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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1918)
12 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, JULY -21, 1918. BIGHTS OF WIFE L1IIED BY LAWS Power to Make Will Abridged, Says M. E. Pogue, in Com V., 1 ment on Situation. MUCH INJUSTICE WROUGHT .Representative of Grange Declares That Dower and Courtesy Law of 1007, Abridging Wife's Right, Should Be Repealed at Once. BT M. E. POGUE. ' (In Behalf of Grange Resolutions.) My attention has been called to an article by W. B. Shively. chairman of the legal committee, Portland Realty Board, published in your issue of Sun day, July 7, on page 5, section 3. This article was written with much learning, but It seems not to have come to the writer's attention that the dower and curtesy law passed by the 1917 Legis lature has seriously abridged the right to dispose of one's property by will. (1917 Session Laws. 687.) Stayton Grange passed a resolution demanding the repeal of the amend ment. This resolution was successively concurred In by the "Woodburn Grange, the Salem Grange, the Pomona Grange of Marion County and the State Grange, after careful discussion by people who have observed its effect upon estates of deceased persons. In fact, the act Is, without doubt, unconstitutional, in that it is a violation of the constitu tional right of every woman to con tract with her separate property as though she were unmarried. The Oregon Constitution (Section 5 of Article XV.) provides: "The prop erty and pecuniary rights of every mar ried woman, at the time of marriage, or afterwards acquired by gift, devise or inheritance, shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of the husband; and laws shall be passed providing for the registration of the wife's separate property." The Supreme Court in deciding the meaning of this section has said: "Un der this section the Legislature has established the wife's legal identity, and clothed her with power to contract with her separate legal estate and maintain suits arid actions .in her own name to the same extent as if she were unmarried. (Grubbs v. Grubbs, 26 Ore. 69.) Law Revlfied in 10O7. "Whatsoever property a woman has at the time of marriage, or afterwards acquires by gift, devise or inheritance, remains hers until she, by her own consent, express or implied, parts with It." (Brumet v. Weaver, 2 Ore. 173.) Pursuant to the intention of the framers of the constitution, the Legis lature of 1854 passed a statute (Hill's CodeSection 2983), giving the husband curtesy only in those lands pf , which the wife dieu seized. Thus the wife was able to deed her separate property as though she were unmarried. The signature of the husband was not nec essary. She could will her property to whomsoever she cjiose. The law stood in this condition until 1907, when the Legislature gave the husband an estate by the curtesy in one-half part of all the lands whereof his wife was seized of an estate or inheritance, at any time during the marriage.. This provision greatly restricted the wife in the dis position of her lands. While she still had the right to deed her property away, without the signature of her husband, or will it to whomsoever she chose, the title was never complete without the signature of the husband until his death: he having, upon her ieath, a curtesy right to the possession of one-half during the remainder of his life. However, no serious incon venience arose from this arrangement. aunougn it was doubtless an infringe ment upon the constitutional right of the wile to deal with her separate prop rety as though she were unmarried. If she made a will to her children, the fee simple title went to them, subject only to the life estate of the husband. The Legislature of - 1917, however, made a great innovation, and further Infringed upon the constitutional pro tection to the wife in dealing with her separate property. It gives to the hus band the right to claim one-third of the wife s property in fee simple, in lieu of his curtesy. It will readily be eeen that the wife can no longer deal with her separate property as though ahe were unmarried. Immediately upon marriage the husband acquires a one third interest in all the lands belone-lne- to his wife at the time of the marriage, and he thereafter acquires a one-third interest in all the lands that she may "tiiuiic ay inneritance or purchase bhe cannot deed it away without his signature. She