_THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO THE LAWYER_
Doubtless more than one reader will be astonished, perhaps even
horrified, to think that the writer should seriously suggest that there
ought to be any relation whatever between the farmer and the lawyer.
It has come to be generally believed by many farmers that lawyers are at
best a necessary evil, which it is well to avoid if possible; but,
strange as it may appear, this very feeling is responsible for much of
the litigation, with its attendant loss and sometimes ruin, in which too
many farmers have been engaged. It is not the purpose of this short
chapter to treat of the subject of law, or to try to lay down any rules
to be blindly followed in legal matters. An old and learned lawyer, who
had all his life been engaged in a country practice, once told me that
the most prolific sources of litigation were alleged text-books of law,
bearing such alluring and seductive titles as “Every Man his own
Lawyer,” or “The Farmer’s own Law Book.”
Several years ago, a wealthy manufacturer of the state of New York sent
a bright son to a law school, to help prepare him for a business career.
At the end of his course the proud father was present at commencement,
and, in the course of conversation with his son, said: “Well, John, I
suppose you have learned a great deal.” John answered, “I have learned
one thing which I think is of value; and that is, if any legal matter
comes up in the course of my business, to consult the very best lawyer I
can find.” That young man had really learned something worth far more
than the cost of his course in the college of law.
There is, perhaps, no other of the so-called learned professions which
is so exacting and which requires more devotion and study for its
mastery. Some of the brightest men in this country have devoted a
lifetime to the study and practice of law, only to have just entered its
broad field as they have been compelled to lay down their work. How
futile, then, would be the attempt to make every man his own lawyer! The
real purpose of this chapter is to open the eyes of the farmer to the
necessity of a closer relationship between himself and the lawyer,--the
family lawyer, if you please, having his confidence to the same extent
as that of the family doctor.
Most farmers desire a comfortable and a beautiful home, and it is to aid
such that this book is written. Such a farmer would doubtless consult a
builder or an architect as to the foundation, walls, plan and materials
of the home to be constructed, and he would act wisely; but how many
would think so far as to consult a lawyer as to the very foundation upon
which his home and his future happy occupancy of it rest: the title to
the farm. Too many times he is satisfied with the services of the
village solons,--the shoemaker who is a notary public, the justice of
the peace, or the pettifogger who daily overrules the supreme court or
the court of appeals. Years after he has purchased his farm, he finds,
perhaps, that some man has given a deed whose wife has not signed, and
upon the death of the woman’s husband our farmer friend is confronted
with a law suit; and he finds that this wife, who did not sign the deed,
is entitled to dower in his farm, the use of one-third of its value at
the time her husband gave the deed, for life. Such cases are frequent,
and might easily be prevented by submitting an abstract of the title to
a lawyer at a cost of $5 or less. The flaw in the title may be a
mortgage or judgment, or a failure of all the heirs of a deceased
person, somewhere along the chain of title, to join in the deed; all of
which might be overlooked by the ordinary business man, and yet be
readily detected by a lawyer.
Some day the farmer may be annoyed by the encroachment of a neighbor
upon his farm, and, when in the midst of a litigation, find that the
description of his farm is so defective that there is no relief. I have
in my possession a deed of a valuable farm containing this description:
“Beginning on the ---- road at the south end of a pile of four-foot
wood; running thence westwardly to a black cherry tree, thence northerly
to a stake, thence easterly to a pine stump in the center of the road,
and thence southerly to the place of beginning, containing 100 acres,
more or less.” For fifty years this description has been copied, a score
of times, by the various justices of the peace and notaries public of
the neighboring hamlet, but fortunately, however, it has never devolved
upon the owners to establish the boundaries of that farm. The first
lawyer who got hold of this particular deed insisted upon such a
description as would be tangible and certain. Not many years ago a
mortgage on a valuable farm in Tompkins county, N. Y., was foreclosed,
and during the foreclosure it was discovered that this mortgage covered
about fifty acres of Cayuga lake, and what had been supposed to be a
valuable mortgage was depreciated one-half by reason of the neglect and
incompetence of the country conveyancer.
So, too, there are questions as to line fences, water courses, rights of
way, encroachment upon the highway, and an innumerable train of
threatening evils, continually arising, any one of which, if neglected
or referred to the many wiseacres common to every community, may lead to
costly litigation, or even to the loss of the farm itself. A bit of
counsel at the right time, which is when the matter first appears, will
prevent, at trifling cost, all the attendant evils of a law suit.
