The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1882-07-27
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Psssat Mght AeSuesl
II. A. HAssn. LII. D., DEfnssI, Micn.
Every farmer doubtless, sooner or
later, has occasion to give or take .
prOmissory note 1t IL therefore de-
sirable that he know something about
his rights and liabilities connected
with them. Particularly Is II desira-
bic that he understand somewhat the
legal incidents Of these peculiar con-
tracts flor such they are), from the
hicle by which the villainOus rogue
oftener the patent right rogue than
any Contemporaries his crime upon
the unwary.
A promissory note IL . written
agreement to pay Q certain sum Of
money at q certain time. 1t must be
definite and unconditional Ii there
fore in the nature of money being ne
gotiable, and where payable to bearer.
the property in 1t passes BY mere de-
livery Of the paper on which II Is writ
ten. 1t il not subject to all the de-
fences that are good rs against other
contracts. For example: 1t IL gener-
ally good in the hands Of an innocent
holder, no matter though the maker of
il had lost IL, or it had been stolen, or
obtained from him by fraud. This
may be the case, even though II has
been altered or raised" as where I
give my note signed in blank to q per-
son, authorizing him to fill I'm . certain
amount, ~ SO, and he fills In q larger
amount, as $lOO, and sells 1t to an innO-
cent purchaser. / must pay the larger
amount, for 1 /: was who enabled the
fraud to be committed; aud an old
maxim of the law holds that where
one of two innocent persons must sui.
fer from the wrongful acts of third,
the loss must be borne by the one who
enabled such third person to occasion
it. The justice of this Is obvious, and
every farmer will appreciate the nee
essity of protecting, In the largest de-
gree, the rights of bona fde holders of
negotiable Instruments, which form
part of the currency of the country,
and If subject to all the defences. of
other written contracts, would he de-
prived of their main value.
1t will be seen, then, that these in
struments become to the shrewd ras-
cal n convenient means of swindling
the unsuspecting for, having once
got them in his possession, no matter
how fraudulently, they become in most
instances, practically money, and
their makers cannot help themselves.
1t behOsves farmers therefore to be
very careful in the matter of giving |
notes, and to always he certain Of |
getting value received for them; for |
they may be certain of having to pay |
them, whether they get anything in
return or not. A class Of miscreants |
who have In years past successfully |
operated by this means, have tramped |
over the country with the apparent |
means of selling patent rights. Had
they confined themselves to the legiti- |
mate sale of patent rights or of pat
ented articles, they would have been
less intOlerable, though they have
forced many useless things upon the
public, and induced many a farmer,
by their voluble responsiveness, to
pay dearly for things which he did
not want But their real object has
often been far less innocent. A IA
vorite dodge with them has been to
get the farmer TO accept an agency for
the sale of the articles i'm his town
Or county, securing his signature to a
printed contract for that purpose
which is adrOitly
printed pronissory note,
which the farmer unwittingly signs,
,uppOsing it to be u duplicate Of the
a few months afterwards
ne is confronted by demand for the
of his note by some shaver
u neighbOring town, who bought
he same i'm good faith. To avoid u
aw suit, the farmer probably ends the
lao tstn SVith tho !
holder of the note, or by paying its
uil amount out of his har,l-earned
awnings This is but one of the many
imilar methods employed by these
'illains, but it has been used to such
m extent in some parts of the country,
IS to lead to special legislation. In
Michigan. a statute enacted for the
pecial "beneiit" of these rogues, re-
Iuircs that every note given for the
light to make. use, or sell any patented !
INVENTION shall have written across its
ace, "Giren for Patent Right" and
uch notes are made subject to all de
ences good between original parties,
10 matter i'm whose hands they are:
MI the Supreme Court of that State
Iad. prior tn the passage of that law,
leld that note, the signature to
Vhlcn nau Detn ODtaineu Ill the IiiaH-
Ter above indicated, was In the nature
f forgery, and absolutely void. But
his Is contrary to the doctrine in ,
many other States, and farmers gem
rally are not thus protected. As stated,
therefore,. il behOOves them to he care
al what they sign. A good rule would
give "A promissory note un-
rs- absolutely necessary; never give ,
ne without value received; never sign .
NY paper i'm the hands of a stranger.
Happily, this means Of swiniling
Gems Ia he decreasing. This indi-
ates, I apprehend, that the farming
through the influence
irgely OF the agricultural press, have .
ecomc tho enlightened for these
windlerS to successfully practice their
perations.