Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-09-11
BILL WAS DISMISSED
Complainant Oil Company
Taxed With The CoStS.--
Appeal Taken.
Effect Of the Opinion Is to Allow the
Board Of Agriculture to Proceed.
With then Enforcement of
the Inspection Act.

Raleigh News and Observer.
The opinion of Judge H. G. Connor
in the case of the Red c Oil Company
VS.. the State Board of Agriculture,
handed down yesterday in the United
States District and Circuit Court, is
Of vital interest to the people of |
North Carolina. Every issue was de- |
cided in favor of the Board of Agri |
culture, and the bill in equity, filed by |
the complainant, was dismissed. the
plaintiff being taxed with the costs.
1t will be remembered that the
General Assembly of 1909 enacted a
law providing for the inspection of
| Illuminating oils, to determine their
value for Illuminating purposes and
their safety. A tax of one half cent
| per gallon upon all the oil sold in
the State was levied to defray the ex-
penses of inspection. Ten inspectors
one from each congressional district,
| were appointed by the Board of Agri-
culture to go over the State collect
samples of oil sold, see that all YES
sells containing oil were properly
stamped, and to forward the samples
collected to the State oil chemist at
Raleigh for analysis.
:. On the first of July the Red c Oil
Company, through it's attorneys,
I Messrs. Aycock and Winston, filed a
bill in equity in the Circuit Court of
J the United States for the Eastern dis
trict of North Carolina, and upon pc
| INF,
. by Judge Pritchard and made return
D able before Judge Connor on the first
Monday in August. On the return day
s the Board of Agriculture, through its
j attorneys, Hon. T. w. Beckett, Attor-
ney-Genera1 of the State of NORTH
T. Carolina, and Messrs. R. H. Battle
s Son, filed an answer to the bill ano
the case was argued for two days be
y fore the court. The bill was base,
$. upon two propositions: Fist, tha
there was an unconstitutional dele
is cation of power to the State Board o
)f Agriculture; and, second, that the &C
Of the legislature, while purporting t
e be an inspection act, was really rev
Of enue act.
exhaustive opinion refused to sustai
S. either of the propos1UIons. me charg
"a that the legislature under the guise c
doing one thing attempted to do al
p other challenged the good faith of tn
I'd General Assembly of 1909, and it wi
s. be gratifying to the people to kno,
er that the court holds that this cha
le lenge cannot be sustained. The opi1
ion is also interesting in that
shows the tendency of the court
refrain from interfering with 1egis
lative enactments, save where thes
enactments are clearly repugnant t
the constitution of the United States
d. While there are many things abou
the case which none but lawyers ca
understand, the opinion as a Who'll
. will give satisfaction to the people.
~ The effect of the opinion is to allo7
- the State Board of Agriculture to pre-
~ ceed with the enforcement of the in
spection act just as if no suit ha
g. been brought. The Red G Oil Com
pany through it's attorneys gave nc
= tice in open court that it will appea
to the Supreme Court of the Unite
States. This means that it will be
long time before any final decree
. made unless the case should be ad
- vanced by the Supreme Court. Th
le counsel for the plaintiff were allowe
~ till Monday to make a motion to Civ
IL a bond and have the injunction con
tinued. The counsel for the Stat
le contended that it was not a case i
which a bond should be allowed fo
the continuance of an Injunction, bu
without argument this. matter wa
= continued till Monday, when counse
le for plaintiff can make the motion j
they desire to do so.