# The History of the Standard Oil Company/Volume 1/Appendix/Number 9

NUMBER 9 (See page 78)
CHARTER OF THE SOUTH IMPROVEMENT COMPANY
[From The Laws of Pennsylvania for 1872.]
   An Act to incorporate the South Improvement Company:
   Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That S. S. Moon, R. D. Barcley, John A. Fowler, or a majority of them, their associates, successors, and assigns, be and they are hereby authorised and empowered to form and be a body corporate, to be known as the South Improvement Company, which shall be and is hereby vested with all the powers, privileges, duties, and obligations conferred upon the act to incorporate the Pennsylvania Company by the Act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, approved the seventh day of April, a.d. one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and the supplements thereto.
   Sec. 2. That the stockholders of said company, by and with the consent of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the shares of stock, be and they are hereby authorised to change the name and title of the said company and designate the location of its general office, which changes shall be valid after the filing of a certificate in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth, signed by the president, and attested by the seal of the said company.
   Approved the sixth day of May, 1871.
The Act incorporating the Pennsylvania Company, referred to above, is the one that details the powers conferred on the incorporators.
   An Act to incorporate the Pennsylvania Company:
   Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That Andrew Howard, J. S. Swartz, G. B. Edwards, J. D. Welsto, and J. P. Malin, their associates, successors, and assigns, or a majority of them, be and they are hereby authorised to form and be a body corporate, to be known as the Pennsylvania Company, and by that name, style, and title shall have perpetual succession, and all the privileges, franchises and immunities incident to a corporation; may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, complain and defend in all courts of law and equity, of record and otherwise; may purchase, receive, hold, and enjoy, to them, their successors, and assigns, all such lands, tenements, leasehold estates and hereditaments, goods and chattels, securities and estates, real, personal and mixed, of what kind and quality soever, as may be necessary to erect depots, engine houses, ​tracks, shops, and other purposes of the said corporation, as hereafter defined by the second section of this act, and the same from time to time may sell, convey, mortgage, encumber, charge, pledge, grant, lease, sub-lease, alien, and dispose of, and also make and have a common seal, and the same to alter and renew at pleasure, and ordain, establish, and put in execution such by-laws or ordinances, rules, and regulations as may be necessary or convenient for the government of the said corporation, not being contrary to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth, and generally may do all and singular the matters and things which to them shall appertain to do for the well-being of the said corporation, and the management and ordering of the affairs and business of the same:
   Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to give to the said corporation any banking privileges or franchises, or the privilege of issuing their obligations as money.
   Sec. 2. That the corporation hereby created shall have power to contract with any person or persons, firms, corporations or any other party, howsoever formed, existing or that may hereafter exist, in any way that said parties or any of them may have authority to do, to build, construct, maintain or manage any work or works, public or private, which may tend or be designed to improve, increase, facilitate, or develop trade, travel, or the transportation and conveyance of freight, live stock, passengers, and any other traffic, by land or water, from or to any part of the United States or the territories thereof; and the said company shall also have power and authority to supply or furnish all needful material, labour, implements, instruments, and fixtures of any and every kind whatsoever, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the parties respectively; and also to purchase, erect, construct, maintain, or conduct, in its own name and for its own benefit, or otherwise, any such work, public or private, as they may by law be authorised to do (including also herein lines for telegraphic communication), and to aid, co-operate, and unite with any other company, person or firm in so doing.
   Sec. 3. The company hereby created shall also have the power to make purchases and sales of or investments in the bonds and securities of other companies, and to make advances of money and of credit to other companies, and to aid in like manner contractors and manufacturers; and to receive and hold, on deposit or as collateral, or otherwise, any estate or property, real or personal, including the notes, obligations, and accounts of individuals and companies, and the same to purchase, collect, adjust, and settle, and also to pledge, sell, and dispose thereof, on such terms as may be agreed on between them and the parties contracting with them; and also to indorse and guarantee the payment of the bonds and the performance of the obligations of the other corporations, firms, and individuals, and to assume, become responsible for, execute, and carry out any contracts, leases, or sub-leases made by any company to or with any other company or companies, individuals or firms whatsoever.
