Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-29
Measure Of Damages ls the Present
Worth Of pecedent's Life to His Es-
tate-courts Have Well Established
RuIes Based on Earning Capacity
and Life Expectancy.
Special to Times-Republican.


allowed to guess wildly at life values.
The child in question was four years
old. one John Hively. killed in q man
ner to make Webster county respon-
3sible. Its father was farmer owning
100 acres Of land. The jury said $4,000
was fair return to the estate for the
Ichild's death. Judge Weaver. now Of
the supreme bench, entered the verdict
as Of $4,000. and now the supreme
court says that $4,000 is sufficient.
The court says that the child's ex-
pectancy in life was 50.76 years. or
"a years after attaining majority. The
measure Of damages is the present
worth Of decedent's life to his estate.
Compensation for the life that is lost
is impossible and the law will not un-
.dertake to estimate the sorrow that Is
caused by the untimely death. Merely
compensation for the pecuniary loss to
the estate is the only remedy available
In the courts. In this case, that of a
child, the court is left to deal entirely
with the uncertainties, tho possibilities,
OF life. It is fair to presume, how
ever, that the boy would have devel-
oped into an average man and that he
would have earned an average net In
come. What that would have been. 80
remote In the future, is difficult Of as
certainment. The court, however, fixes
1t at $4,000. which 1t says would be
equivalent to $4,000 at majority with
addition to the principal. a net annual
income Of 1860, computing interest at
Si,s statusers rate of 6, per cent per
'annuf1,. 1t may wen be doubted ssiys
the court, whether the accumulatiOns
OF the average person Independent of
inheritance, ETC., will equal that sum" "
?toawwrestasethed(f2 (f2od- mtfaocm la
The court admits that this estimate
rests largely upon conjecture and the
probabilities OF unfathomed future.
Reign is not to be given to the imagin-
alton in such cases and account given
Of the possibility that deceased would
have married and absorbed into his
estate the earnings Of wife and a nu-
merous progeny Of children both the
probability Of the future marriage. Of
minor OF tender years and Of the flnan-
cial benefit to be derived therefrom
Is mere speculation. Some allowance
is made, however, for the difference in
earning capacity OF the sexes.
In arriving at the conclusion as to
what is allowable as compensation to
an estate on account of the death OF
person the court refers to numerous
other cases in Iowa. showing that in no
case has a sum in excess Of $1,000 been
allowed in Iowa.
In the case Of Rose VS.. Des Moines
Valley railroad. an old case. q verdict
of $4,000 for the wrongful killing of q
passenger "a years old, whose expec-
fancy was 3S years and net earnings
1858 per annum was held excessive and
$4,000 allowed.
In Haas vs.. G.. NJ. & st. p. railway.
a fireman earning $500 per day had an
expectancy of over 40 and an award of
$4,000 damages for causing his death
was upheld.
In Locke vs. S. C. & P. railway a
verdict Of $1,000 for the death Of a.
conductor receiving SIS per month with
an expense Of $S5 and an expectancy
OF Sc years was held to be not ex-
cessive.
In Moore VS.. Keokuk & Western rail-
way 5000 was allowed for the death
of man u years old.
A verdict of $4,000 was upheld in the
case of Lowe VS.. C. NJ. & st. p. rail-
way where brakeman 25 years old
earning SIS per month was killed.
In Walter VS. C. d. & NJ. railway de
ceased was between 81 and 65 years of
age and had some property and YER
dict of $4,000 was upheld.
In Berry vs. Illinois Central railway
a foreman Of car repairers was killed.
He was 80 years old and had an ex
pectancy of 33 years, and verdict OF
$4,000 was held to be not excessive.
In Cooper vs. Mills county action was
brought before death and therefore the
of damages included pain and
suffering, but in no case has the Iowa
court allowed more than $4,000 for a
life. The Iowa court refuses to follow
the statutes Of some states which for
bid any judgement in excess Of $4,000.
But few cases have been had in Iowa
where the person killed was minor.
c. F.Wennestrum, former state lab
or commissioner, while in the Scandi-
navian countries, made an investiga-
ton of the prisons and prison systems
and on request of members of the state
board of control will prepare a paper
for publication in the bulletin of the
board on his observations. Mr.. Wen
restrlrrn says that the prisons of SWed-
en- and Norway are In excellent condi-
ton and better than those of Denmark.
There are two great prisons for Swed-
en-, one of them for punishment and the
other for repentance, prison proper
and reformatory. The feature OF the
prison work he most condemns is that
of making use of almost solitary con-
finement. The Swedish prisons are
far in advance of their laws. They may
legally fog prisoners in the yard, but
this has been done only once In two
years, The warden of the prison In
Sweden u conducting 1t along the most