The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-02-13

| ed to foster this tendency. The bill ought
! to be entitled, instead of bill amend
J ing the Corporation Law, bill to allow
the organization of trusts to swallow up
small corporations. He would taken
| pleasure in voting against this bill.
| Mr. Guion said the bill had been care
| fully considered in the Judiciary Com
mittee 1t was a copy of the New Jer-
sey law, and any corporation can be char
tered in New Jersey and then come to
; North Carolina and do business The
object of this bill, accordingly, is merely
| to give the State of North Carolina an
! equal advantage with the State of New
| Jersey.
| AS to trusts, there was no man more
opposed to them than he was: but it was
not by buying stock of other corpora
| tons that trusts We're created, but by
| buying up the franchises and property
of other corporations. There was no
| need for alarm at this bill. 1t was moth
| ing but measure to put North Carolina
| upon an equal footing with any other
! State of the Union that has a liberal
corporation law.
1 Judge Graham said he was somewhat
surprised that the great trust-riddcn
| State Of New Jersey should be cited as
an example for North Carolina to fol-
| low. and he was still more surprised at
| the suggestion that q corporation CHAR
J tered in New Jersey could do business in
| North Carolina in violation of the laws
of our State. The gentleman from Craven
could not have entirely understood the
meaning of his words when he said
| that.
| 1t was true. said Judge Graham, that
he had very little experience in the for
| nation of trusts and combines, but he
| could not see that there could be any
more effective way of giving large COM
pany absolute control over another than
| by holding the stock of other corpora
tons.
Mr. Fuller, of Durham said that these
amendments to the Corporation Law
were not by any means for the purpose
| of fostering trusts, but for the good of
| the State of North Carolina. The New
| Jersey law was not followed because
| New Jersey had adopted it, but because
! it had been shown to be a good law, en-
acted in the wisdom of that State.
1t would be possible for a corporation
| chartered in New Jersey to come TO this
| State, and, in accordance with the laws
of the State under which it was charter
ed, buy up the stock of other corpora
| tions and do the things that the gentle
man from Granville seemed to consider
so evil.
Mr.. Fuller made a powerful and eIO-
quent plea for North Carolina to be
given every. possible advantage with the
other progressive States of the Union.
LET US say to industrial enterprises.
Come here Let US no longer be called
The Rip Van Wrinkle State"
Judge Graham replied that, instead of
North Carolina being the Rip Van
Wrinkle State, she had the most progress
sive and liberal corporation law of any
of the Southern States.
Mr.. Billiard. of Cumberland favored
the bill. He. too, dwelt upon the point
that corpora tons chartered in other
States could come into our State and
do these very things.
Mr.. Robertson. for the Corporation
Committee, stated that it had been con-
sidered wise to pass this amendment be-
cause the conditions it provides for al
ready exist, the only difference being that
now North Carolina was deprived of the
tax from these companies desiring such
privileges He mentioned a case not
long ago of a corporation that wanted to
get a charter from this State, but when
they found they would not have this
| privilege, they went to New Jersey, Sc
| cured their charter and then came back
| into North Carolina and did the very
things they wanted to do.
| Mr.. Robertson hoped the gentleman
| from Granville would not confuse the
| House by calling a corporation trust.
| That was an antlquated idea: but
| lawyer of the reputation of the gentle
| man from Granville must discern the
difference between a corporation and a
| trust
Mr.. Billiard cited the case of two silk
mills in Cumberland which were incor-
| porated in New Jersey, and enjoyed
privileges denied to other corporations.
| Moreover great difficulty was experience
| ed in serving notices upon them, and in
| recovering damages in cases of suits by
| citizens of Cumberland.
| Mr.. Guion mentioned the fact that rail-
reads could own stock in other railroads,
| and banks, cotton mills and other cor
poratipns might as well have the same
privilege
Mr.. Smith asked if this was not the
| way trusts were formed. That was the
| object of all the discussion now going on
| in the Congress Of the United States, to
| draw the line somewhere between cor
| porations and trusts. If there was the
| slightest danger of this law tending to-
ward the formation of trusts, it ought
not to be passed.
! Mr. Guion emphatically declared that
a trust was not formed by allowing one
| corporation to buy stock of another,
even if it were allowed to buy every
! share of it.
| He would suggest in order to prevent
| the formation of trusts in North Caro-
, lima that law be passed preventing any
I corporation from acquiring the property
of another. But as long as the indi-
vidual stockholder could decline to sell
his stock to any corporation or individual
a trust was impossible.
| Mr.. Smith asked if conditions might
not arise under this law whereby an in
/ divdual stockholders would have to sell
| his stock.
| Mr.. Guion replied that such a condi-
| ton most certainly could not arise.
J He declared that If would aotralIv