cannot make a will so as to carry title, as before, and cer tainly this is a violation of the wife's constitutional right. Husband' Rights Same. vvnat i nave said as to the law of 1917, respecting the wife's separate vvieriy, applies equally to the hus a .ism. io aeat with his separate property, excepting that the husband's rights were transmitted to n thmnh the adoption of the Laws of England rather than having been acquired from a direct constitutional provision. Wills were recognized by the He Drew, Greek and Koman law, but were not in use among the ancient Germans. "B'"u wins oi personalty were valid by custom in early times, and also of jand until the introduction of the feudal system when land became- not subject to devise, until the people be gan to shake off the feudal incidents of land tenure and the various statutes or wills enabled landholders to devise. lhese statutes are very erenerallv foi . lowed in this country and particularly in uregon. The dower and courtesy act of 1917, while purporting to still retain th Tight to make wills actually interfere with that right to such an extent that many wills do not convey title, and the act of a surviving spouse may nullify ine win or a deceased husband or wife. In order to be the beter. understood here cite a lew concrete example whlh have come to my attention in law practice, and which show that the pres em law not only interferes with th right to make wills, but fails to do even approximate justice in a great major ity of cases, and is not in harmony with our general law providing for separate property of tne nusband and wife Thus, a widow with three children married a second husband. She then fell heir to a 100-acre tract of land from ner deceased father. The husband deserted her because she would not turn over part of this property to him so that ne could speculate with it. Th wife died. The absconding husband under the present law, has a one-third interest in this land which he neve helped to earn, and should he die it . will go to his heirs and not to tbes . orphan children, where it should go. will, under the law of 1917, could not have avoided this result. Law Nullifies Will. Another case: A man died leaving much property to his widow. They had an infant son. She remarried. The boy was young, the stepfather was old. She made her will giving the second husband a life estate in the who' of r DRAWING FOR NEW PARISH HOUSE TO BE ERECTED AT MARY LAND AVENUE AND BLANDENA STREET BY THE CHURCH OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. . pi h 5 p it; jpitaKEii ii totfe ii-f mil m- itoM WORK OJT 60OO HOUSE FOR. Plans have been completed and the contract is to be let at once for construc tion of a new parish house for the Church avenue and Blandena street, of which building will -be of frame,-two Btoriea and two bathrooms. . - - ........... her property and giving the property all to her" son upon the "Heath- of ;the husband. The Legislature passed the aw in its present form. Now, if she dies her will is a practical 'nullity.' One- third of the property will go in fee imple to the second husband, who ever earned it, and upon his death will go to his heirs, and not to the boy who hould receive it. She cannot make a will which will correct this error, nor can they fix it by an agreement be- vv-. co them, because, upon grounds of purlic policy, the. law has always pro hibited the husband and wife from con tracting between . themselves as to dower and courtesy. - A widower with a son married a wid ow with a son. Each owned a farm consisting of 150 acres. They desired hat upon the death of either the hiishaiifl'a farm shoulri eo to his son and the wife's farm should go to her son. Prior to the law of 1917 that would have been the natural, and legal result. Under the law as "now framed should the wife die, one-third of her farn. would go to her husband in fee simple, and upon his death would go to his son, so that his son would get 200 acres, while her son would get but 100 acres. They do not want it that way; but the husband ana wile cannot fix this, either by any binding agree ment between themselves or by will. Before 1917 the mother could will her idividual property to. her children, subject to the life estate of her hus band in one-half. Now she cannot do so, because the husband, though he may have never helped to acquire her prop erty, and though he may never deserve it, can claim one-third of each tract which she has