968 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 460

Susquehanna Mats. In case any section or provision of this
Act shall be held unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall
not be held to affect any other section or provision of this Act.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall go
into effect on June 1st, 1918.

Approved April 10th, 1918.

CHAPTER 469.

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact with amendments Section 167
and Section 177 of Article 81 of the Code of Public Gen-
eral Laws of Maryland (being Bagby's Edition of Anno-
tated Civil Code of Maryland, published 1911), said amend-
ments being designed to exclude foreign guano, phosphate
and fertilizer companies from the list of corporations and
others required to pay a gross receipts tax, and providing
that foreign guano, phosphate and fertilizer companies ehall
be subject to and required to pay the franchise tax imposed
on foreign corporations by the provisions of Section 95 of
Article 23 of the Code of Public General Laws of Mary-
land.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Mary-
land, That Section 167 and Section 177 of Article 81 of the
Code of Public General Laws of Maryland (being Bagby's
Edition of Annotated Civil Code of Maryland, published
1911), be and the same are hereby repealed and re-enacted
with amendments so as to read respectively as follows:

Section 167. A State tax or a franchise tax is hereby levied
annually upon the gross receipts of all railroad companies
whose roads are worked by steam power, incorporated by or un-
der the authority of this State or any other State, Territory,
District of Columbia or foreign country, and doing business in
this State, such State tax being as follows, to wit: One and
one-quarter per centum on the first $1,000 per mile of gross
earnings, or on the total earnings if they are less than $1,000
per mile, and two per centum on all .gross earnings above
$1,000 and up to $2,000 per mile; and when the earnings
exceed $2,000 per mile two and one-half per centum on all
earnings above that sum; a State, tax, as a franchise tax of
two and one-half per centum upon the gross receipts or earn-
ings of every telegraph or cable, express or transportation,