The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-21

| statutes Of this state. and that AZ Is q
paramount lien (which every person
must take notice Of. 1t is true the
landlord has lien on the crops grown
on leased land created by statute and
the mode of enforcing il is prescribed
| by the same statute, and the statute
creating the lien makes the purchaser
liable to the landlord for the value OF
the crops purchased, when the same are
purchased with notice of lien. The
construction claimed by plaintiff in
error would render all purchasers OF
crops from a tenant liable TO the land
lord for the value of the crop ptrchas-
ed, whether he had notice Of the lien or
not
We do not think that the landlords
len is any more sacred than any other
| lien on personal property, or that every
| person dealing with the tenant must
| take notice of the lien of the landlord.
! In order to arrive at the meaning and
| intention of this statute we must con-
strue the act as a whole, and give TO
each section and sentence. sentence
| and word may he fully gathered, and
| the internal sense of the whole may be
! understood.
On an examination Of chapter 50, gen
eral statutes of 1890, being An act re-
lating to landlords and tenants we
find it contains what shall constitute a
| tenant at viii, how tenancies are Gre
ated and determined for the occupancy
Of joint tenants and tenants in COM
| mon, for the maintenance of action for
| waste, the lien Of landlords for crops
! grown or made on farming land that
| where rents are payable in a share or
! certain proportion of the crop that the
! lessor shall be deemed to be the owner
| Of such share, and the manner of OBJ
| tanning possession Of such share if the
| lessee should refuse to deliver it over;
| the person entitled to the rent may re-
| cover from the purchaser Of the crop
or any part thereof, with notice of the
| lien, the value of the crop purchased to
! the extent Of the rent due and damages,
| and then provides the manner of en-
! forcing the lien against the tenant.
Giving to this entire act a fair con-
| struction, it is evident that the tenant is
/ the owner of the crop grown or made
/ on the leased premises, subject only to
! the lien given the landlord by law. and
| that this lien is subject to no higher
! rights than other liens on personal pro-
| perty, and persons dealing with the crop
are held 10 no other or different rule
| than persons dealing with other person
al property subject to liens. The ten
ant being the owner of the crop would
/ pass by such sale to the purchaser. and
| if he had notice of the lien he would be
| tablet o the landlord for the value of
the crops purchased: but if he is an in
nocent purchaser, for value, without
notice Of any lien, he would take the
| property free from the landlords lien.
! The written lease in this case was not
filed or recorded in the office of the reg
! lister of deeds of Butler county, and
there was nothing to give constructive
| notice Of the landlords claim on the
crops unless the fact that the corn
was in cribs on the leased premises.
I'VE do not think this fact alone
would be such as to put the purchas ser
on inquiry as to who the land belonged
to, or as TO whether Bledsoe was a ten
ant, occupying the lands Of some other
person. or whether there was any claim
against the crops for unpaid rents. Per-
sons in possession Of personal property
are generally presumed to be the owner
thereof and the general presumption is
that ii is clear from incumbrance, unless
there are some facts in connection with
its use, location or condition that would
be calculated TO create suspicion or TO
put ordinary prudent persons on in
quiry as to liens or claims against it.
and where there is nothing of record
in some office provided for by law for
giving constructive notice of a lien on
personal property, and a person without
notice either actual or constructive, pur-
chaseS the same in good faith and for a
valuable consideration, he receives a
good title 70 the same.
"We have examined the authorities
cited by counsel for plaintiff and relied
upon as authorities in this case, which
were made in other states under similar
statutes to ours, but find the fact OF
notice and the right of the tenant to
sell crops are materially different from
the provisions Of the Kansas statutes,
and do not think they are applicable TO
the facts in this case. They are not in
accord with the general policy and de-
cisions of our own state.
The law respecting landlords and
tenants in some of the states, formerly
gave the landlord a lien on all crops
grown on the leased premises. and also
on all implements and animals used on
the premises ITO raise the crops, and the
courts in some of those states held that
the tenant could not sell or dispose OF
any portion Of the crop raised on the
leased premises, or sell or dispose of any
of the animals or farm implements used
10 make the crops until all rents were
fully paid. and that the purchaser Of
the animals that had been used to make
crops on leased lands must take notice
of the Hen, and the property might be
followed into the hands of an innocent
purchaser without actual notice, and
taken and sold for the payment of rents,
that the purchaser took the property az
his own risk the same as the purchaser
of stolen goods. These decisions are
not authority under the laws of Kan
sas respecting the rights and liabilities
Of landlords and tenants, and are not in
harmony with the general policy of our
laws respecting parties dealing with
property incumbered with liens.
The laws of England and the earlier
period of this country We're intended
Cor the special protection Of the rights
Of the landlord. and the tenaEts rights
in every respect were subordinated 10
those of the owner of the soil, and the
tenant did not seem to acquire am
property rights IL the crops grown by
him on leased premises until the land
lord had been paid his rents in full. but
under more recent and humane legis-
lati"n the severity of the laws as 10
tenants have been greatly modified and
he tenant IS given more consideration.
and his rights are treated as equal with
those Of his landlord. and he does ac-
Qu-re an ownership 10 the crop raised
by him. and he may use the same or
sell il subject 10 the lien of the land
lord.
The laws of some Of the cotton states
make il a criminal offense for a tenant
10 remove or sell any portion OF the
crop grown by him on leased premises.
until all the rents have been paid: buzz
he courts in some Of these states hold.
that where he has removed the crop
and sod L tn nllr,ha So tal-as u, -.