IT'S YOUR LAW
Agents Give Answers to Queries
Asked About Damage from Wind
Need of Wise Leadership for
Clubs Emphasized by Speaker
Respect Rot Law Makes Democracy Live
SAFETY MEASURE
4. Someone threatens your
You can prevent legal trou­ rights. The law exists to de­
ble easier than you can get out fend them, but with some
if you don’t invoke them your­
of it once you are in.
Most wage earning, child- self, they lie dormant.
rearing, home-buying, tax-pay­
ing, installment buying people
see little need for a family
lawyer. Yet he could come in
handy if you knew when to see
him.
Often under prodding such
a family may get a lawyer to
write a will; but most people
wait for trouble to strike, be­
fore they think of a lawyer.
That’s how it used to be with
doctors. Now people get check­
ups before they are sick.
So when do you see a law­
yer?
Can you spot the symptoms
of legal trouble?
Yes, you can: Check with
your family lawyer when:
1. Your s ta tu s changes:
Upon coming of age, marriage,
the birth of your children, buy­
ing a house, divorce, or death
in the family. For at these
times you may need to draft
or revise your will, change
your insurance, straighten out
your property rights, or re­
figure your taxes.
2. You buy or sell. Look out
for flaws in the papers before
you go into debt, part with
money, or sign anything in­
volving big money or long
term debts. So far as you can,
make sure, too, that you don’t
bite off more than you can
chew.
3. You enter into contracts.
When you can, bring your
lawyer “live” facts (e.g. un­
signed contracts; vexing, un­
filed tax returns, unmailed let­
ters, etc.). He can help you
much more and at smaller cost
than when you bring him the
“cold” facts (mistakes you
have made which now threaten
trouble).
But above all, get both live
and cold facts to your lawyer
at once. For time may run out.
(A debt, for example, may be
outlawed). Your lawyer may
be able to help you today, but
not so much tomorrow.
want. Tell him all the facts,
good or bad, and then keep
him informed at each step. He
is sworn to keep what you tell
him in confidence. He cannot
help much unless he knows all
the facts. Once you have a
family lawyer who is already
familiar with your needs, he
can act swiftly and wisely in
your behalf if trouble strikes.
And it isn’t so likely to strike
if he has been at your elbow
when you have to take legal
risks.
Promises—spoken, written, or
implied—bind you if they call
for a “consideration,” some­
thing of value in return. Make
sure that you haven’t by word
or deed offered or accepted
such promises before you know
what you are getting into.
N o te : Oregon lawyers offer this c< lum n
so you m ay know about our
laws. I t is to inlorm , not advise.
CLEAN HANDS
Our courts work with two
sets of principles in meting out
justice — those of “law” and
those of “ equity.”
1. Under "law” a court de­
clares the parties’ rights and
d u tie s and
s e ts m oney
damages for
harm already
d o n e — as
when so m e­
one goes back
on his con­
tract with you, or injures you
in an automobile crash.
2. But under principles of
“honesty, e q u ity , and con­
science,” for example, a court,
seeing harm on the way, may
forestall it and enforce its or­
ders by fines or jail terms. For
example, California farmers
oiten used to enjoin upstream
land owners from unlawfully
diverting or polluting waters.
England used to have two
kinds of courts to hear cases
under law and equity. But to­
day both England and Ameri­
ca use the same judge to hear
both kinds of cases.
How did these two systems
arise?
Long ago the English king
called upon the "chancery”—
then largely made up of
churchmen, (the keepers “of
the King’s conscience” ), to
give "relief” where the older
Common Law courts, grown
rigid, might fail.
Unable to use the Common
Law, the chancellors applied
certain rules and maxims,
sometimes borrowed from an­
cient Greece and Rome — “He
who comes into equity must
com e w ith c le a n h a n d s .”
Sometimes this is stated: "No
one can take advantage in a
court of equity of his own
wrongdoing.”
