The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-20
VALUE KISS AT $237
QUOTATION IN NEW YORK 1S FIXED BY APPELLANTS
 COURT JUDGES.
wsstern Prices Better-Range Runs from S25 in Chicago to $lso
 in California-Many Cheap Grades.

New York Press.
 what la the value of a kiss? Most men probably would say that 1t depenos upon tha beauty and piquancy Of the kis 1, hut. while this statement hardly aotlilIS !, of dispute, what is here meant IS the leSai value The legal value, 1t may pc saio, should closely follow the commerciai velue hut many persons are of the opin- ion that, until the commercial vaiue nus neen more closely defined than 1t Is now tha courts should get together ana TX unon some standard of legal Value' sc thAs ; ,oau in the future may have some ldea loh the nroposition he faces when allured py the rosebud lips of a maiden.
 The necessity for the fixing Of sucn standard is shown by the increasing nun her of suits that are being brought to recover for kisses delivered. ana Dy tne vvIdo divergence of the decisions of the co,,rts of various States as to their value.
 Tn this State, for instance. the value or a kiss has just been fixed by the courts st the extremely low rate of N.Sl, Wnlie in Illinois the rate is $25 and in Cahrornla s19s Granting that some kisses are suaater than others, the fact rema1hs' 1vbicb few will dispute. that there can pc ,c a,ch real difference between them as IS imnlied by the range between the lesa' valuations of s2.s7 and sl25.
 The New 1OEk 1bdCS'
 Many may think that the Cahiornia rate of $125 is too high. but It certaInY is IraIv to make one blush for the Elm U, n,-n stste that it's courts should have s,,ch mean opinion of the sacharine qualities of the lips Of its girls as to de- eide that their kisses are worth only S9 a7 This rate was fixed this month by tha anpellate division of the Supreme Court. sitting in Albany.
 The case was that of Miss Frances petIt against John Tittemore, the village blacksmith at Galway, Saratoga county and tho Appellate division confirmed the decision of the lower court, in which fury awarded to Miss Petit verdict Of 8 900. The fair plaintiff testified at the trial that in the last fourteen years Titte- more had kissed her 1,256 times. In sup port of this statement she produced her diary, in which she had entered every night the number of kisses Tittemore had taken from her during the call. She valued her kisses at $40 each. which, with costs, brought the total amount she asked for up to $50.0O0. But the jury assessed the value of her kisses at 2.37 each, and aded costs which brought the total up to 5000.
 The Illinois rate was fixed by a Chicago justice when he fined a youth R5 for 
 It is a relief to turn from these sordid decisions to the liberality of the Califor- mia courts.
 Judgment for $125.
 When Miss Marian Green of San Fran cisco sold a kiss for $125 the courts promptly backed up her contention that 1t was worth every bit of the money. The sale was made at a San Francisco party of which Miss Green was the belle. While the merriment was at it's height 1t was proposed to held a kissing auction. Among the men present were P. T. Doolan and Dr. A. C. Hicks Doolan was in a gen. erous mood. and he astonished those pres- ent by announcing his willingness to pay S100 for kiss from Miss Green. She delivered the goods and accept ed his note fer the amount.
 Then Dr. Hicks. who did not have any money, but who considered that his note was as good as MT. Doolan's, offered SIPS for the same commodity. and again the delivery took place at once. Those present say that the doctors signature was so illegible that Miss Green made him write 1t again. In due time the note found its way into the hands of D. A. Curtin who sued on it. When the justice got to the facts he solemnly decided that the note was binding, and he entered Judgment accordingly.
 This Girl is Modest.
 Of course. when the courts had per mitted a girl to recover $125 for a kiss, Miss Katherine Smith of Pasadena found no difficulty in forcing Thomas James to pay d7 to her when she placed the modest valuation on her kisses at H apiece ~
 It appears that a bazaar was held in small town near Pasadena. the pro- eeeaS Of which were to go toward the pullolns Of a school house There are many women in the district and it was suggested by some of the plsin ones that, 1t would be a good way to increase the financial condition of things by putting up few choice kisses for auction.
 The sale was an immense success ana