History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 78

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756

USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I > Part 78

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mill pond in time came to be stocked with fish, and when it was large, water birds came in numbers, thus affording sport both for the hunter and the fisherman. The miller was usually a personage of character and dignity, and had the confidence of the community.

Changes came with time. Steam mills took the place of the water mill: Railroads began to import both corn and meal. The interest in cotton minimized the raising of corn, and the importation above described followed.

Much of the forage used on farms for a long time consisted of fodder-pulled, tied in hands, cured and later bundled. On every farm was the familiar fodder stack, and the loft of the barn always had its compartment for the surplus. With the development of grasses and legumes for hay and forage, and the cutting of the young corn in the stalk, fodder has lost its relative value. Many farm- ers regularly plant or set aside so much of their fields for corn for silage. The building of silos has in turn developed both the use of corn as silage, and the increase in produc- tion of other forage crops.

Corn has played a part in the social and community life of the people, as well as in their economic welfare. In the early years of settlement husking bees or corn huskings were events of no mean importance. In every community there was one or more every season. They were the topic of con- cern for weeks, in the home, at the school and church, at the cross roads store and post office. They brought together young men and maidens from far and near. Re- freshments were provided, and much was the fun and merriment indulged as the hours went by. While the farmer at whose home the husking was held usually had his entire crop shucked and sometime shelled, the ex- pense of providing entertainment always cost quite as much as was saved. However, they were real events in the life of the young folk, and many were the engagements dating from them.

Statistics .- The state produced in 1840, 20,947,004, 1850, 28,754,048, and in 1860, 32,761,194 bushels of corn. The acreage production and value by years, 1866-1917, is as follows:

Year

Acreage. Acres.

Produc'n Bushels.

Farm Val. Dollars.

1866

.2,399,676

21,597,083

22,678,439

1867

.2,191,358

35,500,000

20,089,542

1868

. 2,892,592

31,240,000

19,989,881

1869

.2,013,333

30,200,000

27,280,507

1870

.. 2,019,085

35,334,000

29,497,864

1871

. 1,315,862

19,080,000

15,785,612

1872

.1,300,909

22,896,000

15,818,317

1873

.1,500,069

21,751,000

16,823,978

1874

.1,644,553

20,228,000 24,500,000

16,963,066

1875

.1,944,444

16,020,052

1876

.. 2,016,538

26,215,000

11,533,639

1877

.1,916,667

23,000,000

15,214,008

1878

.1,994,000

23,928,000

14,089,341

1879

. 1,954,100

25,403,300

16,766,178

400

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

Year

Acreage.

Produc'n

Farm Val.

Dollars.

1880

.1,828,980

1881

.2,035,700

1882

.2,300,341

31,982,500

19,189,500 16,761,152

1884

. 2,322,885

1885

.2,346,114

1886

.2,393,036

1887

.2,464,827

33,522,000

1888

. 2,489,475

31,616,000

17,388,800

1889

. 2,514,370

33,944,000

1890

.2,489,226

25,390,000

17,311,437 17,265,271 20,314,627 15,946,412 16,713,823

1893

.2,463,349

1894

.2,537,249

18,422,965

1895

. 2,790,974

16,419,300

1896

. 2,595,606

1897

.2,543,694

1898

.2,645,442

1899

. 2,751,260

1900

.2,668,722

1901

.2,559,923

21,485,434

1902

.2,764,717

1903

. 2,820,011 . 2,791,811

42,971,548

1906

. 2,990,587

47,849,392

1907

.2,961,000

45,896,000

1908

.3,050,000

44,835,000

37,213,000

1909

. 2,573,000

26,091,000

1910

. 2,850,000

30,696,000 51,300,000 54,000,000

36,423,000

1911

.3,000,000

42,120,000

1912

. 3,150,000

54,180,000

42,802,000

1913

.3,200,000

55,360,000

49,270,000

1914

.3,264,000

55,488,000

44,390,000

1915

.3,900,000

66,300,000

45,747,000

1916

.3,735,000

46,688,000

47,622,000

1917

.4,371,830

61,632,810

See Cereals; Mills; Soils; and names of counties for local statistics.

REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest (1823), pp. 623- 626; Alabama, 1909 (Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletin 27), p. 324-325; U. S. Dept. of Com- merce, Statistical abstract, 1889, and subsequent volumes; U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Yearbook, 1916, and previous issues; Bailey, Cyclopedia of American agriculture, 4th ed., (1912), pp. 398- 427; Duggar, Southern field crops (1911) ; Hunt, The Cereals in America (1911); American Cot- ton Planter, Montgomery, 1853-1861, passim; Ala. Experiment Station, Bulletins; Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletins.

CORNSILK'S VILLAGE. A Cherokee In- dlan village, small and unimportant, situated at the old Cornsilk pond on the farm of Judge Thomas A. Street, near Warrenton, in Mar- shall County. It was named for its Headman, "Cornsilk."

REFERENCE .- O. D. Street, in Alabama His- tory Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 417.

CORONA. Post office and station on the Southern Railway, in the southwestern corner of Walker County, sec. 27, T. 15, R. 9 W., 18 miles southwest of Jasper. Population: 1888, 450; Corona Precinct, including the town, 1890, 1,346; 1900, 2,332; 1910, 3,029;

town proper, 1912, 1,200. The town was laid out in 1885. Major W. J. Kelly located it on top of the hill and called it "Corona," or the crown; hut the town has remained at the foot of the hill. Among the early settlers were George S. Gaines, D. J. Gibson, D. C. Kelly, and Dr. W. J. Baird.

REFERENCES .- Armes, Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama (1910), p. 502; Polk's Alabama Gazetteer, 1888-89, p. 284; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.

CORPORATIONS. Artificial beings, "in- visible, intangible, and existing only in con- templation of law," created hy legislative acts, "to which they either mediately or im- mediately owe their vitallty." As used in the State constitution, the term "corporation" is construed "to include all joint stock com- panies, and all associations having any of the powers or privileges of corporations, not possessed hy individuals or partnerships." The State courts have held that "corporations are not citizens, within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States, which accorded to them the privileges and immuni- ties of citizens in the several States." The distinction between corporations and part- nerships contained in the State constitution is followed here.

With respect to their rights, powers, and purposes, corporations in the State are broadly classified as eleemosynary and civil. Eleemosynary corporations are mainly churches and other religious organizations, schools and colleges, hospitals, asylums, fra- ternal benefit societies, and other charitable organizations. Civil corporations are divided into two main classes, namely, public and private. The former class includes municipal corporations, some schools and colleges, and certain public institutions. The latter class is subdivided into public utilities, or corpora- tions owning franchises, such as railroads, street railways, electric light, gas, and water- works companies, etc .; and all other private corporations, such as banks, insurance com- panies, manufactories, mining companies, warehouse and cold storage companies, com- mercial corporations, etc. In most respects all private corporations are subject to the same legal restrictions and regulations, but certain classes of them are governed by spe- cial regulations, hereinafter to be noted.

Corporations in Alahama are regulated by the State, either under its general constitu- tional and police powers, or by means of special boards and commissions to which is delegated authority to regulate a particular class of corporations, as the public service commission which has jurisdiction over rail- roads, express, telegraph, and telephone com- panles and all other public utilities, the insur- ance department, the banking department, the factory inspectors, and the mine inspect- ors. For details of the regulative functions of these State departments, see those titles.

Constitutional Provisions .- There was no constitutional provision regarding corpora- tions until 1861. All corporation charters

1883

. 2,227,338

26,189,300

30,197,000 31,405,000 28,893,000

18,420,170 17,272,750 17,335,800 18,101,880

1891

. 2,539,011

1892

. 2,513,621

32,245,000 30,666,000 28,328,514

34,760,311 44,376,487

32,445,075

30,524,328

14,600,284 14,041,191 16,269,468 15,517,106 17,026,446

1905

.2,903,483

39,681,630 33,015,120 29,355,942 27,903,161 23,223,623 41,736,163 41,877,165

15,559,827 23,789,613 25,126,299 27,501,791 30,623,611 34,422,000

1904

Acres

Bushels.