   ​Sec. 4. The company hereby created shall also have power to enter upon and occupy the lands of individuals or of companies, on making payment therefor or giving security according to law, for the purpose of erecting, constructing, maintaining, or managing any public work, such as is provided for or mentioned in the second section of this act, and to construct and erect such works thereon, and also such buildings, improvements, structures, roads, or fixtures as may be necessary or convenient for the purposes of the said company, under the powers herein granted; and to purchase, make, use, and maintain any works or improvements connecting or intended to be connected with the works of the said company; and to merge or consolidate, or unite with the said company the improvements, property, and franchises of any other company or companies, on such terms and conditions as the said company may agree upon; and to fix and regulate the tolls or charges to be charged or demanded for any freight, property, or passengers travelling or passing over any improvement erected, managed, or owned by the said company, or on any merchandise or property transported over any road whatever by the said company, and to make, from time to time dividends from the profits made by said company; the several railroads managed by said company shall continue taxable, as heretofore, in proportion to their length within this state respectively; and the said Pennsylvania Company shall be taxable only on the proportion of dividends on its capital stock and upon net earnings or income, only in proportion to the amount actually carried by it within the state of Pennsylvania, and all its earnings or income derived from its business beyond the limits of this Commonwealth shall not be liable for taxation.
   Sec. 5. The capital stock of said company shall consist of 2,000 shares, of the value of fifty dollars each, being #100,000, and with the privilege of increasing the same by a vote of the holders of the majority of the stock present at any annual or special meeting, to such an amount as they may from time to time deem needful; and the corporators, or a majority of them, named in the first section of this act, shall have power to open books for subscriptions at such times and places as they may deem expedient; and when not less than 1,000 shares shall have been subscribed, and twenty per cent, thereon shall have been paid in, the shareholders may elect not less than three nor more than nine directors to serve until the next annual election, or until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified; and the directors so elected may, and they are hereby authorised and empowered to have and to exercise, in the name and in behalf of the company, all the rights and privileges which are intended to be hereby given, subject only to such liabilities as other shareholders are subject to, which liabilities are no more than for the payment to the company of the sums due or to become due on the shares held by them; and should the capital stock at any time be increased, the stockholders, at the time of such increase, shall be entitled to a pro rata share of such increase, upon the payment of the instalments thereon duly called for; and whenever an increase of capital stock is made, ​a certificate thereof, duly executed under the corporate seal of the company, and signed by the president and secretary, shall be filed with the auditor-general before the same shall be deemed to be valid.
   Sec. 6. The principal office of the said company shall be in the City of Pittsburg, but the directors, under such rules and regulations as they may prescribe, may establish branches or agencies in other parts of the state, or elsewhere; all of the directors of said company shall be citizens of the United States, and reside therein.
   Sec. 7. The directors shall be elected annually by the stockholders, on the first Tuesday of June of each year; and they shall elect from their number, at the first meeting of the board after their election, a president, and shall also have power to elect from their number, or otherwise, a vice-president, a treasurer, and secretary, and such other officers, clerks, and agents as the business of the company may require; all elections for directors shall be by ballot, and every stockholder shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by him; but no person shall be eligible as director who is not a stockholder to the amount often shares; at the annual or special meetings a quorum shall consist of stockholders owning at least one-half of the capital stock.
   Sec. 8. Ten days' notice shall be given, by publication, in two newspapers published in the City of Pittsburg, of the time and place of the annual election; which election shall be conducted by three stockholders, one of whom shall act as judge, and the other two as inspectors.
   Sec. 9. The board of directors shall make all by-laws necessary for conducting the business of the company; which by-laws shall at all times be accessible to persons transacting business with them; the said directors shall have power, by a vote of a majority of their number at any meeting of the board, to change the name of the said corporation; and by any new name, thus adopted, upon filing with the secretary of the Commonwealth and the auditor-general a truly certified certificate, the said company shall have, hold, and enjoy all the rights, powers, privileges, and immunities hereby granted; the directors shall have power to require payment of the amount remaining unpaid on the stock of said company, at such times and in such proportions as they shall think proper; the said assessment to be made as the by-laws of said company shall direct.
   Elisha W. Davis, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
   Charles H. Stinson,
   Speaker of the Senate.
   Approved—The seventh day of April, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and seventy.
   John W. Geary.