Chap. 66.—An ACT to incorporate the Wytheville Telephone com-

ny,and to authorize the merger of the charters of the Wythe,

land, Carroll, and Grayson Telephone company, and the Wythe-
ville Telephone Exchange in said company.

Approved February 8, 1888.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
S. R. Soyers, H. G. Wadley, C. B. Thomas, H. B. Maupin, G.
J. Holbrook, James A. Bumbgardner, 8. W. Williams, Martin
Williams, A. J. Grayson, Bruce Banks, John W. Robinson,
William J. Roper, James Wilkinson, J. W. Green, J. M. Early,
and H. H. Johnston, together with such other persons as may
become stockholders, their associates and successors, be and
they are hereby created and constituted a body corporate by
the name of the Wytheville Telephone company; by which
name it shall have perpetual succession, a common seal, may
sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, have and
own property necessary for its purposes, real and personal,
and shall have all the rights and privileges of a corporation,
under the general laws of the state of Virginia, and be sub-
ject to all the ey ad and restrictions imposed,,.by
the laws of this state, so tar as applicable to said corporation
and not inconsistent with the provisions of this act.

2. The said corporation is created for the purpose of con-
ducting the telephone business, and is authorized to erect,
keep, and own such line or lines of wire and telephone fix-
tures and apparatus as may be necessary tor its purposes,
anywhere in the said counties of Wythe, Bland, Grayson,
Carroll, Smythe, Tazewell, Giles, and Pulaski, and in each
and all of them.

3. The said corporation shall have power to acquire, pur-
chase, own, hold and enjoy all real estate, easements, privi-
leges, and franchises necessary for the safe and convenient
erection, support, and maintenance of its lines and the con-
duct of its business, and may place and keep its posts and
erect its wires thereon, on and along any of the public high-
ways in each and all of said counties: provided the same be
placed at least five feet off the road-beds.

4. The capital stock of said company shall be not less than
five hundred nor more than twenty thousand dollars, and
shall be divided into shares of five dollars each, each share
to be entitled to one vote at all stockholders’ meetings; said
stock may be paid in money, posts, wire, labor expended in
erecting or operating said lines, in real or personal property,
as may be agreed on by the board of directors; and any three
of said incorporators may, at any time and place before the
organization of the company, open books of subscription to
the capital stock of the company in any of said counties;
and when the minimum capital is subscribed, the board of
directors hereinafter named, shall call a meeting of the stock-
holders and incorporators for the purpose of organizing said
company, by electing its officers as hereinafter stated.

5. The principal office of said company shall be located in
the town of Wytheville; and its officers shall be a president,
vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and board of directors,
of not less than five nor more than seven, to be elected annu-
ally at a stockholder’s meeting to be held in the town of
Wytheville on the second Monday in May of each year; and
they shall hold until their successors are duly elected, and
all vacancies occurring in the membership of said board shall
be filled by the remaining directors; the appointees to hold
until their successors are duly elected, except that the first
election under this charter shall be held whenever a meeting
is called for the purpose as provided in this act.

6. Until the first election under this charter, the following
persons shall constitute the board of directors of said com-
pany, to-wit: Martin Williams, H. G. Wadley, H. B. Maupin,
C. B. Thomas, and James A. Bumbgardner, three of whom
shall constitute a quorum.

7. The said company through its board of directors, shall
have power to make by-laws and rules for its government,
not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of this state
and of the United States, and shall provide for the proper
certifying, registering, and transfer of the stock of the com-

Re*Google
8. And be it further enacted, That the stockholders of the |
Wythe, Bland, Carroll, and Grayson Telephone company, and
of the Wytheville Telephone Exchange, shall have the power
to merge and consolidate their stock into the stock of this
company by a vote of a majority of the shares in the said
several companies, and when.so merged, then all the property,
rights, liabilities, franchises, and privileges of the said sev-
eral companies shall be vested in this corporation, and for
the stock so surrendered by the shareholders in said com-
panies, the directors of this company shall issue an equiva-
lent amount of stock in the Wytheville Telephone company
upon the basis of five dollars per share, and upon the publica-
tion of notice in two issues of a Wytheville newspaper that
a majority of said stock in said companies has been so merged
and consolidated, then the charters, rights, franchises, and
powers of said companies shall be vested in and owned by
the Wytheville Telephone company hereby created.

9. This charter is granted upon the express condition that
all licenses and taxes which may be assessed against said |
compazxy, shall be paid in lawful money and not in coupons;
and that the general assembly reserves the right to amend,
alter, or repeal the same at pleasure.

10. This act shall be in force from its passage. .