22,679,352 20,250,000

15,195,166

19,642,500

Joshua Martin 1845-1847

Reuben Chapman 1847-1849

Henry W. Collier 1849-1853

John Anthony Winston 1853-1857

Andrew B. Moore 1857-1861

John Gill Shorter 1861-1863

Thomas H. Watts 1863-1865

Lewis E. Parsons 1865

Robert M. Patton 1865-1868

William H. Smith 1868-1870

Robert B. Lindsay 1870-1872

David P. Lewis 1872-1874

George S. Houston 1874-1878

GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA

Vol. 1-26

403

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

were issued under the provisions of the com- mon law. Prior to the adoption of the con- stitution of 1875, the charters of corporations were contracts within the meaning of the Federal Constitution, and came under the protection of its inhibition against the impair- ment of the obligation of contracts. Under the constitutions of 1875 and 1901, the charters of Alabama corporations are subject to legislative control, including alteration without the consent of the stockholders. The supreme court has held, in the case of Louis- ville & Nashville R. R. Co. v. Gray (154 Ala., p. 156), that charters of corporations which were granted prior to 1875 and have been amended by legislative act, with the consent of the company, since the adoption of the constitution of 1875, thereby became sub- ject to legislative control; and may therefore be amended or revoked by the legislature, but "this shall be done in such manner that no injustice is done the stockholders."

The constitution of 1861, article 3, con- tained four sections which applied to private corporations. They provided that no special law should be enacted for the benefit of cor- porations, where a general law would apply, or where the relief sought could be given by any court of the State; that private property should not be taken for their use without the consent of the owner; that no power to levy taxes should be delegated to them; that taxes should not be levied for their benefit without the consent of the taxpayer. They also empowered the legislature to confer upon corporations the right of eminent domain, for obtaining rights of way and sites for depots, stations and turnouts, with just compensation to the owner of the land.

Section 25 of article 1 and sections 38, 40 and 41 of article 4 of the constitution of 1865 contained provisions substantially the same as those mentioned, except that for the pro- hibition of the levy of taxes for the benefit of private corporations without the consent of the taxpayer, was substituted the provision that the debts or liabilities of any corpora- tion should not be guaranteed by the State, nor any money, credit, or other thing be loaned or given away by the legislature, ex- cept by the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house, the votes in each case to be taken by yeas and nays and entered on the journals.

The constitution of 1868 contained general provisions similar to the foregoing; and, in addition, a separate article of 15 sections which applied to corporations.

The constitution of 1901, section 240, pro- vides that "all corporations shall have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be sued, in all courts in like cases as natural persons." However, it has been held by the supreme court, in the case of Alabama Girls' Industrial School v. Reynolds (143 Ala., p. 579), that certain public corporations, namely, those that are mere State agencies, representatives of the State "instituted and maintained for he exercise of a governmental function," against which a decree or judgment, if ren-

dered, "must be satisfied, if at all, out of property held by it, and this property belongs to the State, though the title is so nomine in the corporation,-a suit against such corpora- tion is in effect a suit against the State, and is prohibited by the constitution," section 14, which provides "that the State of Alabama shall never be made a defendant in any court of law or equity."

Foreign Corporations .- The provisions of the constitution of 1901, section 232, are as follows:

"No foreign corporation shall do any busi- ness in this state without having at least one known place of business and an authorized agent or agents therein, and without filing with the secretary of state a certified copy of its articles of incorporation or association. Such corporation may be sued in any county where it does business, by service of process upon an agent anywhere in the state. The legislature shall, by general law, provide for the payment. to the State of Alabama of a franchise tax by such corporation, but such franchise tax shall be based on the actual amount of capital employed in this state. Strictly benevolent, educational, or religious corporations shall not be required to pay such a tax."

Foreign corporations may be altogether ex- cluded from doing business in the State, and may be required to conform to any restric- tions deemed proper by the State as a con- dition upon which they may do business. Among such restrictions is the requirement of a license or privilege tax, and failure to pay such a tax is sufficient ground for excluding the corporation from the State. License taxes have at times been required of foreign corporations when no such charges were made against domestic corporations do- ing the same sort of business; and foreign corporations have sometimes been subjected to State regulation which did not apply to similar domestic corporations. Both these conditions obtained for many years with re- spect to insurance companies. In the main, however, foreign corporations are on an equal footing with those organized under Alabama laws. The legal status of foreign corporations, as construed by the State supreme court, has been summarized as fol- lows:

"A foreign corporation cannot do business in a State without the consent of the State, express or implied, and this consent may be granted with such conditions as the State may see proper to impose, provided, only, that the conditions are not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the United States, or inconsistent with the jurisdictional author- ity of the State, or in conflict with the rule which forbids condemnation without oppor- tunity for defense."

