The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-02-17
THE WILMINGTON AND WEI.
e DON RAILROAD.

the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad,
in 1884. This charter was subse.
quently so amended as to allow the
corporation to change its name to the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
This charter, the company claims, was
made to absolutely exempt its prop
erty from taxation for all time to co me.
The charter under which the company
is now doing business limits the cap
ital stock of the corporation to a com.
p~aratively small amount. The pro
visions of their charter as to the
amount of capital stock have been
and are now being evaded by the
issuance of certificates of indebted
ness. The Wilmington and Weldon
Railroad Company now proposes to
grant to the State a qualified right of
taxation, in return for the essen ial
enlargement of its chartered privileges.
The courts of the Safe, and of the
United States, have decided that the
property of this corporation is ex.
empted from taxation under it's char
or. The Petersburg and Weldon
Railroad Company has a charter for a
line of road which is an e. ;cG Of
IL TN z-op aDa Weldon Road
from ,Ta.-J IN to the Virginia line,
which charter has expired by limita
ton. The majority of the stock of
both the Peter sburg and Weldon and
the Wilmington and Weldon Roads
is held by the consolidation, known as
the Atlantic Coast Line. This con
solidation is now asking the legislature
of North Carolina, in the name of the
Petersburg and Weldon Road, for a
renewal OF the charter of the Peters
burg Road. Without a renewal Of
the charter, asked for, the Whining
ton and Weldon Road cannot get be
yond Weldon. Certain members of
tia present General Assembly declare
most plainly that they will not vote to
renew the charter of the Petersburg
and Weldon Railroad unless the Viii
mington and Weldon Road will sur
render its claims to exemption from
taxation under it's present charter.
We have now rapidly stated the
facts of the contention betwixt the
legislature and the Wilmington and
Weldon Railroad. W. want to say
distinctly and emphatically that The
PROGRESSIVE FARMER is in favor of
Withholding the charter from the
Petersburg and Weldon Road until
the Wilmington and Weldon Road is
forced to surrender its present charter
and accept of such a charter from the
the State as will subject its property
to a fair and equitable valuation for
taxation. The following are some of
the reasons which lead US to occupy
this position:
This charter of the Wilmington and
Weldon Roa1 was obtained at a time,
when neither the General Assembly
nor the incorporators of the road had
knowledge of the conditions which
have subsequently, arisen efecting the
prosperity and happiness of the people
of the State. If the incorporators
could have f~oreseen the conditions
that have since arisen to modify the
quest1 ons involved, they would not
have asked the General Assembly for
any such charter as they obtained;
and if the members of the General
could have foreseen the
new conditions that have since arisen,
they would not have granted such a
charter to any corporation On earth.
No corporation asks for such charters
now; and no legislature of the pres
ent day would grant them if they
were asked for. At the time the
charter we are considering was given,
Doth the legislators and the incorpora,
tors of the road thought that a part
of the revenues of the road would be
derived from the erection of toll gates
upon the line for the collection of
tolls-provisions for such gates and
toll collections being actually a part of
the charter in question. 1t is obvious