The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-08-07

the laborer would not only forfeit his
WAGES. but also would be liable to pay the
employer for any damage done hlm Dy
leaving him without help at a critical TIME
in the wear; therefore, if he has agreed TO
work for twenty dollars a month, and quits
lust before haying because he can get lorty
dollars at moving for some one else, ana
the farmer has to pay that prlce 10 get
another man to supply his place, he can re-
cover of the laborer the extra twenty dol
lars q month for the balance of the unex-
pired engagement, as damages caused him
by such breaking of the contract; and the
laborer could not set off against the claim
of the employer the value of the work he
has really lone and not been paid Tor.
And this is so, whatever specific thing you
hire a man to do. If he engages to build
you a barn for five hundred dollars, to lay
up q hundred feet of stone wall for a dollar
a foot. or dig a we'll twenty feet deep for
twenty-five dollars, and voluntarily quits
without good excuse when the job is half
done. you are not obliged to pay a single
cent for what he did do; although, if he
had substantially completed it in good
faith, he would not lose all his labor, be-
cause in some minute particulars, he had
not finished it exactly according to the pre-
else terms of the contract.
On the Otner ndnu, IL Tue ldDOIeI Hdo
good cause for leaving, he may do so, and
compel the employer to pay for the time he
actually did work. And among the we'll
known excuses for leaving before the
original bargain contemplated, are sickness
of the hired man, or his physical inability
to labor, or the prevalence Of some dan
gerous epidemic in the family or in the Vi
cinity, which might rende it hazardous for
the man to remain; such as cholera, small
pox, and the like. Any improper treatment
by the employer, as scarcity of suitable
food, is also deemed sufficient excuse for
seeking other quarters.
And even though the laborer SO misbe-
HAYES himself that he is arrested and i'm
prisoned for some crime, and SO is busy
picking oakum for the country in the house
of correction, this is considered a legal ex-
cuse for not attending to his farm duties,
| and be can make the farmer pay for what
he did do before he went into the public
service.
1t has been thought that merely harsh
language by the employer to his employee
would not justify him in leaving before his
stipulated time was out. In one instance
the farmer asked his hired man to water
and feed the cattle on Sunday morning.
The man said he wouldn't do it; the en-
ployer told him to Ego to hell, but to mind
and work his time out first" Instead of
following the directions, the laborer went
to a lawyers office, and sued for his wages
up to that time. but was held not entitled
TO anything. Had the master required
him to do any unnecessary or unlawful work
on a Sunday, it would probably be a good
excuse for his leaving; but necessary farm
work, such as care of live animals, may un-
doubtedly be required on Sunday. But in
1Smucb aS If 10 alWayS q nupCtInn for the
jury to decide whether the man had good
cause for leaving, their sympathies are very
apt to be with the employed, and they
usually think the laborer is worthy of his
hire. The cheaper way generally in such
cases is, if the amount is not large, to pay
the man, let him so, and never hire him
rgsin.
What we have before stated about a for
fixture of wages is founded upon the doc
trine that the laborer has made an entire
contract, and that he must faithfully fulfill
it, or he is entitled to no pay; therefore, if
for any reason this entire contract is not
valid and binding on the laborer, he may
disregard it entirely, and quit when be
likes, and still recover for all the time he
did work. For this reason, if the bargain
is to work for more than one year, or even
Tor just a year, but to m at some
future day, as a week after making the bar
gain, and the contract is not written down
and signed (which nobody ever thinks of
DOING, it is not binding on the laborer,
and he can break it from a mere whim, and
still make the farmer pay. Iu like manner,
If the labOrer is under twenty-one, he is not
bound by his bargain, but may desert when
he pleases, and recover "back pay" And
this IS 50, although the young man appears
to be of age, or is married and has a family,
or even though he falsely stated he was
over age, and able and willing to make as
good a bargain as if half a century old.
But, even if you have a nominal remedy
against a laborer who has left you u%njusti-
fiably in the midst of his contract, this so
often proves practically worthless, that the
law also gives you a right of redress against
the person who has enticed him away with
the offer OF better wages, or otherwise.
The law does not allow one man thus to in
terfere with another mans business without
being liable to pay for all the inconvenience
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