Such instances are very common in the experience of every lawyer who
enjoys even a moderate country practice; and it is an alarming fact that
perhaps fifty per cent of the titles to all the farms, especially in the
older states, have flaws more or less serious, any one of which is a
microbe of trouble, liable to assert itself when least expected. This
being so, the general and inflexible rule should ever prevail, never to
take a deed of property without an abstract of title which has been
examined by a competent attorney. The so-called maxims of law, often
repeated and distorted, especially in farming communities, are extremely
dangerous to follow. They may have some foundation in fact, but as
almost all rules of law have their exceptions, and as no one not versed
in the law is competent to pass upon them, they should never be blindly
followed by a layman.
To illustrate this point: Not long ago a prosperous farmer, relying upon
the oft-repeated assertion that twenty years of peaceable possession
gave title, became involved in a lawsuit with the town over a fence
which had been built in the highway adjacent to his farm. He was an
astonished man when the lawyer whom he consulted told him that
possession for a thousand years of the land claimed would not give him
title as against the public.
It seems almost incredible that a farmer, who will drive his horse for
miles to have him shod by an expert, or who will summon a veterinarian
to treat a sick cow, will be satisfied to consult what someone has
brightly termed a necessity lawyer,--because necessity knows no
law,--upon matters affecting his farm, his home, or his competence,
rather than the experienced lawyer. The cow might be replaced for forty
or fifty dollars if a mistake was made, but the farm, the competence,
have cost a lifetime of labor.
Perhaps the most striking example of neglect on the part of the farmer
is in regard to the disposal of the fruits of his life-work. It is true
that anybody can draw a will, and yet the fact that men and women allow
anybody to draw their wills is productive of more fat fees than arise
from any other source. Not long ago an acquaintance, who did not realize
the truth of the old adage that “a little knowledge is a dangerous
thing,” drew his own will, and, being childless, sought to leave his
property to his wife, who had been the partner of his labors in a long
life of toil. The law of the state of New York requires two witnesses to
a will. He procured only one, and upon his death the property, which
husband and wife had with so much toil secured, was for the most part
scattered among distant relatives, almost strangers, because he was
afraid of lawyers and their fees.
In all the varied business which a farmer will meet,--the giving of
notes, mortgages, etc., or, better, the taking of mortgages, bills of
sale, and promissory notes,--it is well to remember that different
conditions of fact make necessary different interpretations of the law,
and that it is usually unsafe to follow a neighborhood precedent.
Oftentimes you may be called upon to transact business where it is not
convenient to consult a lawyer. In such cases, and in all transactions
of any magnitude or possible importance, all talk, or the essence of it,
should be reduced to writing. Then it cannot get away or be distorted
or forgotten, and is in good shape to submit, at the first opportunity,
to your lawyer, who, if an error has been made, can, while the matter is
fresh, more easily correct it. Remember that a contract is simply a
meeting of the minds of the contracting parties, and the best drawn
contract possible is one that states, in language simple and concise,
what each means as expressed by word of mouth.
Most of the litigation so much feared by the farmer is due to the farmer
himself and his neglect to seek an ounce of preventive. It is true that
there are rascally lawyers; so, too, there are dishonest men in every
trade, occupation or profession, but they are generally easily located.
If this chapter shall lead the farmer to feel that his business is
farming, that “a jack-at-all-trades is master of none,” and that the
law, justly interpreted and enforced by those who know it thoroughly and
well, is to be the foundation of his success, the guarantee of his home
through life, and the channel of its proper disposal after death, then
it has not been written in vain. Remember that the province of the true
lawyer is to keep his client out of trouble, rather than to get him out
of trouble. An honest lawyer, of whom, thank Heaven, there are very
many, notwithstanding the popular prejudice of those who have suffered
from litigation, will always try to steer you clear of litigation and
loss.
In conclusion, then, always consult a lawyer in matters affecting your
farm or property. The average fees of a lifetime will not exceed fifty
dollars, and oftentimes valuable advice will be given free. Select one
in whom you have confidence, and stick to him. Become his friend, and
let the relation be one of mutual confidence. Do not neglect to ask him
a question because you fear he will think you dumb; he probably knows
less about farming than you do about law. He will need your advice and
influence in minor matters as much as you need his. Call on him when you
are in town, and he will be glad to see you. Very often he will answer
your question gratis. When he charges you what may seem a large fee,
remember that you are paying for skilled labor, and that you are
entitled to expend as much for the possible welfare and happiness of
your family as you expend upon the choice stock in your stables.
Farmers, more than any other class of men, perhaps, are prone to neglect
legal matters, or place them in incompetent hands.