Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-04-26

your stable and write to John Jones,
Il offer you $50 a month and board,
room and washing II you will come
to work Tor me on the first Of lext
month, and will agree to cont nue.
with me for q year." John Jonee re.
plies, II accept your offer, and will
be on hand May first
Perhaps YOU have tree in your
front yard that you desire cut down.
You call Sam Smith across the street
and say, Sam I'll give you five dol.
lars to cut this tree down" "All
right" Is Sans reply.
You may have been out Of town,
and on arriving at your station. step
into the bus to be driven uptown, or
20 your home. Perhaps you step in
grocery and pick up a loaf Of bread
from pile on the counter.
In each OF these cases you have
entered into legally binding con-
yract. You are bound to employ
John Jones and Sam Smith, and to
pay them the agreed price for the
services performed. You must pay
% the driver OF the bus q reasonable
price for the services he has rendered
you. and to the grocer q reasonable
price for the loaf OF bread you took.
Thus 1t may be recognized that
making contract Ia not necessarily
the solemn signing OF 2 formidable
document, but may be accomplished
In the most informal OF ways. Con-
tracts affect us at every step OF our
daily lives; we are constantly enter
ing into them. They are Of infinite
variety and varied form, but the ev-
eryday sort OF a contract Is compar-
atively simple affair and 1t Ia far
from difficult to master the princi-
pies that govern its formation. A
contract Is an agreement. True,
1t is something more than an agree
ment; it Is q legally enforceable
agreement. But the basis Of all con-
tracts Is the agreement. Until the
agreement has been reached there Ia
no contract, and when this agreement
has been arrived at there is a con-
tract. always provided that such for
as the law may provide for
that particular kind Of contract have
been complied with. Lawyers say
that the essence Of the matter is a
OF the minds. Every con-
tract, In Its last analysis, comes down
% q question and an affirmative an
swer. "Will you NOW my lawn tor
quarter? you ask. YES" comes
he answer and the contract is CON-
'lete. There has been this meeting
u the minds. Further there has BEEN
IN offer and an acceptance.
Allan Fox wished to sell his farm
md wrote to Willard Barton, offer
ng 1t to him for $1,000. Barton lik-
d the proposition well enough, know
ng that the property was a bargain
t that price, but he concluded that
% would try to buy 1t for still
over price before he agreed to pay
1000. He replied to Fox. saying that
Q would give him $500 for the place.
OK declined and Barton then wrote
Eating that he accepted his offer at
900 But, by this time, Fox had
,und several people who wanted his
lrm and decided that he could prob
bly, secure even more than 1000.
arton endeavored to force Fox tol
I'll the farm to him tor $1,000, claim
g that the contract had been COM I
eted when accepted the offer as
ade to him, the necessary written l
'idence being furnished by the let 9
rs signed by the parties. But the t
'urt refused to enforce Barton q .
aim, ruling that when Barton had c
AIDE the counter proposal OF $500 he t
d declined the offer at $1,000,
lich had been destroyed thereby. Il
Thus 1t becomes apparent that the |,
Ter must be eneQuivocally accepted G
a contract is to result. The &C. r,
ptance must be also unconditional a
an agreement Ia to result that will p
I'd the person making the offer. II Al
rton had replied that he would &C .t
pit Fox's offer, provided that Foxl
uld build a new line fence the leg
effect would have been exactly
nilar.
lanes Engle was grain dealer :"
wired to Albert Smith. offer -
D thousand bushels corn at thirty" "
Q message was delivered the same
7, the fifth. It was over twenty
r hours before Smith dispatched r
telegram accepting the offer. In ar
meantime the market had jumped In
Engle refused to ship the grain. ma
It'll claimed binding contract, ga
the court supported Engle. rul. N
that the offer had lapsed because
failure to accept within Hi
sonable time. ali