Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-11-15
Judgement for 40
Cents Against the
Western Union Co.

StufteVant oil SK0WneSaR VS.. western
Union Telegraph Co, involving the
question of seasonabe delivery Of
telegraph message from the plaintiff
to the superintendent of schools OF
South Portland. has been handed down
by the law court. Judgment is given
for, the plaintiff for 40 cents. The full
text of the rescript, which is drawn
by Associate Justice George f. Haley
of Biddeford, is as follows:
This is an action on the case to
recover damages for the alleged nee
ligence of the defendant in not season
ably delivering a telegraph MESSAGE
received by 1T from the plaintiff, and
is before. this court on report.
In the fall of 1908, the plaintiff
taught part of the fall term of the
South Portland High school, substi
tuting for Mrs. Chase, and finished
the school year as teacher in the
grade schools of that city. On Mon
day, August %, 1909, she received d
letter from Mr.. James Otis Kaler, sii
perintendent of the South Portland
schools, directed to her and which
read as follows:
DO you want Miss Chase's posi-
4 .
yesterday, and if | can find you, and
You want the position, You can have
it, but ] must succeed in getting word
from you very soon. | am sending
this same letter to several places
where there seems a possibility of is
reaching you. az
"(Signed) JAMES OTIS KALER.S
This letter was written and mailed
at South Portland, Aug. u. 1899, sagl
was receftHd by the plaintiff, Mon
day, Aug. 2S,, oat about 1880 A. NJ, lax
her home in SRoWhegah. AT ab3pt
noon of the 1bay nthe letter WasD r..
eeived the bIaiftIff tried 10 reach Mr..
Kaler by telephone To- accept the POI
sition offered, but did not succeed in.
reaching him. At 100 P. NJ the same
day, she delivered to the defendant
at it's office in Skowhegan, a tcle-
gram, to be forwarded to Mr. Kaler,
and paid the defendant the regular
charge of 20 cents, and also Is cents
additional to have the message deliv-
cred to Mr.. Kaler at South Portland.
she having been notified that the de-
fendant had no office at South Port
land, and that the charge for deliver
ing it in that city would be Is cents.
The message read as follows:
Aug. 20. 1909. To Mr.. James Otis
kaler, Ocean street, South Portland,
Maine. VIII accept Mrs. chase's po-
sition. Please write me at once.
"tSigned) j. L. STURTEvANT."
During the summer months Mr. Ka~
Ter lived at Cape Elizabeth. five or six
miles from his home in South Port
land. At his summer home he had no
telephone, but had one at his home
in South Portland. Prior to Aug 81.
.AiE--kaler had instructed the defend
rsntssu telephone all his messages and
not to send a messenger with them,
and after telephoning to his home in
South Portland enough to satisfy
themselves that she-. Was, not there. to
mail his MESA ges to him.
The plaintiff claims that there is no
legal evidence to show the defendant
used tire effort to reach Mr. Kaler that
1t claims to have made. 1t is not nee
essay TO pass upon that question. Us
we think if the defendant did all that
it claims to have done, it was negJi-
gent and failed to perform the duty
that it owed to the plaintiff. Tele-
- SNiii pOSd0ct tic
desires the contents communicated to
the addressee at once That method is
employed instead of the mail because
of its dispatch. The message showed,
that ii was the acceptance of an Of
fer. Its Importance was apparent upon
its face, and when the defendant ac-
copied it and the money to forward
it, in law it undertook to forward and
deliver it at once. That was the con-
sideration for which it accepted the
plaintiffs money OF course it had a
reasonable time in which to deliver
it. which was to ne determined from
the nature of the business of trans
uniting messages by electricity. The
defendant was not obliged to deliver
the message to Mr.. Kaler at Cape
Elizabeth, five or six miles from the
place named for delivery in the mes
sage, but when it was, received at its
Portland office atatWp minutes past 2
p. NJ. it knew Mr.. Kaler was notSrS2
ingein South, Portland, He4 had sf IN
formed them, and. they.oknew they
had tried unsuqeeSsfully, at 2.17 Pa NJ.
TO reach him at, South Portland u by
telephone, that he was not at his home
IN south PORTLAND, ana must pave
known from his instructions to them
that he was at Cape Elizabeth. Mr..
Kalers instructions to the defendant
to mail his messages did not change
or modify the contract between the
plaintiff and the defendant. He might
not be able to hold the defendant liza
BILE for not delivering a message with
in a reasonable time by reason of his
instructions to the defendant, but the
plaintiff Was not a party to that ar
rangefnent, and had the right to insist
that the defendant perform the CON
tract made with her. 1t was the duty
of the defendant when it failed to get
Mr. Kaler at his home in South Port
land, if it did not intend to send the
message to him at Cape Elizabeth
without further charges, to have at
once notified the plaintiff by telephone
or telegraph of that fact and of the
additional expense of sending the mes
sage to Cape Elizabeth, that she
might. if she desired, have had it for
warded to that place. But the defend
ant saw fit to retain the message the
rest of the day and the following
night, and then sent it to Mr.. Kaler
by mail.