Jun* 10, IMi:.. 



Pertinent Legal Findings 



Trimmer Machine Must be Safeguarded 

 Under the holding of tlio Okluhoiiiii supreino rourt, hit«l.v an- 

 nounced in tlie case of Frisco Lumber Company vs. Ethridge, 146 

 Pacific Reporter 441, the factory act of tliat state, which is sub- 

 stantially the same as that of other states in requiring dangerous 

 machinery to Ih? guarded to promote the safety of CJnployes, is sufTl- 

 ciently broad to require trimmer machines in sawmills to be safe- 

 guarded. 



Title to Timber Under Deed to Land 

 The grantee of a warranty deed to a tract of land knew that the 

 grantor had no title to the timber standing thereon, and that the con- 

 Teyance was not intended to include the trees. Later the grantor 

 became the owner of the timber. On these facts it was claimed that 

 the grantee in the deed, or his successor, became the owner of the 

 timber under the general rule of law that where one who has con- 

 veyed land by warranty deed afterwards acquires an interest in the 

 property which should have passed by the deed, the interest will inure 

 to the benefit of the grantee, but the United States circuit court of 

 appeals for the fifth circuit holds that the grantee in the deed took 

 no interest in the timber, saying : "A grantee in a deed is not entitled 

 to make use of a covenant of warranty contained in it to get title to 

 something which both parties to the conveyance understood was not 

 covered by it." (Gillcn vs. Powc, 219 Federal Reporter 553.) 



Employment of Minors in Alabama 



Alabama employers in the lumber and woodworking industries 

 are affected by a law approved by the governor of that state Feb- 

 ruary 24, 1915. It provides: 



No child under the age of sixteen years shall he emloyed, permitted or 

 suffered to work at any of the following occupatioDs • • • : (1) oper- 

 ating or assisting in operating any of the following machines : (a) circu- 

 lar or band saws; (b) wood shapers ; (c) wood jointers; (d) planers; 

 (e) sandpaper or wood polishing machinery: (f) wood turning or boring 

 machinery; • • • (2) or in proximity to any hazardous or unguarded 

 gearing ; • • • nor in occupations causing dust In injurious 

 quantities. 



Separate provision is made concerning the employment of children 

 at non-hazardous occupations. After September 1, 1915, no child 

 under thirteen years old, and after September 1, 1916, no child under 

 fourteen, shall be employed at any ' ' gainful occupation, except agri- 

 culture or domestic service. ' ' No child under sixteen sliall be per- 

 mitted to work more than six days or sixty hours a week, or more 

 than eleven hours a day, or before 6 a. m. or after 6 p. m. Schedules 

 of working and meal hours are required to be posted in minor's 

 places of work, on forms provided by the state inspector of prisons. 

 When children under sixteen are employed certificates must be ob- 

 tained therefor from the city superintendent of schools and must 

 be kept on file by the employer, subject to inspection by the proper 

 authorities. It is made an offense to obstruct proper inspection 

 made by the inspector or his assistants, to determine whether the 

 law is being complied with. Establishments must be maintained 

 in a sanitary condition, with proper ventilation, and closets, separate 

 for each sex. If there are twenty or more employes, sanitary drink- 

 ing fountains are to be provided. 



Various penalties are provided for violations of the law, copies of 

 which can doubtless be obtained from the secretary of state, or state 

 prison inspector, Montgomery, Ala. 



Measurement of Logs in Mississippi 

 A section of the Mississippi statutes declares that Seribner's Lum- 

 ber and Log-Book by Doyle's Rule shall be the standard rule in the 

 state for measuring sawlogs and square timber; and makes use of 

 any other rule of measurement tmlawful, subjecting the offender 

 to punishment as for a misdemeanor, and rendering him liable in 

 triple damages to any person injured thereby. This law has just 

 been before the supreme court of the state in the case of Bellew 

 vs. Williams, 57 Southern Reporter 849, wherein plaintiff sued to 

 recover treble damages for unlawful measurement of logs hauled 

 by him for defendant. The court denies right to recover on the 

 ground that the contract between the parties called for a different 

 measurement than that fixed by law, and that, since plaintiff him- 



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s«'lf agreed that an unauthorizeil standard of nu-asiirerncnt should 

 be adopted, ho coulil not afterwards complain, although he received 

 less compensation than he wouhl have received under the statutory 

 measurement. 