This maxim denies a suitor
“ relief” if he himself has done
wrong in the transaction at
issue.
A scale maker had adver­
tised that his scales would
count fractions of a cent
against the customer and in
favor of the storekeeper.
He had asked a court in
equity to stop a competitor
from revealing that his scale
was cheating customers. But
the court threw the case out:
Not having “clean hands,” the
scale maker had no standing
in equity. He could not seek
fair treatment when he him­
self was dishonest in particu­
lar situation at issue.
N ote: Oregon law yers offer thia column so you m ay know about our
laws. I t is to inlorm , not advise.
JUST IN CASE
It’s the efficient ones who
all too often fail to make plans
—about the most important
things.
take possession of all property
and prepare a detailed inven­
tory of it, file an appraisal in
court, attend appraisers’ meet­
ings, file all income tax re­
turns, etc.
Be sure to name a trusted
executor. Without a will, the
probate court must name an
administrator, very often a
stranger to one’s family.
Best of all, gather your legal
papers together, call up a
lawyer, make an oppointment
with him and go over all your
property, business and family
situations. He has done this
with many others and may
have suggestions to solve your
problems, save taxes, and take
care of your family.
Consider a
will: No mat­
ter how big or
little your es­
tate, you need
a w ill, f o r
w ithout one
you m ak e
needless and
troubles
by leaving the courts to handle
your estate. A survivor may
find it hard to take care of
the children while awaiting
a court's permission to use es­
tate funds.
Have a lawyer draw up your
will at once to prevent family
rows, needless court actions,
freezing of funds. The cost is
minor.
Review your will to meet
new circumstances — births,
deaths, marriages, and chang­
es in your fortune as well as
changes in the tax law.
Think well about the choice
of an executor of your estate.
He may have a tough job. He
must, for instance, offer your mind and. save your family all
will for probate in court, no­ sorts . of uncertainty and
tify all interested persons. trouble.
N o te : Oregon lawyers offer this column so you m ay know about our
laws. I t is to inlorm , not advise.
Now that a month has passed
since Oregon's disastrous October
12 storm, independent insurance
agents throughout the state have
had time to collect and forward to
their association’s main office the
questions most often being asked
by their insureds, together with
the most applicable answers.
William H. Breeden, informa­
tion chairman of the Oregon As­
sociation of Independent Insur­
ance Agents, made public today
the state’s eight key post-wind-
storm queries, collected from the
OAIA’s 500 member agencies.
As a preface, Breeden empha­
sized: "Almost every claim is dif­
ferent from every other claim, and
is being processed individually.
Coverages vary, therefore readers
should check their own policies
with their own agents, applying
the following answers only on a
broad and general basis, as a rule
of thumb.”
Q. I carry fire and extended
coverage insurance on my home.
How much coverage do I have for
damage done by the Oct. 12 wind­
storm?
A. Quite a bit. Windstorm dam­
age is included in the extended
coverage endorsement which is
contained in more than 95% of all
fire insurance policies and even
though you only bought insurance
on your house itself, you also have
free automatic insurance (up to
10% of the policy amount) on de­
tached garages, fences, outbuild­
ings, driveways, patios, and other
private structures on your proper­
ty. Most of your windstorm dam­
age will be covered, subject to a
$50 deductible. Another valuable
extension of coverage insures you
—automatically—for the expense
of removing debris of insured pro­
perty. If your chimney blew down,
the company will pay the cost of
hauling away the rubble in addi­
tion to the expense of rebuilding
the chimney.
Q. How does deductible work?
A. Let’s take an example. Tree
falls on your home damaging
chimney and roof. Windblown de­
bris breaks several windows. To­
tal loss in $268.75. You pay the
first $50 and the insurance com­
pany pays the rest. Don’t forget,
you probably can recover part of
the $50 in filing your income tax
return; as an uninsured casualty
loss it’s a deductible item.