willed to her several children, and he can hold it in fee sim ple, and when he dies it will go to his heirs, who very often are not the same persons as the heirs of his .wife. The right to make a will is as ancient and sacred as the right to own real property and -transfer it by deed. It should not be abolished or frittered awry by piecemeal. A thoughtless Leg- isiiture. with the best or intentions. has gone further than it intended, and the demand for a repeal of the law or 1917 should be unanimous.'' POLK CROP IS PROMISING Survey Indicates ; Largest - Prune Yield In Country's History. RICKRE ALL, Or., July 20. (Spe cial.) A survey .completed in Polk County with respect to, the fruit crop this season snows that the county has prospect of harvesting a crop of 9,250,000 pounds of . prunes . this sea son. The survey was made by a com mittee from the Commercial Club, at Dallas. There are now 4633 "acres of prune trees in the county. Last year the Armsby packing plant at Dallas handled 6,000,000 pounds of prunes. Plants at Monmouth and Dallas will operate this Fall, and there are several other smaller and individual driers over the county, owned by the growers themselves. Many thousands of dollars will ac crue to the growers as the result of the Fall harvest. PLANT OF MONARCH LUMBER RS3SE3 r':'-"" iii . injaj . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS TO Houghtallng & Dougan, Architects. PASTOR TO BEGIX AT ONCE.' of the Blessed Sacrament at Maryland Rev. Father Black is the pastor. The and basement and will have ten rooms REALTORS WILL HELP COMMITTEE TO AID RED SALVAGE WORK. CROSS Henry C. Craner, Chairman, ud Sub committees . Are Named . for Various Districts. A. committee from the Portland Realty Board has been appointed by Paul C. Murphy, president of the board, to work for the Red Cross Salvage Bureau. This committee is composed of Henry C. Craner, 212 Selling build ing, chairman; Mr. Crossley, 270 Stark street, and W. M. Jackson, 1135 North- western Bank building. The- slogan of each member of the committee Is: "Get one auto or truck from my district to serve one day per month for-six months or longer." The committee will co-operate with the women of the Red Cross at 80 Third street in .collecting articles suitable for the salvage bureau. The main committee has named four sub-committees in' as many districts to aid in the work. These sub-committees are composed of the. following mem bers: District 1, north of Thurman street West Side, F. V. Andrews, chairman ; C P. Benedict, A. A. Berry. C. W. Cather. District 2, north of Washington to Thurman to , Sixteenth, W. B. Allen chairman; E. J. Daly, Jan Kool, C. H. Korell. District 3, north of Taylor to Wash ington, westvW. R. Kaser, chairman D. B. Mackay, Paul Cowglll. Julius Meier. District 4, south of Taylor street west to Fourth. Frank MacFarland chairman; Douglas McChesney, James D. Ogden, Talmage Realty Co., J. Whit- man. ALBEE HOUSE IS SOLD LUMBERMAN BUYS EX-MAYOR'S RESIDENCE IN LAl'RELUt'UST. Possession to Be Taken of Beautiful ' Home, for Which About $30,000 Was Paid, on September 1. The beautiful residence of ex-Mayor H. 11. AlDee. at 1040 East Ankeny street. laureuinurst, was sold last week. Th purchaser was Albert Brlx, well-known lumberman and president of the Brix Sand Lumber Company. Mr. Brix will take possession about September 1. The sale to Mr. Brix was made by Mr. Albee himself. The con sideratlon has not been given out, bu is understood to have been very clos to $30,000 in cash. The Albee residence is one of th very beautiful homes of Portland. is of brick and covers seven full lot near Laurelhurst Park in Laurelhurst. COMPANY, IN NORTH PORTLAND, WHICH WILL RESUME OPERATIONS AT ONCE. tf'rfj"!)!!- tiva n.svt'uj-' .?i--fc".--v',(k"'"T''i,'" -crj - J-Sr' " .lik.JS-vl y db" iV-r.