Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-10-06
INJUNCTION GRANTED
State Will Appeal to Supreme Court of United States at Once-Oyer e7s,000 Paid Into State Treasary Under Act Which State Will Fight t0 Retain.
Special to Graphic.

Little Rock Ark, Oct. 5.-In the United States Circuit Court Judge Trieber today handed down his opin- ion in the case of the Rock Island Railroad Company against o. c. Lud- wig as secretary of state, overruling the demurrer of Attorney General Kirby to the Jurisdiction of the court and the equity of the bill, and grant ing a temporary injunction restrain Ing the secretary of state from revok- ing the right of the railroad company Ito carry on business in the State for ssviolating the Wingo act, passed by the ! last Legislature.
 The court holds that the suit against the secretary of state, who is 2 merely acting in this matter as a min- isterial officer, is not suit against the State within the meaning of the tiOn, and, therefore, is cognizable in a court of the United States, as the rikht claimed by the railroad compa- ,1|sy is one arising under the Constitu. 9icn of the United States.
 & On the main issue the court holds that while the State has the right to exclude foreign corporations from do- ing business within it's borders, with or without any reason, this power of X the State is subject to the constitu- tional provision that no State shall pass any law impairing the obliga
 fons of a contract.
 3 After a thorough review of the leg islation of the State on the subject of the admission of foreign corporations Ito do business in the State, the court holds that the former acts of the Leg s 1slature under which these foreign Corporations came into the State and
 invested large sums of money were not a mere license, liable to be revok cd without cause, but a contl act that ' the liabilities of such foreign corpora B Hons should be the same as the do. tmestic corporations, and that treat ment in that regard should be meas sNred out to both. If it is deaired on sthe part of the State to .increAse the liability of the foreign corporation it Iscould only be done by increasing Those of the domestic corporations at A the same time.
 ssss& The court then holds that by Section s1 of the Wingo act foreign corpcra- buons are denied the right to remove Ssa cause to Federal court or to in- sstitute an original proceeding in such ssa court, while domestic corporations ssare permitted to do so. This right, ethe court holds, is a valuable one, xranted by Congress, under author ity of the constitution, and therefore the deprivation thereof is denial of the equal rights of contract between Corporations and the State under it's former laws, and therfore an impair ssment of the obligations of contract. s2The provisions of Section 3 of the sWingo act are also held void for the ssnme reason, as it requires foreign \ Evaporation heretofore authorized to fIo business in this State upon com-
 liance with the laws of the State to pay large additional fees, while do- nestle corporations in existence at the passage of the act were relieved of the payment of this tax.
 The court therefore holds that whatever the name or nature of tae tax, 1t must be measured in amount by the same rate as provided for the domestic institutions, and If the lat
 ter Is not taxed in that way, neither can the State thus tax the foreig cor poration.
 The court granted a temporary re- ftraining order restraining the sec- retary of State from revoking the right