Chap. 53.—An ACT to incorporate the Mount Rogers and Eastern railroad
company, to grant said corporation certain privileges, anc authorize the
counties tnrough which said road may be constructed to aid the construc-
tion thereof.

In effect February 11, 1901.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That A. A.
Campbell, L. A. Sebastian, S.C. Plummer, R. 1. Grecar, H. A. Hoffman,
8 _B. Bryant. J. G. Davis, J. D. Perkins, L. Phipps. A. E. Parsons, and
”. C. Bagwell, or any five of them who may accept the provisions of this
mh their associates, successors, and assigns, are hereby incorporated and
made a body politic, under the name and style of the Mount Rogers and
Eastern railroad company, and that such incorporators may by such
name sue and be sued. and be authorized to use and adopt a corporate
seal, and change the same at pleasure: to purchase, receive. retain, and
enjoy lands and tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, and effects,
choses in action and possession; to purchase the stock in other corpora-
tions and hold and control the same, and to do all other things necessary
for the full exercise of the privileges herein granted; and to sell, alien,
convey, mortgage, and dispose of the same; to adopt and establish such
by-laws as may be necessary for the government of such corporation, and
generally to do and perform all acts and things necessary to carry into
effect fully the objects of this incorporation.

2. That the capital stock of said company shall be seven hundred and
fifty thousand dollars ($750,000), divided into shares of the par value of
fifty dollars or one hundred dollars each, and it may consist of common
and preferred stock, as the board of directors may determine, which
capital stock may, from time to time, be increased to such an amount
as shall give said corporation fifteen thousand dollars worth of common
stock, and ten thousand dollars worth of preferred stock, at par value,
for each mile of completed railroad owned by it; said increase in the
capital stock to be made under such rules and regulations as the board
of directors of said company may prescribe, and to be approved by a
majority of the stockholders at any regular or called meeting; and said
company shall be authorized to commence business as soon as fifty thou-
sand dollars worth of its capital stock at par value has been subscribed
for.

3. That the annual meeting of the stockholders of said company shall
be held on the second Tuesday in January of each year, at which time
they shall elect a board of five directors, who shall hold office for the
period of one year, or until their successors shall be elected and qualified ;
and the directors of the company shall be authorized to call such mect-
ings of the stockholders. upon such notice, and at such times as they
deem fit, for the transaction of any business.

4. That the first board of directors shall consist of A. A. Campbell, R.
T.. Greear, J. D. Perkins, L. Phipps, and J. G. Davis, who shall act as
such until their successors have been elected and qualified. That the
affairs of the company shall be conducted under the management and
control of the board of directors, who shall, on the second Tuesday of
January in each year, elect a president, vice-president, secretary and
treasurer; and the first board of directors shall clect all of said officers,
to hold until their reeular election of nineteen hundred and two. he
board of directors shall have the power to fill vacancies in the board.
caused by death or resignation, to fill vacancies in the offices of said
cempany, caused by death, resignation or other cause,

5. No stockholder in said company shall be liable for the debts and
obligations of the company to any greater extent than the amount due
from him upon any unpaid subscription made by him to the capital stock
of said company.

. That it shall be lawful for the Mount Rowers and Eastern railroad
company hereby created to construct, operate and maintain. in whole or
in part. a line of railroad, of standard or narrow gauze, of cither a single
or a double track, beginning at or near Independence, in the county of
Grayson, in the state of Virginia. and running thence in a westerly
direction by the most feasible route to a point or points on the Tennessee,
North Carolina or Kentucky line, as may be found most advantageous
by a survey; and also to construct, operate and maintain, in whole or in
part »a line of railroad, of standard or narrow gauge, of either a single or
a double track, from a point at or near Independence, in the county of
Grayson, in the state of Virginia, and running thence easterly by the
most feasible route to some point on tide-water, in the State of Virginia ;
and also to construct, operate and maintain one or more branches, to be
operated in connection with said railroad. And the said company shall
have the right to construct and maintain such side-tracks. oflices, shops,
stations, warehouses, elevators, wharves, bridges and buildings as may
be needed for the operation of said lines of railroad: provided, however,
that the principal office of said company shall be located in the state of
Virginia,