-: PER ANT HAVING CAPACITY OF NEARLY 1 .000,000 FEET BE HANDLED, BY. FLDAY, , HEW BUILDING ALL FULL LEASES CLOSED FOR QUARTERS IN RIALTO BL'ILDIXG. W. H. Webb, Realtor, Rents Vacant Store Rooms to Business Flrmi In . Short Period. W. H. Webb, the -realtor, announced yesterday that he has closed leases for every store In the new Rialto building, which has Just been completed at Alder and Park streets. The leases are as follows: Hyatt Talking Machine Company, store at 350 Alder; C. G. Applegarth, furrier, store at 352 Alder; suit house, 354 Alder; W. E. Mcllhenny Shoe Company, 356 Alder; Clapp Shoe Company, corner Park and Alder; a ladies' tailor at 144 Park street nd Hovenden Piano Company In store djoining. All these leases have been concluded within the past 60 days. Mr. Webb also has closed a lease with the Budelman News Company for quar ters at 345 Washington street and to the Regal Shoe Company, which will open a branch at 347 Washington. He as leased a store room at 357 Morrison street to J. Lehrer. dealer in novelties. SMALL HOMES MOVING FAST Fred W. German Reports Larpe Number of Sales. The Fred "W. German Company has made many sales recently of small resl- ence properties, and finds a strong de land for homes of this class. Among recent sales are the following: Four-room bungalow in Errol Heights to Tillman N. Anderson for W. A. Shaver, $1000; 4-room bungalow n Kaufman's Addition, by Mr. German to Laura I. Dorner, for $1300; lot in Brockton Addition with shack sold for Etta Osborne to George Ranceveaux, and re-sold by purchaser to William Stack; 5-room cottage at 864 Michigan avenue to Matilda Anderson for $1900; 3-room cottage at 1288 East Twenty ninth street to Rudolph Seller for 1000; 5-room cottage at 5625 Sixty- third avenue to J. A. Robertson for $700; 4-room bungalow 'In Errol Heights to H. C. Vaughn ' for $1000; 6-room house at 2150 East GItsan street to Jennie Barnes for $2300; 4- room cottage for W. M. Cake, Jr., at 538 Sixty-fourth street Southeast, to Ellen M. Pitts; 6-room bungalow at 291 East Forty-second street to Floyd J. Blnkley for $2250. and many others. NEW PLANT IN OPERATION Big Box Factory at Klamath Falls Scene of Activity. KLAMATH FALLS. Or., July 20. (Special.) By efficient arrangement. through which enough box material Is turned out for a trainload of fruit boxes 80 miles long each year, the new Ewauna box plant, which, with the completion of the large .warehouse, is practically finished, now daily converts pine logs from the Klamath forests into seven carloads of shooks each day. This plant, succeeding the one burned less than a year ago, is a spa- cious, light, airy factory building, covering a space 160 by 70 feet, with a warehouse 130 by 70 feet adjoining one end. The factory in the main is complete and under headway. Two hundred employes are now en- gaged and the payroll of the company totals $800 a day. The plant has a capacity of 150,000 feet of ehooks per day, with two eight-hour shifts. A feature of the new industry is the large number of girls and women employed.- They are making good in places heretofore occupied by men, ac cording to company officials. PORTLAND MAY GET STOCK Baker Farmers Asked to Ship Prod uct to Oregon Market. BAKER. Or., July 20. (Special.) C. B. Haynes, representing a Portland livestock commission house, is in Baker Interviewing the local stockgrowers relative to shipping their stock to Port land rather than to Eastern packing centers. Mr. Haynes said that while the East ern prices might at times be a little better than offered at Coast stockyards. the loss through shrinkage in transit would more than offset the difference. He offers figures to prove his claim which many of the local growers who of late have been shipping East are in- cllned to recognize. LIVESTOCK BOARD CALLED Chairman and Assistant Veterinar ian to Be Named July 2 5. SALEM, Or.. July 20. (Special.) State Veterinarian Lytle announces that the Sanitary Livestock Board will meet at Klamath Falls on July -5 to elect a chairman to succeed J. M. Dixon, of Shedd, deceased, and also to appoint an Assistant State Veterinarian to succeed Dr. C. M. Gardner, of Portland, who has entered military service. Plans also will be made for the an nual sheep dip in 1919. Curry County Suffers Droutli. MARSHFIELD. Or., July 20. (Spe cial.) F. T. McMullen, of DenmaVk. Curry County, relates the extremity of the drought in that area and says much of his grain, planted for Winter feed, will not pay for cutting. Curry County has been dry for several months and farther south it is much worse than in the vicinity of Denmark. Mr. McMul len believes many dairymen .will have to dispose of portions of their herds before Winter is over. Th dryness has already cost Mr. McMullen $1000, he estimates, and with further losses an ticipated he looks for a very lean year. air.' LA PINE COMPANY ADOPTS NOVEL TRANSPORTING TIMBER FROM Under New Plan RafU Containing- About 1500 Feet of Green Lumber Are Bolted Together and Sent on Trip of 20 Miles Down Deschutes River Timber Supply Unlimited. Ln31 rr'-fM 1 . ' JT; wjw-v v 9ynai -.iju. i p$Wf wv v-Mtw . - x,; : - ...... " - o v . 