8A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL October 14, 2015
Offbeat Oregon History
Murderer surprised when Unwritten Law fails to protect him
The Unwritten Law Files
www.shoppelocal.biz
Today’s column is the last in a series of
case studies of the early-20th-century mania
for honor killings in Oregon. It was popularly
known as “The Unwritten Law,” and it was a
social convention that permitted a man to mur-
der anyone whom he knew to be working to
seduce his wife or sister. Unwritten Law cases
arose around the country in the 1890s and were
alarmingly common until around the time of
the First World War. Today’s column discusses
the case that fairly defi nitively put the would-
be honor killers of Oregon on notice that they
could no longer expect The Unwritten Law to
protect them.
This sketch of the murder scene ap-
peared in the Portland Morning Orego-
nian the day after the shooting.
BY FINN J.D. JOHN
For the Sentinel
T
he Unwritten Law had quite a run in Or-
egon during the fi rst decade of the 20th
century. But by the time R. Thomas Dickerson
made his attempt to claim its protection, the
signs of it having worn out its welcome were
there for those who looked.
It had certainly worn out its welcome at the
city’s newspapers. Probably the best demon-
stration of the Morning Oregonian’s attitude to-
ward The Unwritten Law was the lead sentence
in its story about Dickerson:
“Charged with the commission of a cold-
blooded murder,” the reporter writes, “closely
guarded in a cell in the county jail, believing his
act will be excused by a jury of his countrymen
through invocation of the Unwritten Law, R.
Thomas Dickerson, a street contractor, of 512
Patton Road, Portland Heights, his voice shak-
ing with vindictive rage, openly told the story
while in the custody of offi cers of a tragedy yes-
terday morning shortly before 6 o’clock, which
ended in the death of Harry A. Garrett, one
of his teamsters, and disclosed to the world a
shocking scandal of an allegedly faithless wife
and the punished wrongs of a home destroyer.”
What’s most noticeable about this sentence,
other than its astonishing length, is the clear
hostility it shows toward both Dickerson and
the Unwritten Law.
The article went on to detail the full story, or
as much of it as was known at the time. Dicker-
son was inside a stable when he caught sight of
one of his teamsters, Harry A. Garrett, walking
out in front of the building. Dickerson immedi-
ately exited the stable, pulled a revolver out of
his pocket, and fi red fi ve shots into Garrett.
Garrett then fell to the ground and died, and
Dickerson went to surrender himself to the po-
lice.
He freely admitted what he’d done, telling
them he’d done it because Garrett had wrecked
his happy home by getting frisky with his wife,
Martha Messner Dickerson — who had, in con-
sequence of Garrett’s depredations, moved out
of the family manse with the couple’s 7-year-
old daughter, Pearl, and sued for divorce.
He also claimed Garrett had threatened to kill
him as soon as the divorce case was concluded
and then run away with Martha, and added, “I
have heard of his breaking up other homes. He
boasted of this, and some of my wife’s folks
said, so I heard, that she told them she was go-
ing to leave with one of my men as soon as the
divorce hearing was over.”
But Martha stoutly denied that there was
anything going on with Garrett, and suggested
another possible motive for her husband’s ac-
tions — one that was easy to document: Garrett
was to have been the lead witness in her suit for
divorce.
And there was another thing, too: This was the
Dickersons’ second marriage to each other. The
fi rst one had ended when little Pearl was fi ve
years old, when Martha had sued for divorce on
grounds of physical cruelty and verbal abuse.
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Firewood permits
available
The U.S. Forest Service says
that now is the perfect time to
obtain a permit to collect fi re-
wood in the Umpqua National
Forest. The Cottage Grove
Ranger District has been is-
suing fi rewood permits since
September and will continue to
do so, with additional fi rewood
becoming available this fall
season. One non-transferable
permit per household per year is
issued for two cords of fi rewood
at a total cost of $20. For those
households who have already
purchased their Cottage Grove
fi rewood permit this year, addi-
tional permits for other districts
may be available for purchase
at their corresponding Umpqua
National Forest offi ces.
Permits will expire within 60
days of issuance or on Dec. 31,
2015, whichever comes sooner.
If a permitee would like to re-
ceive the full 60 days allotted
for fi rewood collection, they are
urged to obtain a fi rewood per-
mit on or before Nov. 2.
Permits are issued on a fi rst-
come, fi rst-serve basis. Permits
are also limited to correspond
with the amount of known fi re-
wood available, and demand for
fi rewood permits may exceed
the supply of available fi rewood
on the Cottage Grove Ranger
District.
Firewood cutting areas are
typically on narrow single-lane
gravel roads with an average
distance of 35 miles from the
city of Cottage Grove. More
information on specifi c areas
for fi rewood cutting will be pro-
vided with the permit.
Cottage Grove Ranger Dis-
trict issues permits Monday
through Friday from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. (except holidays). Those
with questions can contact the
offi ce at 541-767-5000 or email
cgrdinfo@fs.fed.us. The Rang-
er District offi ce is located at
78405 Cedar Park Road, Cot-
tage Grove, OR 97424.
Property tax
statements
available online
Lane County property tax
statements became available
online on Monday. The County
says this is the fi rst year taxpay-
ers will be able to access their
property tax statements one
week prior to the annual mail-
ing, which is planned for Mon-
day, Oct. 19.
The Lane County Assessment
and Taxation offi ce will extend
its hours of service from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Monday through Fri-
day between Oct. 19 and Nov.
17 in order to offer additional
assistance to taxpayers.
In addition to property tax
statements, taxpayers also have
access to a greater level of data
online compared to previous
years. Now, it is possible to ac-
cess individual account graphs
detailing 10 years of property
value history (real market value,
assessed value, and maximum
assessed value).
Property tax payments are
due Monday, Nov. 16.
The County said the total Real
Market Value of Lane County as
of Jan. 1, 2015 is $50.8 billion
– an increase of four percent
from 2014. The typical Lane
County dwelling’s market value
increased 4.25 percent from
2014. In total, $478 million in
taxes were certifi ed for the 83
taxing districts in Lane County
in 2015 – an increase of 3.1 per-
cent from 2014. The 2015 tax
roll was certifi ed on Monday,
Oct. 5.
Property tax statements can
be accessed by visiting www.
lanecounty.org/AT.
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