Fort Pierce news., 1910-12-23
n LEGAL WORK
O,awing Up Of a Big Mort
oaqe a Serious Matter
Iosr ANALYSIS OF WORDS.

II, 4. Document Is to Be Used as
nv !. Ear an Issue Of Bonds an sx-
- osdnitions Is Employed--eio
s,s.os. and Big Fees Involved
,ng no a big mortgage, espe.
p'e .ser II IS to be the basis for an
R y bonds it is desired 10 dispose
n onen market. is a task far
tban most people have any
Sometimes months of con
.sous labor elapse between the be-
s,sg ~ the FIRST draft and the tnal
of the last revised copy by
Y. most directly concerned. The
,mar object of such a formidable
Z, Iostrument is. of course, to define
es,y and exactly what the morrga
s,l do The individual or com
il whose favor the mortgage Is
-sn however. through his attorney
4. u protect himself from every
ssIble contingency. Some of these
s.Ibflities that are sought to BE-
S.,dea against appear to be absurd
4 the lay mind,
some years ago a boat line whose
',ssels piled on a certain river deslr
10 mortgage its property and ISSUE
ods one of the provisions of thH
,gl instrument provided what should
\ done in the event Of the river dry,
se up or becoming impossible to nayi
np AS the stream was a mighty
3 sood Of water at all seasons, the pos
thnity of this contingency sarisin.
.,erned out Of all reason. but the attor
,ags for the mortgagee insisted upon
X Insertion Nothing has happene
b the river as yet.
The cUmmonest weakness Of NOR
taee and one that may escape th
4 trdpary eve Is not the use Of the
wrong word to express the desired
meaning, but the use Of not exactly
he right one. After the mortgage has
been worked into shape so that its
PROVISIONS are satisfactory TO both
ldes the lawyers who draw the morl-
gage Ia the FIRST instance prepare Il
lst Of words about whose meaning
hey fear there may be some dispute
and turn this list over to the expert
gtymologist who is in charge of the
library in every big Office. This man
prepares report which shows not
only the dictionary definition of each
one Of these words. but also furnishes
a list OF all legal decisions that have
been made relative to its exact signifi.
sance This expert, being advised OF
the particular shade of meaning 1t is
desired to convey, also furnishes an
opinion as to what is the right word
supporting his statement by list OF
iueh legal decisions as may apply. All
lhese reports are carefully bound TO
sether and become a part OF the mass
ol papers, sometimes weighing many
pounds, that accumulates While the
mortgage is being drawn. They are
aed away when it is finished.
After the mortgagor's counsel have
eompleted drawing up the instrument
as they think it should be it passes L
ne attorneys on the other side, who
plce as many flaws as possible in ii
tney, too, pay special attention to the
eAact meaning of words. and frequent
g their experts question the defni
pons Of those on the other side. Aftei
lne two firms of attorneys have settled
~ their differences the mortgage i
generally submitted TO another set o.
@pert legal advisers. who criticise |
.sPm every possible point of view. AL
4' takes a great deal OF time anC
tgsIs great deal of money.
4ne total legal expense OF drawing
" big corporation mortgage FIRE
lSen'ly runs into more than hundred
nVusand dollars. II Is not uncommon
.f single frm Of experts to receive
. nigh as $4,000 for criticising ant
ss'Eecting one of these important lega
euments. When II has been teste'
y every possible way and is finall
tsssed upon and approved II is print
n y may cover between 100 and 20
2ages and contain from 10000 TO 5000
sv'as The latter is about the mum
M Y novel of the ordinary size. !
~ interests affected have propert
more than one county or state th
1Ol!gage has to be recorded in eac
\ 's not until all this work has bee
'ns 'nat the bonds, secured by th
s..gase are placed on the market.
Dayton In Now Vork Trihune.