The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-03-04
Landlord and Tenant
Must Unite To Insure
World Peace, Is Claim

of the hard luck. though
no law prevented him from dispos.
sessing the tenant; on the contrary,
the law sanctioned such proceedings.
So strong was the popular sentiment
against summary measures OF this
kind that they were next to impossi'
BILE.
The landlord occupied a position
more like that Of a patriarch; his ten
ants were his children and he their
guardian. Kindness. generosity, Tor
bearance and all the parental virtues
were expected in the conduct OF
landlord toward his tenants.
In case Of sickness or distress the
tenant Immediately sought his land
lord, and he never turned a deaf ear.
1t was the custom in large cities
after a fire to give the land free for
hundred days. or whatever time II
would take to put up another home.
II q landlord notified a tenant TO
move, rent stopped Immediately on
could be collected from the tenant
after that, no matter how long he
remained on the property.
Rent Riots Of 1870.
Contrary, perhaps. to the general
thought, emergency landlord and
tenant legislation Is not a novelty In
New York. One who studies, even
casually. the archives Of eighty
years ago will speedily find new
justification for the common saying
that history repeats itself.
History recalls the years 1910 to
1890 as the period Of the so-calied
'anti-rent wars in the northern
rt n IN "a No af ri n
land in Albany, Columbia. Rens-
selaer, Genesee. Chautauqua, Della
ware and Schoharie counties had
been accumulated In the colonial
days and the first years of the Re-
public by q few individuals, who
came to be generally known by the
title PATRON. The PATRONS in turn
allotted the land to the farmers to
work, chiefly under q system Of con.
ditional deeds or Of perpetual leases
-so.called leases in fee'-whereby
many rights were reserved and the
duties exacted Of the farmer-ten.
ants.
These obligations were FIRE.
quently Of a nature prevalent in
feudal England. They appear in
many instances to have been light
enough when FIST imposed, but
changes In conditions made them
very onerous and oppressive. par.
ticularly because practically all the
leases provided that the patron
might re-enter and take possession
OF the property, with all the i'm.
have made on 1t, In the event OF
default in any term Of the lease, no
matter how minor. In addition.
most Of the leases provided that
the pad DON should get fine one
quarter of the stiplated fraction
Of the price in event the tenant sold
his leasehold. These exactions.
known as quarter sales tenth
sales or the like. caused the
greatest complaint. and dissatisfac.
ton. Moreover. the law then gave
the landlords the right Of distress
to take and sell the possession OF
a tenant in satisfaction OF arrears.
Soldiers Called to Keep Order.
'The original PATRONS. Of whom
Stephen Van Rensselaer, is per.
haps the best known, were genial
men who often let their tenants
! fall into long arrears without TAX.
ing action. But their heirs were
harsher in their methods, and from
1886 attacks wefe made upon land
offices in the northern counties and
there was organized opposition to
sheriffs and others who attempted
to serve legal process in behalf OF
the PATRONS.
Armed posses and militia were call.
ed out inu 1870 to sustain the sheriff
OF Albany county. and 500 to l,So0
tenants and their sympathizers
gathered to oppose them. Bloodshed
was narrowly averted on this occa-
sion; but In succeeding years there
were riots and violence, with re.
sultant bloodshed, loss Of life and Inn
prisonment for many tho were con.
victed Of participation in the dis.
orders.
THE message of Governors
William H. Seward, In 1870; SIlas
Wright, in 1845. and John Young, in
1s4s. gave graphic accounts Of these
disturbances.
The tenants endeavored to i'm.
prove their situation by legislation
as well as by resistance to authority,
and In this aspect their activity and
its consequences bear striking re-
semblance to events at Albany In the
spring Of 1920. History records that
the legislature Of 1845 was flooded
with petitions from the representa-.
tives Of the tenants, who appeared
before the committee OF the Assem-.
bly,. Of which Samuel j. Tilden was
chairman
Judge Lauter and Mr.. Houses
book gives in detail the history of
the present situation and the laws
made to correct or relieve the condi-
tons.