The Life and Writings of Stuart Chase (1888-1985), Volume 8: From an Accountant's Perspective (Studies in the Development of Accounting Thought) (Studies in the Development of Accounting Thought)

194 Pages·2005·0.98 MB·English

by  Richard G Vangermeersch

THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF
STUART CHASE (1888–1985)
STUDIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ACCOUNTING THOUGHT
Series Editors: Robert J. Bricker and Gary Previts
Recent Volumes:
Volume 1: Henry Rand Hatfield: Humanist, Scholar, and
Accounting Educator, 2000
Volume 2: Foundations for the Future: The AICPA
from 1980–1995, 2000
Volume 3: The Story of a Fortunate Man: Reminiscences
and Recollections of Fifty-Three Years of
Professional Accounting, 2000
Volume 4: Development of the Income Smoothing
Literature 1893–1998: A Focus on the
United States, 2001
Volume 5: The Murphy–Kirk–Beresford
Correspondence, 1982–1996: Commentary
on the Development of Financial Accounting
Standards
Volume 6: Doing Accounting History: Contributions to
the Development of Accounting Thought
Volume 7: Accounting: How to Meet the Challenges of
Relevance and Regulation
STUDIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACCOUNTING THOUGHT
VOLUME 8
THE LIFE AND WRITINGS
OF STUART CHASE
(1888–1985)
FROM AN ACCOUNTANT’S
PERSPECTIVE
RICHARD VANGERMEERSCH
University of Rhode Island, USA
2005
Amsterdam – Boston – Heidelberg – London – New York – Oxford
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This book is dedicated to
Sonia Chase Hodson
The Valiant Keeper of her Father’s Flame
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
PREFACE xi
INTRODUCTION 1
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE SEVEN STAGES OF THE 7
LIFEANDWRITINGSOFSTUARTCHASE,FROMAN
ACCOUNTANT’S PERSPECTIVE
GENERAL BACKGROUND AND ACCOUNTING, 17
1888–1917,ANDWORLDWARI,WITHTHEFEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, 1917–1920
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS, 1921–1929 29
DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1930–1941 59
WORLD WAR II, 1942–1945 89
WRITING FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, 1946–1968 95
THE LAST YEARS, 1969–1985 113
CONCLUSIONS 121
vii
viii CONTENTS
APPENDIX: CHRONOLOGY OF STUART CHASE 129
REFERENCES 177
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sonia Chase Hodson.
Bill Enoch, her husband and kind co-host with Sonia for our New
Mexico visit.
Alan Hodson, Stuart Chase’s grandson and a leader of the Stuart
Chase Society and its webmaster.
Bryce Hodson, Stuart Chase’s grandson with whom I had a very
helpful and inspiring phone conversation.
John Carfora, for his help in further understanding Stuart Chase.
Joel Dirlam, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of
Rhode Island, for his advice and long friendship.
Lois Pazienza, for all her help to make a manuscript for this book.
Emily Greene and Julie Ann Cerrito of Interlibrary Loan at the Li-
brary of the University of Rhode Island.
Gary Previts, Case Western Reserve University and co-editor of
Elsevier’s Studies in the Development of Accounting Thought and
a long-time friend and fellow accounting historian since 1968.
Rob Bricker, Case Western Reserve University, co-editor with Gary.
ix
PREFACE
Abookiscompleted,anditisnevercomplete.StuartChasewasamanwith
many hats. It is necessary to write the first book about him from an ac-
countant’s perspective before the second, third, and fourth books are writ-
ten about him.
Stuart Chase gives much needed knowledge to words and terms such as
‘‘Waste,’’ ‘‘Capacity,’’ ‘‘Federal Capital Budget,’’ ‘‘Deficits,’’ ‘‘Profits,’’
‘‘Communication,’’ ‘‘Utopias,’’ ‘‘Utopians,’’ ‘‘Planners,’’ ‘‘Organizational
Ethics,’’‘‘HumanRelations,’’andmanyother.Thisbookisagoodstartfor
readerstogetaholisticlookattheveryencompassingmindofStuartChase.
Readhisarticles,reviewsandbooks.Perhaps,youmighttryareplication
of such books asThe Tragedy ofWaste andYour Money’s Worth.Remem-
berStuartChasewasnotonlyacritic,hewasadoeraswell.Hewastheco-
founder of the Consumer Union and its Consumer Reports.
ThewriterhasspentsevenyearsonthisquestofrelatingStuartChaseto
the new millennium in general and to accounting professors, students, and
practitioners specifically. Chase after Chase. You and society will be well
rewarded.
Richard Vangermeersch
xi