YOUR CAR
LAW
a n d th e
"T4
R E G O N D E P A R T M E N T O F M O T O R V E H IC L E S
YOUR AUTO’S PASSPORT
tain the title is accurate and re­
Just as a deed is vital to prove presents the true ownership.
home ownership, a certificate of
(Next week: Protection for Car
title is essential to prove owner­ Buyers)
ship of an automobile.
Without a title, you cannot sell
An Oregon State Police car
a car, and if you move to another rolls onto a main Portland thor­
state you may have trouble obtain­ oughfare that looks like ‘‘automo­
ing a registration unless the title bile row.” It moves past several
is clearly in your name.
showrooms of new and used cars,
Oregon’s title law has been a then swings into a gas station and
part of the motor vehicle code for comes to a halt behind six parked
many years. One of the most im­ cars of 1958 vintage.
portant parts of the law is the
After a brief interrogation, the
section dealing with transfering station owner is informed he can
ownership of a vehicle.
be prosecuted for selling cars
Basically, the law requires any­ without a dealer’s license.
one, other than a licensed dealer,
The state has a two-man team—
who buys or acquires a motor ve­ a state police officer and an in­
hicle from another person to trans­ vestigator for the Department of
fer the title within 10 days after Motor Vehicles — employed full­
the purchase or acquisition.
time enforcing Oregon’s dealer li­
What happens when the buyer cense law, and helping insure that
fails to transfer title can involve Oregon title documents on motor
both the former and new owner vehicles are worth more than the
in a series of sometimes costly, paper they’re printed on.
sometimes embarrassing, and of­
Enforcement of the dealer law is
ten frustrating encounters with impotant to the would-be motor
license officials, courts or law en­ vehicle buyer. All dealers must be
forcement agencies.
licensed by the Department of
Take the case of a man who re­ Motor Vehicles and post a $15,000
ceives a municipal court warrant surety bond.
for failure to pay an overtime
parking violation involving a car
he sold three months ago.
His first reaction is to blame the
By Charles A. Sprague
city police, but the real blame Editor, The Oregon Statesman,
lies with the person to whom he
Salem
sold the car. Police departments Former Governor of Oregon
obtain information on vehicle Honorary Chairman, National Re­
owners from the Department of
tarded Children’s Week
Motor Vehicles. When the new
Marked progress has been made
owner fails to transfer the title, in the study of causes of mental
the information in the file natural­ retardation and the development
ly shows the previous oKvner’s of ways of treatment and of train­
name and address.
ing those who are retarded. Ac­
The shoe can fit on the other companying this has come a mark­
foot, too, if a buyer who has fail­ ed change in parental and social
ed to obtain a new title showing attitudes toward those thus handi­
him as the owner is stopped by a capped. Scientific knowledge helps
police officer. He may be hard put to drive out the guilt complex
to prove his right to be in posses­ which often oppresses parents,
ion of the car, should the question particularly mothers. Also, it has
arise.
pointed ways to overcome the
Sometimes an estate can be af­ handicap to the extent that thou­
fected by failure to notify the de­ sands of persons mentally retard­
partment of a change in ownership ed find doors opened for useful
status, even though the outright employment and happy living.
sale is not involved.
But only a start has been made.
For example, Mr. Y and his To spur further progress, Presi­
wife owned two cars with a right dent Kennedy has appointed a
of survivorship. Mr. Y divorced special panel whose instruction is
his wife, and ownership of the to work out a national plan to
cars was awarded the husband, but combat mental retardation. Its
he failed to notify the Department members include leading scien­
to change the ownership titles.
tists, educators, public health offi-
A short time later, he died and ials, and distinguished citizens.
his brother was named administra­ The announcement makes particu­
tor of his estate. The assets of the larly significant the week of No­
estatee were to be disposed of, vember 11-22 in which this prob­
with the money going to the man’s lem is brought prominently to
children.
public attention.
Meanwhile, the ex-wife was not
We are informed that there are
idle. She submitted a form show­ 100 known causes of retardation.
ing proof of Mr. Y’s death, and Some derive from circumstances
the titles were immediately trans­ nt birth, or physical deficiencies
ferred to her name. To resolve which may be identifed and ov­
this entanglement and get the ve­ ercome. Some derive from physi­
hicles, the estate was forced to go cal diseases which affect the brain
to court.
To trace the causes and seek out
If you sell or buy a car, always corrective measures, men of sci­
be certain that all the necessary ence are probing the very secrets
papers are signed and forwarded of life and physical and mental
to the Department of Motor Ve­ development.
hicles to insure that the title re­
Lay citizens perforce leave such
cord on file will be accurate and studies to those who are qualified.
that the correct owner has clear But there is much for ordinary
title. Never make complete pay­ people to do, using knowledge pre­
ment in cash without obtaining sently available. First is the op­
the title to the vehicle at the time. portunity to promote better un­
A registration card signifies only derstanding of retardation; that it
that you have paid the fee neces­ isn’t a mental illness, but a failure
sary to use the vehicle on public to attain normal mental develop­
highways and is not proof of own­ ment. Parents should not keep the
ership.
retarded child concealed out of
Records based on the title are shame, nor over-indulged with af­
used for many purposes and you fection in an attempt at compen­
can save yourself or your estate sation. Instead, there should be
much red tape if you make cer­ early counseling with doctors and
educators to insure prompt and
proper care and treatment. Sec­
ond. lay persons should support
4
THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1962 the agencies- public and private
which arc committed to work in
this field. Often they can give di­
rect aid to retarded, enabling them
to become adjusted in an environ­
ment suited to their level of ca­
pacity
Oregon has, through Fairview
home and now through the Colum­
bia Park Home, met state respon­
Plugs, Points, Tinting, Set
sibilities in this field. Effective
work is being done in special
Carburetor
schools and classes. And organiza­
tions, linked together at state and
national levels, are working earn­
estly to inform parents of retarded
children and enlighten the public
to the importance of special care
and training.
