The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-01-30

aorofiOn criminate the WITNESS IL 1IS
e4airs are lawfully and legitimately
ond without abuse of corporate powers
-oo,ductedF It is the affairs Of the cor
~.,ovntion. the party to the action which
aro heing investigated. and the witness
10 ga nerson for whose immediate bene
A. the action is defended, and one de
scrihed in section $50 above quoted and
vbo refuses to testify. Sections 584 and
kss taken together put the interested
witness and the party to the action
..subiec ct to the same rules Of examlna
tion." and that rule in section 684 Is
hat the pleading, whether complaint
mr. answer or reply, which is filed on
the side which withholds the evidence
and refuses to testify may be stricken
out" that is, of course, if the judge
would exercise ibis power to do so on
the Attorney Generals motion. And
a Judge who meant to do right would
not hesitate to grant the motion to
strike out" the defendants answer
and give a decree dissolving the cor
poration for want Of an answer.
But if you say it requires a strained
construction Of the above provisions OF
law to reach the conclusion contended
for, there is a way to remedy this de-
feet, which is plain. Amended Sec
tions 684 and $50 so as to make them
expressly applicable to sections in
which a corporation is a penalty. Put
corporations exactly on the same foot
ing with natural citizens in actions be-
tween them. This is, I think, already
to spirit and intent of the law. But
anyhow it is within legislative power
to make it plain beyond question.
There is still another way to reach
by law (5tate law not only u own
State corporations, whether chartered
before 1868 or since, and all other cor
porations wherever Incorporated which
do business in our State Apply to all
alike a license tax, and not only make
them pay the tax, but require as a con
dition precedent togranting the license
hat each should prove a good moral
character" like a retail liquor dealer.
Require each corporation in order to
get such license to prove to the salts
faction of the State Treasurer, or Sec
rotary Of State, or Attorney General,
or some designated State authority
be fixed violated the provision of the
criminal law of 1889 above cited, and
to do business in this State without
such license shall be a misdemeanor
and cause of forfeiture of it's charter
too, if it is a North Carolina corpora
ton.
Make this license tax nominal in
amount if you please, SO as not to be
oppressive on any corporation.
But you say it would be harsh and
burdensome to require all the business
corporations of this State "a very large
majority of which do not now and
never did belong to a trust) to pay such
tax, even one dollar and comply with
such a rigid requirement. Now is it2
Let me illustrate my argument. If
you had come to Durham a few months
ago you would have een every dog in
the city wearing q muzzle. Why9 Be-
cause three Or four mad dogs had ap
poared on Our streets and besides bit
ing other dogs, they had also attacked
and bitten several citizens. The lives
and we'll beingof the whole community
were at stake and jeopardized. In such
a crisis the city authorized passed and
enforced an ordinance requiring every
owner of a dog in the city to put a
muzzle on his dog, in default of which,
the doom of death was pronounced
against the dog. And this muzzIe
ordinance was enforced, too, without
partiality, favor or affection, against
all dogs-little dogs, and dogs of
every kind, size and degree, or pedi-
gree. Was it harshl Was it uniust9
Did the public safety require itH
Did it have the desired effectH Ask
any citizen Of Durham and you will
get but one reply. Does not every
good citizen have to yield some of his
natural rights for the good of society
Is not the natural citizen who never
committed a crime daily subjected to
burdens of taxation and otre incon-
v~eniences on account of bad citizens
who do commit crimesG Are corpora
tions entitled to more privileges than
natural citIzens2 1t seems to me there
ought to be but one answer to such
questions.
could go on, if space allowed. and