The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-01-05
VESTED RIGHTS AND
HOW THEY DECEIVE
Vested Rights Is a Legal Issue
That Always Flames Up to
Help Privilege.
This Fallacy Found in the Decep-
tive Uses of the Doctrine
Of Vested Rights.

AS public sentiment more and more
insistently questions the moral RICH
of individuals to own common prop
erty, these privileged individuals ant
their parasitical apologists increas
ingly assert the sanctity of "veste(
rights" Consequently an antithetica
relationship of moral rights and vest
ed rights is becoming continually, ir
greater and greater degree, burning
issue with reference to private prop
erty, says the Public.
It is an issue that has always flam
ed up whenever legal privileges of the
few in any form have been assailed as
derogatory to the natural rights Of the
many. Royal rights to govern from
thrones have, for instance, been de-
Tended against demands for popular
government on the ground that these
so-called rights were vested. Similar
ly vested rights to govern in heredi
tary legislative bodies have been de-
fended-are indeed still defended
though weakly-because they were
vested. The defense of great landed
estates against the plainest dictates OF
C11O AAO1 al Ia " ID a. 1dn1ll1dA
of resort to the doctrine Of vested
rights as an armor for the perpetual
ton of wrongs. Today we hear the
same appeal to vested rights for the
protection of owners of great iron de-
posits, great coal deposits, great rail
road rights Of highway, great oil-pipe
lines, and the stock which repre-
sents vast interests in mere priv
ileges- the values of common
property held by individuals or cor
porations as private property.
The fallacy which may be found
in these deceptive uses of the doc
trine of vested rights is not far to
seek nor difficult to find, if the de-
sire be to find and not to confuse.
1t consists in conjuring a legal ex-
pedient into the semblance Of a
moral principle.
The legal expedient known as the
doctrine of vested rights has a use
full function in it's own sphere. Its
function is to put an end to contro-
versies over circumstances whose
effects, so far as we can know them,
are complete with the happening.
Any wrong which is complete with
it's commission, any right which is
controversy after the lapse of a
should be removed from the field OF
controversy afte rthe lapse of a
reasonable time.
This is in the interest not only OF
social peace but also of a fair ad-
justment of social relationships. Nc
one should be held answerable fol-
wrongs, or be- required to prove
rights affecting past interests, after
time has !: blurred the memory Of
witnesses. 49,. However important the
matter may have been to the par
ties originally, it becomes. less i'm.
portant even to them as the years
go by. Peaceable possession, rb1
redress, comes then to. be the i'm
portant consideration
If, for illustration, one man steals
a horse from another, the gain tt
the one and the loss to the othe1
are complete at the time. A wrong
has been done which ought to be
righted; but if the injured party
sleeps upon his right, he ignores thu
WINS w A1u1OC1l Cuu d1lOW0 Oil do
sertion of title by the other to grow
into an appearance of unquestionet
right. No one is injured but him
jself, and he has acQuiesced in the
injury. Not only that, but the in
jury itself is temporary The horse
will soon die, and thereafter thu
title will be of no value.
The theft itself soon ceases to af
feet the distribution of the products
of labor. Though all such property
as horses, houses and machinery
were stolen from their rightfu
owners today, the distribution O.
labor products would not be there
! by affected. a hundred years hence
probably not in fifty or twenty-five
possibly not in ten-unless thu
thieves were allowed with these
speedily perishable things to blu!
some form of governmental power
! over their fellows. Wrongs like
these are not continuing in theil
! character and operation. Rights 81
acquired are not capable in them
! selves of generating continuou:
; wrongs. The rightful owner loses
this property an dino other; thu
thief gains this property and NJ
other. To hold, therefore, that lapse
of time makes good this title, orig
inally bad, operates only to silence
controversy over ancient deeds of {
kind that die with the doing. Il
does not operate to license peren
NAL theft. Over all such lega
titles as spring from wrongs of E
non-continuing character, wrongs
like the theft of a horse, the doc
trine of vested rights is wise anG
useful.
But the benef1ciaries of and the
apologists for privilege, make OF
this wise and useful doctrine, which
ought to be held to apply only tc
titles to perishable things-the,
make Of it wicked sort Of moral
ity fetish, using it not for the pur
pose of silencing ancient controver
sizes over titles to perishable things
but for the purpose of establishing
institutional plumber. They confuse
temporary wrongs with continuinf
wrongs, and apply the doctrine O.
vested rights to both. Resorting tt
| this legal eXDedient. which finds il,