Atlas Tiras
No longer are mentally retarded
CHEVRON
Batteries
all doomed to empty existence,
Accessoria*
and their parents denied hope for
Motor Tune-up
them. Progress is being made
Auto Parts
With further effort in and out of
HAsel 9 6691
government, additional advances
will be made in rescuing talents
formerly left in blight
Guest Editorial
Oregon law provides that an in­
dividual has a right of action
against any licensed dealer and
against any surety on the bond if
he suffers any loss or damage by
reason of fraud, fraudulent repre­
sentations or violation of any of
the provisions of the dealer li­
censing law.
This affords protection to a cus­
tomer if he finds, for instance,
that he’s bought a stolen car from
a disreputable dealer. He loses the
car, of course, but can recoup his
investment from the bonding com­
pany.
The individual who buys from
a “curbstone” — slang for unli­
censed dealers—may lose the car
and his money, too.
The state team assigned to deal­
er enforcement and protecting the
value of the Oregon title also make
frequent visits to wrecking yards
to see that titles and license plates
for vehicles that have been wreck­
ed are turned in to the Depart­
ment of Motor Vehicles.
There have been cases where
title certificates on wrecked late-
model cars have been improperly
used as security for loans.
One loan company in Oregon
was more than surprised to learn
that it had loaned $86,000 on cars
that had been wrecked out, and
that their collateral actually
amounted to only a few pieces of
paper.
The law specifically requires
that when any person wrecks, dis­
mantles or disassembles any ve­
hicle, or substantially alters its
form, he must submit the registra­
tion card, title and license plates
to the Department of Motor Ve­
hicles within three days.
Although every effort is made to
insure compliance with this law,
lenders would do well to inspect
the vehicle as well as the title, be­
fore actually loaning any money.
(Next week: Why You Need To
Know The Law On Uninsured Ac­
cidents.)
Stonn Damage May Be Deducted
As Casualty Loss on Tax Return
A. G. Erickson, District Director,
Internal Revenue Service for Ore­
gon, announced today that resi­
dents who suffered losses to their
property as a result of Typhoon
“Frieda” may deduct the storm
damage as a casualty loss on their
1962 income tax returns.
The overall loss in fair market
value is the best measure of the
loss; and appraisals of the proper­
ty immediately before and immed­
iately after the casualty by a qual­
ified appraiser is the best evidence
of the property if; (1) they are
Mr. Erickson further stated, that
costs of restoring and cleaning up
after the storm is acceptable as
evidence of the decrease in value
this great voice die, as it were, on
necessary to restore the property
to its pre-casualty condition; (2)
the amount spent for restoration is
not excessive; (3) they do no more
than take care of the damage suf­
fered; and (4) the value of the
property after restoration is no
more than its value before the
casualty.
Mr. Erickson stressed that im­
mediate steps should be taken by
property owners to document the
extent of damage from the storm
by photographs, appraisals, re­
pair estimates or other perma­
nent documentary evidence of the
storm loss.
“Fortunately,” said Mr. Erick­
son, “most property owners are
insured and may recover damages
from their insurance companies.
In such cases, the amount claimed
on tax returns must be reduced by
the amount for which the insur­
ance company is liable. For exam­
ple, in the case of a $50.00 deduct­
ible policy, the homeowner would
be limited to a $50.00 deduction
for damage to his house in excess
your
THE PEOPLE
SPEAK .
of that amount.
"In the case of uninsured trees
and shrubs the loss is to be con­
sidered to the extent that the loss,
or damage, to such trees or shrubs
reduces the fair market value of
the real property as a whole.
“Concerning losses of foodstuffs
and perishables contained in home
freezers, the cost of such items
damaged would be deductible.
“Costs of photos, appraisal or
other evidence of the loss is de­
ductible as a miscellaneous item­
ized deduction on Page 2 of the
Federal tax return.”
Mr. Erickson said that Internal
Revenue Service Document 5174,
which is available at no charge
from the local Internal Revenue
Service offices, gives detailed in­
formation on computing, docu­
menting and deducting storm loss­
es.
Any person needing assistance
or additional information may
either write, telephone or call at
To the Editor:
I want to express my thanks for
the coverage given my race for
Congress. I believe you gave me
fair coverage—particularly when I
personally campaigned in your
area.
If I may, I would like to use the
columns of your newspaper to say
a heartfelt thanks to all among
your readership who worked in
my behalf and who voted for me.
Sincerely,
Blaine Whipple
Democratic Candidate for
Congress Firsts District
the nearest Internal Revenue of­
fice.
More information will be issued
on this subject at a later date.
Don’t expect happiness to come
to you—go out in the world and
create your own.
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to peace of mind
Truthfully, now, did you give any thought to
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heating system? Not many of us do.
Flameless electricity is the safest way to heat
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Economy is another important factor not to
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Demonia Eagle
Fall Motor
Tune-up Time
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