The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-11-12

| The following are some extracts from
the argument OF Attorney General Gil
mer for the State:
IF il had appeared from the record
| that the Armour Packing Company en-
! gagged solely in the business of shipping
| their food products into the State Of
North Carolina. consigned directly to
purchaser or purchasers, on orders pre-
viously obtained. it would not be contend
ed that the State of North Carolina could
collect any tax. as its imoosition in such
cases would be illegal as q violation of
! the commerce clause of the Federal Con
stitution. While it appears that the de-
| PENDANT company, to a certain extent, en-
cages in Interstate business. it is never
theless true that its operations are large
~ intrastate or domestic in their char
aeter. The statute in question upon its
face, indicates that it was the purpose
| of the Legislature to tax only u packing
house doing business in this State, and
not packing house doing business in this
State with another State. Hence the
language of the act, every meat-packing
house doing business in this State The
limitation in the statute to business done
within the State excludes the idea that
the Legislature had in mind the imposi-
tic NOT tax on business done by TIE
Armour Packing Company between this
State and another State.
Counsel for the appellant corporation
| argue that a packing house cannot be
considered as doing business in this State
unless it actually engages, at some point
in the State, in the business Of main
tanning a place where the slaughtering
of animals and the dressing and prepar-
ing of the products of their carcases for
food and other commercial purposes is
carried on. The record shows that the
Armour Packing Company ships its food
products into this State in carload lots
and deposits them in warehouses or cold
storage plants, where they remain until
disposed of in due course of business on
orders taken after the goods have thus
become intermingled with property in this
State The company also maintains at
various points in North Carolina in ad-
dltion to its warehouses and cold-storage
! plants, Offices, sales places and agencies,
where it has in its employment book.
keepers, stenographers, shipping clerks.
statesmen, drivers, laborers who box said
meat and who wrap and crate goods for
delivery as they are sold
Counsel endeavor to interpret the
revenue law taxing meat-packing houses
with reference to it's grammatical sense.
| The golden rule of construction is that
which gives to words used by the Legs
| lature their plain and natural meaning,
unless it Is manifest from the general
scope and intention of the statute that
injustice and absurdity would result from
so constituting them
III &c Iva SnyS Sutherland
on Statutory Construction, Sec. 259, TO
adhere to a plain, common-sense inter
probation of the words of the statute,
rather than TO apply to them refined
and technical grammatical construction
The common sense view of this statute
is that it was the purpose of the Legis-
lature to impose upon a corporation,
known as a meat-packing house, tax
for the privilege of performing such acts
within this jurisdiction as will amount
to doing business
ct is submitted that the two follow
ing propositions have been established:
Il That the General Assembly has plen-
airy powers in the matter of regulating
the terms of admission of the Armour
Packing Company into this State as cor
poration for the purpose Of carrying on
its corporate business, subject only to
constitutional provisions which We Will
discuss hereafter.
SO. That the said company is doing bust
ness in this State in contemplation OF sec
ton Sc of the revenue law
"The tax III question does not violate
the commerce clause OF the Federal Con-
stitution.
From the cases hereinbefore referred
to, the doctrine that the State can tax
intrastate or domestic business OF q tor
eign corporation, is clearly established. 1t
is contended, however, by the defendant
company that, Notwithstanding 1t engages
largely in domestic business, it is not
liable for the tax imposed by section
Sc of our revenue act, on account of the
fact that it is also engaged in business
which may be regarded as interstate
'In the first place, We will observe that
the section purports to tax only business
done in this State. 1t would present an
anomalou condition OF affairs II the de-
PENDANT company could be permitted to es-
cape the payment of tax imposed on
domestic business IN when 1t Is largely
engaged. because of the fact that the
company chooses also to engage In bust
ress which is interstate IN its character,
in addition TO It's domestic puSlASoS'
''If the Armour Packing Company Inn.
it's its business to interstate commerce,
the hand of the Legislature Is stayed by
virtue of the provisions OF the Federal
Constitution But if the corporation, Ill
addition to it's interstate commerce busi-
ress, wishes to engage IN domestic trans
actions. both reason and the authorities
demand the payment of tax which Is
levied, not only on foreign but on home
corporations for the privilege of doing
business in the State.
Counsel for the defendant insist that
section 56 is unconstitutional, in that it
violates section of Article OF the Con-
stitution of North Carolina, which pro-
vides that laws shall be passed for tax
ing by a uniform rule
This section of the Constitution is
frequently invoked in order to procure
an exemption from taxation.
"a tax is uniform when it is equal upon
| all persons belonging to the described
| class upon which it is imposed.
THE tax in question does not violate
! the fourteenth amendment to the Consti-