4M Hi - ' i. ' . ' . ' " o - I V J ' V " : " . . ' -VS-. '.V V. V 1 --v " s ' i i , ; is.. -. ; i .--i-. i w - ... i . t 7w r - " 1 1 - T ? f' x r ' 0 - 7? 1 --v- j: - - .'sw-, I uu - . owk-'.. L" sr '-- i 1 -J -V" . . . . . . v.v.--.-. --' ..' Top Novel Method of Rafting Lumber Employed by I. X. I. Lumber Company, of East Fork of Deschutes River. Below Freeing; Strlns; of Rafts When They Have Lodcrd. LA PINE, Or., July 13. (Special.) The 1. X. L. Lumber Company, which operates the enlarged J. K. Masten mill on the east fork of the Deschutes River west of La Pine, after trying a number of methods for floating its lumber down the river to rail trans pcrtation pending the arrival of the railroad at La Pine, has hit upon a rafting plan which is regarded as a complete success. Their first attempts to market their output via the river route were some wl'at on the order of log drives on small streams. Large timbers were floated separately, while the smaller material was tied in bundles. The difficulty with this method, was that the lumber would lodge on sand ' bars and in eddies, necessitating constant patrolling of the river by men" to keep the lumber moving. "ew Method Is 1'nlaue. Under the new method Just adopted, rafts containing about 1500 feet 'of gieen lumber are made upon ' an in clining platform on the river's .edge at the mill. They are bolted together by means of crossbars and then Blld. Into the river and anchored along shore. When 30 of the rafts have -been" made up they are placed end .on about six feet apart and bolted together by GRAIN AND HAY HEAVY! KLAMATH COl'STY FARMERS ARB CHEERED BY PROSPECTS. Money Spent for Irrigation Already Gives Promise of Return In -More Assured Harvests. KLAMATH FALLS. Or.. July 20. (Special.) Klamath County is' fast coming into its own. The big resources of the county, which have been so long potential rather than kinetic, are being brought into development during the past few months at a most astonishing rate. Agricultural products of the dis trict are bound to be multiplied tre mendously under the transformation, i At Bonanxa, a small town 25 miles ... all Is bustle and activity. The water which la to make the sandy fields into a great productive garden spot has been secured, and Is already turned on some of the ranches. It is now running on the Big Springs unit, above town, and is in time to be a ma terial help to the farmers. Close by the new steel bridge over Lost River at Bonansa a channel has been cut and the pump and motor for the unit below town Installed. Wooden flumes are piled high along the streets ready to be laid as fast as the ditches can be dug. Farmers are hauling more of these. Despite the reports of dry land crop failures, some exceptional stands of Fall rye are noted and some good hay crops are bound to be harvested. A break in the Harpold dam. four miles below Bonanza. Is causing temporary Inconvenience, but it will be repaired soon. ' J. O. Hamker. a resident of the Bo nanza section, wno nas jusi murncu from Bly, reports that the hay crop in the Sprague River Valley is better than was anticipated. The heavy fields of grain and hay in the Pine Grove section, seven miles east of Klamath Falls, are making good , the faith , placed by the owners. planks In a manner to permit swinging and buckling of the flotilla at pleaa uie. The flotilla is then manned by three operators to keep it clear of the banks and drifts and is sent on its 20-mile ride down the river at the rate of from two to three miles an hour. Each flotilla contains from 45.000 to 50.000 feet of green lumber weighing about 180,000 pounds, which is equal to about 23 auto trufk loads of lumber over dirt roads. The saving between auto truck service, which was first thought of as a means for marketing the lumber, and the river route, is very n-aterlaL ' Capacity of Mills Enlarged. The I. X.. L. Lumber Company, which is now-working on an extensive con tract for Central Oregon white pine lumber, is a new organization, having recently engaged in the manufacture of lumber in the La Pine basin. In addition to the enlarged J. N. Masten mill, which this company has taken over, they are planning construction of another mill a few miles north of La Pine. Timbers for the second mill are now "being assembled at the new site. The output of this company is the first lumber to be cut in the La Pine who last year undertook the added