Q. What about damage to fences
and garages?
A. It’s covered, too, although the
amount you recover will depend
on another factor. General rule
contained in most insuring policies
is that if the fence or garage is
attached to your home, only one
deductible will apply to wind
damage to house, fence, and gar­
age. But if the fence or garage are
detached, i.e. separate structures,
then a separate $50 deductible ap­
plies to each separate building or
structure. For instance, damage to
your home and a child’s playhouse
in the backyard is covered, and
you’d pay $100—the first $50 of
damage to each building.
Q. We lost two large fir trees,
several ornamental shrubs and
some rhododendrons. Are they co­
vered?
A. Probably not. Most property
owners didn’t anticipate a storm
of this magnitude and, as a result,
didn’t take out specific coverage
on trees, shrubs, and lawns. But,
again, this loss may be tax-deduct­
ible. Consult your accountant or
the nearest Internal Revenue Ser­
vice office.
Q. Trees uprooted by the storm
did considerable damage to our
patio and driveway. Is this cover­
ed?
A. Yes. Damage to driveways,
sidewalks, and patios on private
property is covered under most
dwelling fire insurance policies.
However, they are considered
separate structures and take a $50
deductible separate from that ap­
plied to damage to the home—but
this deductible is applied to the
aggregate; one $50 for total dam­
age to all private driveways, side­
walks and patios.
City sidewalks and curbing are
public property, of course, and
not insured. In many cities pro­
perty owners are responsible for
repairs.
Q. We didn’t suffer any direct
damage to the house, garage, or
fence but the yard is a mess from
trees down, broken limbs, etc.
Who pays to clean it up?
A. You do, probably—but again
the cost may be claimed as a tax
deduction. The fire insurance poli­
cy only covers direct damage to
insured property (your home, ga­
rage, fences, outbuildings, remov­
al of debris from insured proper­
ty, etc.). Unless specifically in­
sured, trees down in the yard are
not “insured property” and the in­
surance company is not obligated
to remove that kind of debris. On
the other hand, the company will
remove debris—insured or unin­
sured—to the extent necessary to
make repairs to insured property,
e.g., where an “uninsured” tree
falls on an “insured” house.
Q. Several of my trees fell in
my neighbor’s yard. Am I respon­
sible for the damage and removal
of debris? What coverage do I
have under my personal liability
policy?
A. You’re responsible for the
damage only if you’re proven to be
negligent, in which event your
personal liability policy will de­
fend you and pay any damages
awarded. However, your neigh­
bor’s fire insurance policy will
pay to remove the trees from his
home, garage, and other insured
property as well as repair the
damage, subject to the appropriate
deductibles.
State To Open Highway Bids
Bids will be received by the
state highway commission in Sa­
lem on November 20 for eight
highway grading, stone base, oil­
ing, paving, bridge, illumination,
signing, and rock producton pro­
jects, estimated to cost $6,500,000.
These projects include 18.33
miles of grading; 20.47 miles of
stone base construction; 8.41 miles
of oil mat surfacing; 10.82 miles of
asphaltic concrete paving; con­
struction of six bridges; signing,
illumination, and rock production
projects.
One project which will benefit
this area is in Multnomah county
and calls for the improvement of
the Columbia river highway be­
tween the west city limits of Port­
land and the St. Johns bridge over
the Willamette river.
Plans call for widening the ex­
isting highway to provide for four
lanes of traffic. The median area
between opposing lanes of traffic
will consist of painted stripes on
the pavement and is designated to
provide left-turn refuge areas be­
tween the two sets of travel lanes
for vehicles which desire to turn.
An adequate storm sewer system
to provide for the drainage of
surface waters is also included in
the plans. Walkways and stair­
ways are to be constructed to pro­
vide for pedestrian traffic, and
intersections have been designed
to insure safe and easy access to
the highway from connecting
streets and roadways. Numerous
large retaining walls have been
included in the construction of
this project due to the steepness of
the adjacent terrain. The com­
pletion of all construction on this
project is scheduled for the fall
of 1963
Beware of the fellow who soft-
soaps you. Fish bait always covers
a hook.
