West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-03-15
POPULAR TALKS ON LAW
By William c. Sprasue, President
The SpraSUe Correspondence
School of Law.
ARTICLE TREATS ON CONTRACTS
Nc, l-importanoo Of Subject Difference
Between Contract and Agreement
Express and Implied Contracts Tho
Consideration.
copyrighted 1000 by VIM. c. sprarue !

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The law Of contracts lies at tn,
foundation of nearly every brancl
of the law 1t is, therefore, the frs
and most important subject no
only for the law student, who i
studying law for the purpose o
prAcucing, but for the layman, whC
wants To understand in genera
way his legal rights and obligations
We are making contracts day b,
day, usually unconscious OF the fact
When hail street car and \
stops for me aud step aboard,
enter into a contract with the cor
poration that owns and operates The
car, for breach of which | am LA
bic in damages, as is the corpora
ton. Every time buy something
IN a store, no matter whether II be
steam engine or pin, am max
ing contract. In hiring servants
and agents, in renting and sublettinp
property, in buying provisions for
my table, in buying tickets for an
ontertainment--in fact, IN almost
every act that is not purely social in
Its nature, | am entering into a con.
tract. Indeed, business is but an.
other name for the making and ex.
ecuting of contracts. The impor.
tance, therefore, of ones knowing
at least the general principles OF
contracts is evident.
Some persons use the words
agreement and Contract as syn,
onymous, that is. as meaning the
same thing. A contract is always
an agreement, either expressed OF
understood, but an agreement is not
always contract. may make an
agreement with you to spend the
evening at your home, but that
agreement is not contract. | am
bound by the rules of etiquette and
good morals to fulfill it, and in case
do not fulfill it, am not bound
by the law to suffer damages by rea-
son Of my failure; nor could you go
into a court and compel me to full
I'LL it.
Therefore, one distinction be.
tween contract and an agreement
enforcible at law, that is, an agre G.
ment that the law will either com
pei me to perform, or will compel
me to pay damages for failing 10
perform, while the latter is not so
enforcible.
Another distinction between an
agreement and a contract is this:
The law says that in contract a
man contemplates legal relations,
that is, he intends to put hemself
under legal obligations, and in an
agreement he does not so intend, his
purpose being merely to bind him.
self by social obligation. We
have nothing to do in these talks
with merely social Obligations; we
treat only Of such engagements or
agreements as the law holds bind.
ing.
We distinguish, too, between
kinds OF contracts; for instance, a
contract may be express or it may
be implied. An express contract is
one where the terms are expressed
or stated, either orally or in writing.
An implied contract is one where
the facts in connection with the
matter are such that tho law will in
Ter certain things II ! 20 into a
store wnere have credit, take up
an article, and say to the clerk, 'I
will take this. Charge il to me" 4"
the contract is not an expressed con-
tract there is no price set, no time
OF payment indicated, no promise
OF payment The law, however,
infers that ] have made promise
to a reasonable price for the article
in reasonable or the customary
time
We Often hear il said that a con.
tract is not good without "consid.
Grafton" or that a contract must
have Consideration, to support
IT, The meaning Of this is simply
that q promise cannot be enforced
in law unless something is paid or
promised to be paid for the promise.
or unless the person to whom the
promise is made has done something
or suffered some loss by depending
or the promise. III promise TO
make you a present and fail 20 do
so, you cannot hold me in law ac-
countablc for breaking my promise,
no matter how much inconvenience
or unhappiness it may cause you.
If, however, / promise 10 do some.