparation for submission to the Commission of rules, regulations, and forms in collaboration, where appropriate, with other divisions of the Commission; (2) the conduct of accounting, legal, and economic researches for the purpose of developing facts, policies, and customs regarding specific industries to be affected by the promulgation of such rules and regulations and forms; (3) the conduct of conferences and interviews with representatives of accounting and legal societies and associations, stock exchange officials, and others for the purpose of securing suggestions concerning proposed forms and regulations and in order to ascertain the reaction of these representatives to the proposed forms and regulations, particularly with respect to burdens that may be imposed upon industries as a result of their promulgation; (4) the conduct of studies in connection with forms and rules and regulations now in existence to determine whether they should be amended, revised, or modified; and (5) the preparation of legal opinions and interpretations concerning those rules and regulations. This work involves the preparation of rules and regulations and forms for use in connection with the regulation of stock exchanges of the country, the flotation of new securities, and the registration of securities listed on exchanges by a great variety of security issuers. The Employment Research Division is charged with the responsibility of handling all personnel matters for the Commission. It includes the conduct of correspondence, the maintenance of personnel records, the interviewing of applicants, and all administrative work regarding appointments, pay rolls, transfers, reinstatements, service records, promotions, demotions, separations, and classification work. The Protective Committee Study Division is charged with the responsibility of conducting investigations and hearings for the pur pose of assembling data and facts for use in the preparation of the Report to Congress as required under Section 211 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The division is also charged with the actual drafting of the report. The investigation relates to the work, activities, personnel, and functions of protective and reorganization ommittees in connection with the reorganization, readjustment, rehabilitation, liquidation, or consolidation of corporate persons and properties. Investigations terminated early in January 1936. Since that time the division has been engaged in completing reports to Congress on the subject. REGIONAL OFFICES The regional offices are charged with the responsibility of conducting trading, accounting, and legal investigations and hearings with a view to the efficient enforcement of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Each regional office serves the general and investing public within the zone over which it has jurisdiction, and aids registrants and accounting, legal, and investment firms in complying with the statutes and the rules and regulations administered and enforced by the Commission. Regional offices of the Commission are located in New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Worth, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D. C. The addresses of the Regional Offices and the States comprising the territory they serve are indicated below: New York Regional Office, 120 Broad- | New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylway, New York, N. Y. vania. Poston Regional Office, 82 Devonshire Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Is- Atlanta Regional Office, Palmer Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and that portion of Louisiana east of the Atchafalaya River. Chiego Regional Office, 105 West Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Adams Street, Chicago, Ill. Fort Worth Regional Office, New Federal Building, Fort Worth, Tex. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Kansas (with exception of Kansas City), and that portion of Louisiana west of the Atchafalaya River. 101973-36-2 Denver Regional Office, Patterson Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, NeBuilding, Denver, Colo. San Francisco Regional Office, 625 Seattle Regional Office, 1407 Exchange braska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. Washington Field Office, 1778 Penn- Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, sylvania Avenue NW., Washington, Delaware, and District of Columbia. D. C. CONFERENCE OF REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS On March 9, 1936, a conference of Regional Administrators of the Securities and Exchange Commission was called in Washington, D. C. The purposes of this conference were to acquaint the Regional Administrators more fully with matters of policy and precedent; to enable them personally to present their problems and difficulties; to work out uniform methods of treatment for the various problems most frequently encountered by all Regional Administrators; to afford an opportunity for the studying of common problems, and to formulate uniform methods of treatment concerning them; and to adopt such methods of procedure as would tend to improve the administration and enforcement of the Acts through regional offices. The conference lasted from March 9, 1936, to March 13, 1936, inclusive. AMENDMENT TO THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Public Act No. 621, Seventy-fourth Congress, approved by the President on May 27, 1936, amends the following sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: 12 (f), 15, 17 (a), 18 (a), 20 (c), 21 (f), 23 (a), and 32. Copies of Public Act No. 621, Seventy-fourth Congress, may be secured from the Publications Unit of the Commission. ADVISORY AND INTERPRETATIVE ASSISTANCE During the past year the Commission continued its policy of replying to letters of inquiry regarding the interpretation of the Acts administered and the rules and regulations promulgated by it. The highly technical nature of the legislation administered by the Commission and the complicated character of the problems arising thereunder have made necessary a substantial measure of advisory assistance to the general public. To some degree, requests for opinions made to the Commission have involved ingenious plans to circumvent the application of the law. In dealing with these requests, as with other requests, the Commisgion, as a matter of policy, has required statements of the names of the persons or corporations concerned and of the amount involved. To a more definite extent, however, the advisory assistance furnished has been based on bona fide inquiries and, to the end that sound financing may not be impeded by doubt or delay, an endeavor has been made to clarify promptly the problems raised. Numerous communications with respect to the interpretation of the Acts administered by the Commission were received and acted upon during the year. In addition, many conferences concerning such matters were held with officers of Federal and State agencies and members of the public. REGISTRATION OF EXCHANGES AS NATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGES On July 1, 1935, 21 national securities exchanges were registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. During the year, the operations of several exchanges which had been granted temporary exemption from registration as national securities exchanges under Section 5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, were studied by the Commission for the purpose of determining whether they should be permanently exempted or whether they should be required to apply for registration as national securities exchanges. a consequence, on October 1, 1935, the Standard Stock Exchange of Spokane; on November 1, 1935, the Chicago Curb Exchange; and on June 1, 1936, the San Francisco Mining Exchange became registered as national securities exchanges. The temporary exemptions of these exchanges as national securities exchanges were extended until the date of registration. An application for registration as a national securities exchange was received from the Pacific Stock Exchange of Los Angeles. The Commission conducted an investigation and, after hearings, denied on October 9, 1935, the application since it appeared in its opinion that no economic need existed for an additional exchange in Los Angeles; that the existing stock market facilities in Los Angeles were adequate; and that the exchange was not so organized as to be able to comply with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 6 (f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which provides that an exchange may, upon appropriate application in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission, and upon such terms as the Commission may deem necessary for the protection of investors, withdraw its registration, the Buffalo Stock Exchange and the Denver Stock Exchange withdrew from registration as national securities exchanges on March 24, 1936, and April 15, 1936, respectively. From time to time during the year, national securities exchanges filed more than 300 amendments to their registration statements. These amendments covered changes in membership, in exchange trading rules, in securities admitted to listed or to unlisted trading privileges, and in rules for the government of such exchanges. Each amendment was subjected to thorough examination and analysis to ascertain whether the exchanges were operating in compliance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The following 22 exchanges constitute the national securities exchanges as of June 30, 1936: At the beginning of the fiscal year, 15 exchanges had been granted temporary exemption from registration as national securities exchanges pursuant to Section 5 of the Securities Exchange Act of |