READ ADVERTISING-IT PAYS
Mrs. Ervin Abraham
In her talk on, "To Strengthen
the Arn\s of Liberty”, Mrs. Mel-
ford Nelson, president of the Ore­
gon Federation of Women’s Clubs,
stated that a club must have wise
leaders. She spoke during the
Fifth District Institute program of
the Oregon Federation of Women's
clubs held at the Congregational
church in Scappoose last Monday.
The Fifth District is an affiliate of
the General Federation, the larg­
est women’s organization in the
world with 11 million members in
15,000 clubs in 53 counries of the
world. Oregon is a federation of
3,774 members in 98 clubs.
“Freedom," Mrs. Nelson quoted,
while speaking of the public af­
fairs department, “is ours if we
keep it. We are guardians of the
future. Apathy is a threat to life.”
Mrs. Nelson was introduced by
Mrs. H. A. Shadley, Fifth District
Federation of Women’s Clubs pres­
ident.
The program, with the theme,
“The Challenge of Leadership",
began with registration and coffee
at 9 a.m., served by the Scappoose
Woman’s Club. Opening of the in­
stitute by Mrs. H. A. Shadley was
followed by the Pledge of Alleg­
iance led by Mrs. Mary Watkins
and greetings by Mrs.Ernest West-
erfield, president of the Scap­
poose club.
Leadership discussion was led
by Mrs. Nelson on “How to Put
Your Best Foot Forward.” Mrs.
John S. Taylor, first vice-president
of the state federation, had a les­
son on parliamentary procedure,
and Mrs. Walter B. Rich had a
program, “To Seek, To Have, To
Hold.” She is the second vice-
president of the federation. Third
vice-president Mrs. Walllace L.
Smith led her group on “The
Three Rs of Federation, Response,
Receipts, and Rewards.” “So
You’ve Been Elected Publicity
Chairman” was the topic of Mrs.
Clark C. McCall, Oregon com-
municatons charman.
Followng the talks, members
participating in response were:
Mrs. D. E. Ostlund, St. Helens;
Mrs. Pat Elders, St. Helens; Mrs.
John Simmons, Scappoose; Mrs.
Eleanor Blumstead. Hillsboro; and
Mrs. R. M. Smith, Hillsboro.
During the lunch hour Mrs. Nel­
son spoke on “Respite from Re­
sponsibility," telling of the niceties
of her trip to the national con­
vention.
After reconvening, Mrs. Shadley
named the district officers and
chairmen. They are: Mrs. John
R. Roberts of Forest Grove, first
vice-president; Mrs. Allen Wend-
landt, Scappoose, second vice-
president; Mrs. James Lewis, of
Forest Grove, third vice-president;
Mrs. John Simmons, Scappoose,
financial secretary; Miss Minette
Biblehausen, Seaside, treasurer;
Mrs. Norman Burgoyne, St. Hel­
ens, corresponding secretary; Mrs.
D. E. Ostlund, St. Helens, parlia­
mentarian.
Committee chairmen are: Mrs.
Benson, Forest Grove, conserva­
tion; Mrs. E. G. Paine, Hillsboro,
fine arts; Mrs. H. H. Keck, Sea­
side, care; Mrs. Kent Brooks, For­
est Grove, International affairs;
Mrs. Ellen Larkins, Forest Grove,
education; Mrs. Mary Watkins, St.
Helens, home life; and Mrs. Er­
vin Abraham, Rainier, communi­
cations chairman.
The ABC's of Federation Action
was presented by Mrs. W. L.
Smith, junior director of the Ore­
gon Federation.
Mrs. John Tyler was moderator
and concluded and summarized
the program of the day.
