The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-06-01
Keep Out of Petty Law Suits.

give some observations and sug-
gestions about farmers going to
"law." Of course, there are some
cases that the only way to settle it
is to carry it to court, but in the
majority of cases the expense of
court proceedings will overbalance
any supposed advantage that either
party to the suit may gain.
1t is an easy matter to call to mind
numerous law suits that have oc-
Cured between owners of adjoining
farms; maybe it was about the
boundaries of their two farms. Many
are the law suits that have been over
disputed line or boundary between
two farms, and many times the diff
ference was not more than one
tenth of an acre, and that not worth
more than a few dollars at best, but
rather than let the other fellow,
who, by the way, was a close neigh
bor, have possession of it, many
have carried such things to court,
which was always expensive, and af-
ter the court had rendered a de-
cision, the matter may have stood
lust as it was as far as restoring the
friendship of the two neighbors was
concerned.
Just think of the law suits that
have been about one farmers stock
getting into another's field or crops.
It will happen that no matter how
careful one may be to keep his stock
confined, there will be times when,
from one cause or another, some of
his stock may get through the fence
into a neighbor's crops. Well, the
first thing many think of when they
see some of their neighbor's stock
in their crops is to put them up and
make the owner pay the damages be-
fore he can get the stock. 1t is right
for the owner to pay for any dam
ages that his stock does another, but
many times, when one puts up a
neighbor's stock because it has eat
en- some of his crops, he thinks he
has the other fellow at disadvan-
tage, and so he estimates the dam
ages just about twice what they are.
Then the owner of the stocks says he
won't pay any such damages, and
here is the beginning of a broken
friendship. Maybe they are both
"hard-headed," and rather than
"give in or do the right thing, they
will go to court.
One Instance.
I remember two farmers who
went into court about hog. One
farmer had a hog to stray from
home. In looking for it he found it
with another farmers hogs, or, at
least, he thought it was his hog.
They carried it into court. The last
heard from this case it had been in
court over a year, and each had spent
over $400, and did not know which
would get the hog then. These are
facts. It was just an ordinary scrub
hog. All of this was useless. The
first thing these two farmers did was
to get good and mad at each other.
After that it would be no easy matter
to reason" things with them. A
far better way to settle all such diff
ferences is to settle it out Of court.
Get some disinterested parties to set
tie it. Let each party pick a man
and let these, two pick the third man.
Then let these three men settle it,
and what they agree on will, If they
are given the facts in the case, usual
ly be just about as near right as the
court would decide, and not near as
expensive. It is far better to spend
money for the settlement of the home
OF ldru Cudu LII uSS1OSS Ia w SuASo. IL
has been my personal experience that
most disagreements can be settled
out of court. When I find 1 cannot
agree with a person in matter of
business I simply go straight to him
and tell him the facts in the case
just as they are, and tell him 1 am
willing to do the right thing, and
I think he will do likewise, and l
want him and me to go over this mat
ter and find just what is right for
each of us to do, and if we find that
I am in the wrong I am then ready
to make it right, and if we find that
he is in the wrong, then I will ex-
pect him to make it right. There are
not many men who will turn down
a proposition like this. 1 find that
have no right to get angry at a per-
son because they disagree with me,
or because they think I have made
mistake. The fact is, I do make
manv mistakes. The things that |