ex pense of Irrigation. BERRY PRICES ARE HIGH Puyallup Crop Declared Largest, for Many Seasons. TACOMA. Wash.. July 20. (Special.) Puyallup red raspberries are bring ing 12 cents a pound this year at the cannery .as against 9 cents last year. W. H. Paulhamus. president of the Puyallup and Sumner Fruitgrow ers Association, made that offer to the growers with the stipulation that they bring all their raspberries from now until the end of the season. Shipping berries have been bringing from 1.50 to 13 a crate this season. At the present time between 6000 and 7000 pickers are working in the Puyallup Valley. They have been drawn from all over the Northwest. The yield this year. Mr. Paulhamus says, will exceed that of previous sea sons. POLICE DESERT CALLING Shipyard. Box Factory and Gill- nctting Pay Much Better. MARSHFIELD. Or.. July 20. (Spe cial.) Police officers in Coos County are deserting their long-time calling and entering other pursuits. The first to drop out of chasing bootleggers and looking after the moral welfare of his community was Chief of Police Peter Anderson, of North Bend, who drew 190 per month. He went to the Kruse &. Banks shipyard, where he is mak ing more than twice his city salary. Night Officer Ollie Smith, of the same city, went to the Clark & Callaghan box factory, where he is chief engi neer for the concern. F. H. Holman, of Bandon, who was chief of police for 11 "A years, sees a fortune In fishing and has joined the glllnetters on the Lower Coquille River. Reclamation Service Ends Work. YAKIMA, Wash.. July 20. (Spe cial.) With completion of the Clear MEANS OF CAMP TO MILL basin for the outside market, and is the first 'substantial Inroad to be made on the 10. 000,000. 0H0 or more feet of white pine In this basin. Much of the timber in the vicinity of La Pine is held in private ownership, single hold ings running well into the millions of dollars in value. Large areas lire also held in the forest reserve, the re serves being created in part to aid in conserving the waters in the lakes and streams of the surrounding mountains for irrigating purposes. ; Timber Supply I'nlimlted. The Government offers the Biatured trees in the reserves for milling pur poses. It is estimated that 50 per cent of all this timber is past maturity and should be cut In order to be saved. It will require three or four mills of extra large capacity to manufacture this timber In this basin within the next 100 years. Idaho tiinbermen here now say this white pine scales from 25 to 40 per cent better than the noted Idaho white pine. In addition to the white pine the La Pine basin also contains about 8, 000.000 cords of black pine which Gov ernment tests have shown to be val ued for paper. Some of this timber has been manufactured into paper at the Camas paper mills. Creek dam. about August 1. the rec lamation service will transfer the men and equipment used there to th work of enlarging the Tieton Canal, and ex pects to finish that work, which re cently was vote". by the Tieton water users, next Fall. Kighty thousand dollars will be expended on the work between August 1 and November 15. and 150 to 160 men will be enioloved. Gri fflii Handier Sliot.j BAKER. Or.. July 20. (Special.) Charles Wilson, a farmer of .Griffin Gulch, near here, was shot mysterious ly and seriously Injured recently, ac cording to word received yesterday. He was working in a haly field on his ranch, when several shots were fired at him. one taking effect In his body. The shots were tired from the brush nearby and Mr. Wilson has no Idea as to the identitty of the party who did the shooting. Liverpool Y. M. C. A. workers have established a hospitality programme to entertain American officers. Directory of Prominent Life Insurance Agencies Members of Life Underxmileri Association of Oregon, Wm Ooldman. Onerjil Manner. NATIONAL LIFE UK VEKJIO.M. Oregonlan BMn. , H. O. Colton. Manager. UAfSAClU'SETTS MUTUAL LIFE, t'haniher of Commerce Bids. I E. L. Harmon. General AKent4 PBXS MUTUAL LIKK. Nort hweelem Hank Itldir. Horace Mecklem. Manager. NEW ENGLAND MUTUAL LIFE. NnnnwMteni hank h:ik. M. M. Johnson. NEW WORLD LIFE INSURANCE CO, "Jui Elevens Blciff. H R Alb.. Ceneral Aicent.4 NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE 1X3. CO. Northwestern Lank Bider. T H. McAllis. State Mgr., ' UNION MUTUAL LIKE INS. CO, , Board of Traue BMtT. 1 Fdjrar W. smith. Manager. ; EQUITABLE LIKE ASSURANCE SOCIETT. SuG Ortsonian l;iUs.