Corporate Powers .- Corporations bave ex- press powers, or those enumerated in their charters; implied or incidental powers, or those prerequisite to the exercise of their ex- press powers; and common law powers, or those common to all corporations irrespective

404

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

of the provisions or implications of their charters. Every corporation organized under Alabama laws has the right of "succession by its corporate name for the period limited in their certificate of incorporation, and when no period is limited, perpetually," except that bank charters shall not extend beyond 20 years unless renewed; the power to sue and be sued; to use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure; "to acquire, hold, pur- chase, receive by hequest, or devise, or in payment of subscription for stock * * * and to convey and otherwise dispose of," any real and to pledge its real and personal property to secure the payment of money borrowed or any debt contracted; to appoint and employ such officers and agents as its business may require; "to make and alter at pleasure all needful by-laws, rules and regulations for the transaction of its business and the control of its property and affairs;" to liquidate its busi- ness and dissolve itself as provided by law; and numerous other powers which it is un- necessary to enumerate.

The charters issued during the early period of the State's existence were somewhat cir- cumscribed as to specific powers, and nearly all of them were limited as to duration, 20 to 50 years being the usual length of life. A gradual increase in the number, and a broad- ening of the scope of corporate powers, accompanying the evolution of the State's economic and industrial life, are perceptible in the charters. The same is true of cor- porate purposes as exhibited by the objects which they were organized to accomplish.

General Corporation Laws .- The first gen- eral law providing for the organization and management of corporations was enacted in 1850. It applied to companies organized "to construct Macadamised, graded, turnpike, wooden, rail roads, or plank roads," and under its provisions charters could be ob- talned by filing in the office of the secretary of state, the articles of association, which should contain certain prescribed information regarding the company and its purposes. The passage of this law had little or no effect on the practice of incorporating every company by a special legislative enactment, which con- tinued as before.

Subsequent general acts provided for different kinds of corporations, one for rail- road companies, one for street railway com- panies, one for telegraph companies, etc. An act of October 2, 1903, consolidated most of these separate statutes, and became the basis of the present system of code provisions governing the organization and management of all classes of corporations in the State. The general act was passed in accordance with the constitution of 1901, which prohibits the legislature from granting charters to cor- porations by private or local laws. This con- stitutional inhibition necessitated the enact- ment of some general and uniform statute on the subject, and the law referred to represents the attempt to do so.

Taxation .- Section 217 of the constitution of 1901 provides that "the property of pri-

vate corporations, associations, and individ- uals of this State shall forever be taxed at the same rate; provided, this section shall not apply to institutions devoted exclusively to religious, educational, or charitable pur- poses." The taxes to which hoth foreign and domestic corporations are liable in Alabama are the general ad valorem property tax which applies both to their tangible and intangible property, the franchise tax, the "occupation" or license tax on certain kinds of business, and the annual registration fees. There are additional taxes required of certain classes of corporations; for example, all public utility corporations, except telephone and telegraph companies, railroad and sleeping car com- panies, and express companies, must pay a State license of 2 mills on each dollar of their gross receipts; and a further license tax may be required of them by each county in which they do business. Municipal license taxes are also collected from corporations as from firms and individuals. Special license taxes equivalent to the foregoing are required of telephone, telegraph, railroad, sleeping car, and express companies.

The assessment and collection of corpora- tion taxes are handled in all respects as other taxes, except as to public utility corporations, which are assessed by the State board of equalization instead of by the local authori- ties, and as to licenses and registration fees, which are collected by the secretary of state. For details of the levy, assessment and col- lection of taxes see title Taxation and Reve- nue.