The institute was attended by
officers and members from
Seaside, St. Helens, Hillsboro,
Rainier, Forest Grove and Scap­
poose. Rainier’s delegation was the
largest in attendance.
Social Security Deduction Rate
On Pay Increases in January
Starting with the first pay
received in January, the social se­
curity contribution is increased by
one-half of one percent on the first
$4,800 of wages. With this increase,
the contribution will be 3% per­
cent on earnings up to $4,800 a
year.
This contribution, together with
a matching amount paid by each
employer, is credited to the old-
age and survivors insurance trust
fund and the disability insurance
trust fund. By law, these funds
can be used only for social secur­
ity purposes.
The orginal social security law
provided for an ultimate contri­
bution rate of 3 percent on em­
ployees to pay the cost of retire­
ment benefits ranging from $10
to $85. The 3 percent rate was
scheduled to go into effect in 1949.
The original program has been
enlarged by congress to include
benefits for wives and children of
retired workers, for the survivors
of deceased workers, and for se-
verly disabled workers and their
dependents. Benefit amounts have
been raised so that for a retired or
disabled worker they now range
from $40 to $127 and for a family
they may be as much as $254.
When these improvements were
made the law was amended to
provide a schedule of increased
contributions to cover the cost.
The increase in contribution to 3%
percent is part of that schedule.
The present law provides for two
additional increases, one in 1966
and the other, bringing the maxi­
mum rate to 4% percent, in 1968.
The scheduled contribution rates
assure the continuing financial
soundness of the social security
program. The board of trustees of
the social security trust funds, fol­
lowing its latest annual review of
the adequate "to pay the benefits
now provided in the law to all
present and future beneficiaries,
and to pay the administrative ex­
penses of the program, without
any subsidy from the general
funds of the treasury.”
For more information, ask the
nearest social security office for
booklet No. 36, "Financing Your
Social Security Benefits."
Pomona Grangers Hear Reports
On Tree Damage, Pest Control
The Columbia County Pomona
Grange met Saturday, November
3, in the Chapman Grange hall
with a good attendance. Visitors
from other counties were Ted
Simms, State Grange deputy of
Lane county and Edna Graf and
Susie Bennel of Sauvies Island
Grange. All spent a pleasant day
as guests of Chapman Grange.
Agricultural committee reports
covered pest control as practiced
in Tillamook county, resetting
trees which have been uprooted
by the recent storm, which is said
to be possible if done soon. New
stock will not be available to com­
pletely replace trees, so orchardistg
should do what they can to save
those they have. Filberts, prunes
and walnuts, especially, have been
hard hit, and these trees take
some time to come into bearing if
replaced by new stock. Also, Don
Walrod, county agent, advocated
that any buildings lost might be
modernized in being rebuilt.
Much discussion of various
measures on the ballot for the
past election brought out argu­
ments for and against, serving to
give better understanding in some
cases, and causing confusion in
others.
Miss Jacquelin Wyland, who
won the trip this year to the
United Nations presented by the
IOOF and Rebekah Lodges, was
present in the afternoon to show
her pictures taken on the trip. In
the evening, David Stevely told
of his trip as youth exchange stu­
dent to Ontario and showed pic­
tures he took. Both young people
gave a good account of their trip.
Reports showed extensive dam­
age to the Pomona Grange parks
in the Nehalem valley and the
park board was given authority
to fix them up as a community
service. Mrs. Inez Langdon, Mrs.
Lydia Erickson and Mrs. Pearl
Becker were appointed as & com­
mittee to aid in this project as a
Pomona Grange community ser­
vice for next year. History of Po­
mona and subordinate granges of
the county also is being under­
taken at this time.
The fellow who is smart enough
to ask his friends for advice sel­
dom needs it.
A hypocrite is a fellow who pro­
fesses tolerance, and then contin­
ues to do a lot of name-calling.
Demonia Eagle
THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1962
5