The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-12-17

| courts were thus treated with con
tempt, and where the United States
! statute for removals were not broad
enough to remove the case on account
of diverse citizenship, the next move
was for the Vice President to file an
affidavit, swearing that his company
could not get justic9 in the State courts,
on account of local prejudice"-thus
asserting under oath that the State
judges and juries were unfit to try
railroad cases. It is astonishing mat
the legislature has not made the reps
Triton Of these insults to our JUDICIARY
impossible, and rebuked, by approPrl
ate legislation such unjustlhaole anu
offensive conduct.
I predict that the next legislature U
North Carolina will wipe out MS ols
grace. if the bills to prevent lt are no'
purlOined.
RTG8T TO TAX FOREIGN
wish now to advancea step further
and show that the legislature OF NORM
Carolina has the right to discriminate
against foreign corporations by levy
ing upon each done doing business in
the State, either a specified tax or one
to be pro rated on it's business and
thereby compel these gigantic, wealthy
corporations which are protected by
the State at the expense of its own
citizens, to shoulder their share of the
burden of taxation, which they have
avoided by being chartered in another
State.
In 1853 the legislature of Illinois
passed an act requiring foreign corpo-
rations "desirous OF transscting bust
ness in the State, to take out license
from the Auditor of the State, and be
fore obtaing it to furnish him a state
ment, under the oath of the President,
showing it's name, locality, the amount
of its capital stock, the assets of the
company, and to furnish an agreement
under seal authorizing it's agents to
accept service of process"
In 1863 it amended the act by pro-
viding that all foreign insurance
companies doing business in Chicago
should pay to the city treasurer the
sum of two dollars on the n hun
dred upon all premiums received.
That in default of this payment it
should be unlawful for the foreign
company to do business in the city"
The insurance companies refused to
pay this tax and took the case to the
Supreme Court of the United States.
The court, without hesitation, declared
the act constitutional upon the author
ity of Paul v. Virginia, s Wallace
Reports. page 1913.
See also cases of Ducat vs. Chicago,
10 Wallace %. s. R ports, page 40
The court said:
THE power of the State to discrimi-
nate between her own domestic cor
porations and those of other States is
clearly established"
Again, the State of Massachusetts
imposed "a tax Of two per cent. upon
all premiums received by an insurance
company Incorporated under the laws
of any one of the United States other
than Massachusetts"
The statute was also contested by the
Insurance Company, char
tered in England; but the statute was
again sustained.
See Liverpool ms. Co. VS., Massachu
sets, 10 Wallace, 566 $500. These
cases are approved in
Doyle vs.. Cont. ms. Co., "a U. s.
Reports, page $50 1885,.
They are based upon the leading
cases of Bank VS.. E4rte, 13 Peters Re-
por!s, 584, where it is said:
"Foreign corporations have no abso-
lutte right of recognition in other States.
The State may exclude them entirely.
It may restrict it's business to parti.
cular localities or exact security for the
performance of it's contracts. The
whole matter rests in the discretion of
the States"
So that we conclude that the State of
North Carolina may exclude any for
eign corporation from the State or
IMPOsE A TAX
pro rata on it's shares of stock, or on
it's gross receipts or pledge a specific
tax On it's cars or tax it in any other
way it may choose. Tt is right; it is
that these taxes should be imposed
On the property of these wealthy cor
porations. They neither toll nor spin"
About all the big officials do is to To-
cate in the country and kill all the
mails in reach and draw salaries from