The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1906-06-07

An acceptance by letter takes effec
from the time when it is mailed and no
from the time Of its receipt by the party
making the offer.
A retraction, however, takes effec
when the letter of retraction is received
and not at the time OF mailing it.
The law as to the making OF contracts
by letter, telegraph, etc, grew out o.
the practice in early days of transmit
ting communication by private agencies
In an early case it was decided that
sale was complete when the letter Of
acceptance was mailed in response to
mailed letter containing the offer, the
court merely deciding that by sending
the offer through the mail the offerel
made the mail his agent for the receipt
Of his acceptance.
The theory is therefore that where a
man making an offer uses the United
States mails for the purpose of trans
hitting his offer he makes the postoffice
department his agent, and an acceptance
delivered to an agent is the same rs if
delivered to the principal. 1t is on this
theory that contract is complete when
the acceptance is delivered to the post
Office for transmission; while a retraction
is not complete until it is delivered to
the person to whom it is addressed, the
mail not being the agent of the acceptor
but the agent of the offerer, that being
the means he has chosen by which to
communicate his offer.
The fact that the post has become a
public agency and not private agency,
as formerly, does not prohibit the ap-
plication of the theory; one may make a
public agency his own agent as much rs
he can make a private individual his
agent.
SO one may be bound when he really
does not know that he is bound, as one
does not usually know the moment when
an acceptance is pat into the mails.
If proposition and its retraction
reach the person to whom they are sent
at the same instant of time the question
arises az to the result Of an acceptance.
1t has been held that if the offer was
opened and an acceptance posted before
the letter Of retraction is opened and
read, the contract is binding. If the
letter containing the offer is opened and
read and afterwards the letter of re-
traction is lead, and then letter accept
ing is posted, it is not contract The
person must have had no actual notice
of the retraction at the time when he
mails his acceptance in order that the
contract may be complete.
If A should send by mail an offer of
goods at a certain price, and ten hours
later to ensure a sale, send second offer
Of the same goods for less money, and B
mails an acceptance of the first offer be-
fore he receives the second offer, he can.
not avoid his first acceptance by writing
an acceptance of the second offer and
putting it in the mails, stating therein
that he avoids his first acceptance. II
on receipt of the first offer he mails his
acceptance and two hours later receives
the second offer of lower price and
then telegraphs his acceptance of the
second offer disaffrming the first, he is
still bound to the first acceptance. A
contract once made ia irrevocable except
by the agreement Of both parties. The
moment the letter accepting the first
offer was posted the contract was com
plete, even although the acceptance
never reached the offerer. Nearly all
questions of validity of contracts by mail
and telegraph may be answered by bear
ing in mind that the contract is COM
plete the moment the letter accepting
the offer is posted.
1t must be borne in mind that the
posting Of the letter of acceptance, or
the sending of the telegram, must be
such u posting or sending as puts the
communication practically out of the
control of the sender; for instance, if the
acceptor write his letter OF acceptance
and place it In his own private letter
box to be called for by his own private
messenger at q certain time in the day
and taken by him to the postoffice, it is
not posted within the meaning of the
law. Or, if the acceptor give the letter
to messenger, other than a postman or
accredited agent Of the postofiice depart.
ment, he has not thereby made the
acceptance complete until his messenger
has placed the letter in the postofiice
box, or the postoflice, or delivered it to
an accredited agent of the postoffice
authorities, 30 that il one writes letter
of acceptance and gives it to a private
messenger to he taken to the postoffice
and a telegram is received withdrawing
the offer while tho messenger is EN- route
to the postofiice, even although he may
be at the very door of the Office, the re-
traction of the offer ia sufficient