Assumption of Risk by Employe 



Whore n lumber innipuiiy nialjitains a tramway in its operations, 

 an employe assumes the risk of being injured through a defect in 

 the track which he knows has been ]iermitted to remain for some 

 time and has been insufficiently repaired. (California district court 

 of appeal. Ford vs. Weed Lumber Company, 147 I'acific Reporter 112.) 

 Liability for Omission to Safeguard Saws 



The requirement of the laws of Illinois that power saws shall be 

 safeguarded to avoid injury to employes is not liniitecl to the pur- 

 pose of preventing an operator's hands from coming in contact with 

 the saws, but is, also, dcsijjned to jirotect him against flying slivers. 

 Failure to safeguard a saw in this respect constitutes an intentional 

 omission to comply with stiitutory safety regulations, within the 

 meaning of the provision of the Illinois workmen's compensation 

 act, that an employe injured through his employer's intentional 

 omission to comply with safety requirements may disregard the com- 

 pensation act and maintain suit at law to recover damages. (Illi- 

 nois supreme court, Forrest vs. Roper Furniture Company, 108 North- 

 eastern Reporter 328.) 



Seller's Rights on Buyer's Breach 



As a general rule, when one breaks a contract of purchase, by 

 refusing to receive the goods called for by it, the seller has a choice 

 of three remedies: (1) Store or retain the goods subject to the 

 buyer's order, and enforce a claim for the agreed price; (2) treat 

 the contract as broken and claim damages for the breach, measurable 

 by the excess of the agreed price above the market value of the 

 goods at the time and place fixed for delivery; or (3) resell the 

 goods on the buyer's account, to the best reasonable advantage, and 

 hold the buyer for the excess of the agreed price above the net pro- 

 ceeds of the resale. (St. Louis court of appeals, J. E. Stewart 

 Produce Company vs. Gamble-Robinson Commission Company, 175 

 Southwestern Reporter, 319.) 



Interest on Amounts Overdue 



When a logging contract proviilrs for jiayments to the contractor 

 on a certain day each month, ho is entitled to exact interest at the 

 legal rate fo long as the amounts remain unpaid thereafter, accord- 

 ing to the holding of the supreme court of Michigan in the late case 

 of Manistee Navigation Co. vs. Filer & Sons, 151 Northwestern 

 Reporter 1025. 



Liability for Doctor's Charges 



When an employee is injured while at work, and his superintendent 

 summons a physician, the latter will be entitled to recover against 

 the employer for all services rendered, in the absence of notice that 

 responsibility for the bill will be recognized only to the extent of 

 first aid treatment, where the superintendent knows that the same 

 doctor is continuing the treatment under circumstances indicating 

 expectation of payment from the employer. (Rhode Island supreme 

 court. Ward vs. J. Samuels & Brother, 93 Atlantic Reporter 649.) 

 Accidents from Unexplained Causes. 



An employer is not liable for injury to an employee, caused by 

 breaking of a machine part, if the machine had been in apparently 

 good condition, having worked perfectly before, and if the cause 

 of the accident is unproved. (New Hampshire supreme court. Ding- 

 man vs. Merrill, 93 Atlantic Reporter 664.) 



Formation of Contracts by Correspondence 



A valid contract may be formed by a series of letters passing 

 between the parties, and hence when correspondence shows a final 

 agreement on the terms of a sale, an ineffectual attempt to reduce 

 the contract to a formal written agreement does not affect the 

 right of either party to have the contract performed according to 

 the terms expressed in the correspondence. (Texas court of civil 

 appeals, T. C. Bottom Produce Cc. vs. Olsen, 175 Southwestern Re- 

 porter 126.) 