7. That it shall be lawful for the said Mount Rogers and Eastern
railroad company to aequire the rights, privileges, property and fran-
chises of other incorporated railroad companies, connecting with its line,
in this and other states, or which may hereafter be incorporated, by
exchanging its stock for their stock, or by purchase or lease; and it may
merge, and for the purposes aforesaid, consolidate, the same or any of
them with the said Mount Rogers and Eastern railroad company on
such terms as may be agreed upon by the contracting parties; and it may
adopt another name for the consolidated company, full power and au-
thority being hereby given to such other companies to make and carry
ont stich consolidation or merger; but such company shall not, by any
such consolidation or merger with other companies, in this or other
states. cease to be a domestie corporation; and it shall be lawful for any
county within the state, by and with the consent of the board of super-
visors of said county, to dispose of and transfer its interest in any rail-
road company to the said Mount Rogers and Eastern railroad company.
by lease or sale, for cash, or for the stock or bonds of the said Mount
Rogers and Eastern railroad company, or as a donation to said Mount
Rovers and Eastern railroad company.

8. It shall be lawful for said company to receive grants and subserip-
tions of lands, coal. iron, timber, material or other property, or labor or
services, at such values and upon such terms as may be agreed on with
the board of directors of said company: and it may make payments for
the same in its stoek or bonds, and may hold the same at pleasure: pro-
vided, it shall not exceed the amount provided for by the general law.

9, For ihe purpose of aiding in the construction of said railroad, it
shall be lawful for any city, county or town, by a vote of a majority of the
voters voting, and a majority of the free-holders voting in said city,
county or town, at the election ordered hereunder, to subscribe money or
honds for the stock or bonds of said company, and to subscribe money or
honds for the purchase of a right of way for the railroad of said com-
pany, under the terms and conditions set forth in the order of the court
authorizing such vote; and such cities, counties, or towns are hereby
empowered to make such subscription in the usual mode preseribed by
law; and the board of supervisors, or the council of such city, county or
town, as the case may be, are hereby empowered and directed to lay such
a levy upon the real and personal property within such city, county or
town, as may be necessary to provide for the payment of the interest, and
a sinking fund for the payment of the amount of the subscription of said
city, county or town. Any such city, county or town, in order to aid
and encourage the construction of said road, may, by a similar vote,
rebate the city, county, or town taxes for such a period as may be named
in the order of the court authorizing such vote. And it shall be lawful
for any city, county or town to grant the said Mount Rogers and Kastern
railroad company a right of way through or across its roads or streets.
for the purpose of building and operating its said railroad. It shall be
lawful for any railroad company, or other incorporated company, to sub-
scribe to the stock of, and aid in the construction of, said Mount Rogers
and Eastern railroad, or to acquire the bonds of said railroad company.

10. For the purpose of developing industries along its route, said
company may own and develop any beds of coal or mineral, or other
valuable material; and may subscribe to, or guarantee, the stock or bonds
of any mining, manufacturing or development company, or loan money
to such companies for the establishment of such industries.

11. That said company shall have the power to intersect or cross at
grade, or over or under any other railroad now constructed, or which
shall hereafter be constructed, at any point on its route, in the manner
prescribed by the general law of this state; to unite its road with any of
such roads; and to enter on the grounds of any of such railroad com-
panies for necessary sidings, switches, and conveniences to facilitate the
economical exchange of passengers and trallic between the respective
roads; all of such to be done in the mode prescribed by the law of this
state. And said company shall have the right to construct its road over
the rivers and streains of this state: provided, that it so builds its bridges,
or has sufficient draws in them, as not to interfere with navigation.

12. That said company shall have the right to enter upon any lands
along the line of said railroad or its branches, and appropriate the same
for its right of way, to the extent that may be convenient or necessary,
and to construct said line of railroad thereupon, and for the purpose of
cutting embankments or obtaining gravel or other material, and for the
purpose of building stations, depots, warehouses, docks, wharves,
swithches and side-tracks, to take as much land as may be necessary for
the proper construction, operation, and security of the road; all of such
land to be taken, and compensation made therefor, in the way now or
which may hereafter be provided by the general law.

13. The board of directors of said company shall have the right to
mortgage the railroad, its franchises, road-hed, and property of every
kind, and to issue bonds, secured by the mortgages in such a way and
for such sums as the board of directors may determine.

14. Said company shall begin the work of constructing its road
within two years from the passage of this act, and shall complete the
same within ten years from the passage of this act.

15. Said company shall have the right to acquire and own boats, ships,
and other craft, and to operate them for the carriage of freight and pas-
scngers in connection with its said railroad business.

16. All laws or parts of laws in contlict herewith are to that extent
hereby repealed.

17. All taxcs which may be assessed against said company shall be paid
in lawful money of the United States.

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