The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-02-02
FOOLISH OPPOSITION TO COR
PORiTIONS.

The January civil term of the Neck
lenburg superior court adjourned yes
rerday after holding for tow weeks.
There was only one session yesterday,
and during this one practically nothing
was done except the signing Of the
docket. Mr.. NJ. Oglesby was awarded
a judgment CT $50 against DR.. Thee. F.
Pharr. of Cabarrus county, the amount
being the balance On a contract.
During the two weeks the superior
cart was in session. excepting three
or four divorce cases, there We're only
four jury trials, all damage suits.
These suits were for 50. 900. $4,000. 81
500 and $4,000 respectively. In only
one case WIS the plaintiff awarded
damages, 500. In this instance the
suit was for $4,000. There were more
than so cases on the calendar and lot
mole than n dozen were disposed Of.
although the our was hard at work
all the time.--Charlotte Observer.
Casual readers will think the above
is an item which mas local interest
only in the section of the state In
which the facts recorded occurred,
but those who will carefully note the
facts recorded will see that there is
much significance in the Item. 1t shows
that there is much of the time of the
courts of our state taken up in unnec-
essary investigation of damage suits
against corporations.
AS a rule juries are too prone to
find against corporations, especially
railroads, when any kind Of a suit for
damages is trumped up.
In this account Of the two weeks
term of M~ecklenburg court we see that
four damage suits took almost the
whole time of a two weeks term, cost
ing the county and the taxpayers hun
dreds of dollars and that three of the
lour cases were thrown out of court
and hat in the other the plaintiff re-
covered n hundred dollars. In that
case the damages demanded were two
thousand dollars.
What better illustration can we have
of the fact that in these days the
courts are used, OF rather h a at
tempts are made to use them for the
purpose of holding up corporations
and compelling them "to deliver" the
cash over to persons who through their
own fault or otherwise suffer some
imaginary injury. 1t is rather remark
at that term Of court demanding a
large amount of damages the jury
should have found in favor of the de-
PENDANT in three of the four n have
given the plaintiff in the other only
one hundred dollars damages out of
two thousand demanded. Does this
NEAR that juries have awakened to he
fact that corporations have some rights
and are not always at fault when
there is a suit brought against them?
We are no apologists for trusts and
corporations of the grinding and mo-
nopolistic kind, but we want to see
fair play for all parties and we can
not see why one party to a suit in court
cannot have as fair play Us another
just because it is a corporation. To
corporations our state owes more for
it's progress and development in the
last few years than to all the indi-
vidual promoters in her borders. This
is a day of Capitalization of capital for
development. I~cdividuals can do little
in the way of progress and develop
ment. There must be combination Of
capital and concert of brains and &C
ton to bring about needed develop
ment of our states great hidden re-
sources. 1t is remarkable that there
should still be hostility toward CAPT
tai as soon as it organizes under the
name Of a corporation, especially if
it is for the purpose building a rail-
road, even if it is through a section of
the state which has no modern conve-
niences for putting it in touch with the
outside world. Many of our people
seem to think that every railroad cor
poration that is organized is one more
enemy to their interests brought into
existence.
Impossible to foreSee an accident.
Mo- t0nOrcSH1o - Hn foy Jf