Genesis and General History .- The early joint-stock companies, or corporations, in Alabama represented the attempt to accom- plish by cooperative financial means, private undertakings or quasi-public improvements that were too extensive or too expensive for individuals or partnerships to carry through. They represented also the desire of their pro- moters and stockholders to secure a limited financial liability in the event their purposes failed of accomplishment. The organization of companies with multifarious purposes soon became popular, and visionary schemes were often advocated and sometimes undertaken. Numbers of charters were obtained for com- panies whose organization was never com- pleted, and many others for companies that began the work projected but failed to com- plete it. This was true especially of the public service enterprises, such as companies for the construction of canals, the improve- ment of streams for navigation, the build- ing of turnpikes and plank roads, etc. Dur- ing one period of several years duration a spirit of speculation was uppermost in the securing of charters for companies to engage in public works. The tendency to specula- tion doubtless was augmented by the exclu- sive rights, or monopolies, contained in many of the charters. Men without capital would obtain charters conveying exclusive rights to construction and operation for as long a term of years as possible, with the expectation of selling out to or consolidating with some

405

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

other company which had the requisite capi- tal or credit. This phase of corporate evolu- tion was most prominent during the early years of railroad building in the State.

As a rule, corporate enterprise has been restricted to industrial undertakings. Few corporations have been organized to conduct farms or plantations, while by far the larger proportion of mining, manufacturing, trans- portation, public utility, and all other indus- trial enterprises have been carried on by aggregations of capital in the form of joint- stock companies. The development of organ- ized effort on a large scale has, indeed, in Alabama as elsewhere, constituted the most conspicuous and the most significant charac- teristic of modern commercial enterprise. Locally the increase in the number of large corparations has been mainly due to the entry of foreign companies into the State, either as developers of new industries or as purchasers of projects already under way. Examples of such wealthy corporations are to be found among the railroad companies, the public utilities, and among water power, hydroelec- tric, fertilizer manufacturing, mining, tele- graph, telephone, cotton mill, and iron and steel companies.

Concurrently with the development of the "American System," and with the ascendancy of the "strict construction" doctrine with re- gard to public acid of internal improvements in the United States, the principle of public aid to works of internal improvement con- ducted by private enterprise gained in popu- lar favor in the State. There was, however, considerable and powerful opposition to the practice, which was led, in its later and most effective stage, by John A. Winston, who eventually was elected governor as the leader of the opposition to the State-aid policy. By his numerous vetoes of bills carrying appro- priations or loans to corporations, he gained the sobriquet of "The Veto Governor," but nevertheless the doctrine gained in favor, and shortly became the policy of the State. The aid extended to corporations has usually taken the form of county and town subscrip- tions to their capital stock; loans of State, county, and municipal bonds; State endorse- ment of their bonds; donations of right of way, sites for plants, etc .; the granting of franchises by cities and towns; State grants of monopolies of water-power rights; and exemption from taxation for varying lengths of time.

Development .- During the first 30 years of the State's history, corporations were created only by special acts of the legislature. At first most of the charters granted were to towns, academies, and navigation companies organized to improve the condition of numer- ous streams, or to operate boats on them. There were many such charters issued almost from the first. During the first session of the State legislature three towns were incor- porated; during the second session, eight towns, two navigation companies, one academy, and one aqueduct company; during the called session of 1821, one town and the

grand lodge of the Masons; and during the third regular session, four towns, four navi- gation companies, two local chapters of the sity. Thus, within three years, the State had Masons, and the trustees of the State univer- created corporations of practically all the general classes now known to the law, and prototypes of most of the different kinds of modern corporations except the railroad, the bank, and the industrial plant. Public cor- porations were represented by the municipali- ties and the university, eleemosynary corpora- tions by the Masonic lodges, private educa- tional corporations by the academies, and public service corporations by the navigation companies and the aqueduct, or city water supply company.

Within a few years the number of compa- nies incorporated for various purposes in- creased to such an extent that it was found expedient to classify them under several gen- eral heads, and to group them accordingly in the indexes to the published acts of the legis- lature. In 1848 the groups were as follows: institutes, academies, insurance companies, turnpike companies, bridge companies, cities, towns, fire engine companies, railroad com- panies, manufacturing companies, volunteer military companies, telegraph companies, and miscellaneous corporations including a plank road company, a Masonic institute, a secret order, a literary association, a local bar asso- ciation, a mining and transportation com- pany, a religious order, the grand chapter of a fraternal order, a public auditorium com- pany, and a mining company. This classifica- tion is typical of those used for a number of years, although new groups were added from time to time, as macadamized road companies, colleges, mining and transportation compa- nies, medical and other scientific societies, hotel companies, etc.

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 78

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 756

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756