Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 July 1877 — A RIGHTEOUS VERDICT. [ARTICLE]

A RIGHTEOUS VERDICT.

How au Agent Tried to Cheat a Widow, and What a Chicago Jury Did About It. A Chicago jury lias rendered n verdict which will be approved by that large number of persons who have been deluded into signing contracts the purport of which they did not understand. An agent of the Victor Sewing-Machine Company visited a young widow, a Norwegian, who supported herself and child by working on a sewing machine. The agent proposed to sell to the woman a Victor machine for SBS, and take an old Singer for sls, and agreed to furnish S3O of work a month, retaining $5 a month until the machine should be paid for. No other terms were spoken of, and, when this arrangement was fully understood, the agent prepared a contract from a printed blank for the woman to sign. The widow was unable to read English, and, after the agreement had again been explained as before, signed tlie paper, and the macliine was delivered. Tlie widow went to the office of the Victor Company for work, but could not get any. Tlie agent called for tlie money in a month, and, in course of time, took the machine away, refusing to give back the old machine taken in part payment. The widow sued to recover SBS, and a verdict was given in her favor. The paper signed proved to be an agreement to pay rent for tlie use of the machine, and providing that, upon failure to pay any part of the rent, the sewing-machine company might terminate tlie lease and take possession of the machine, and that the company might at any time “take possession of the machine when it may deem necessary to secure itself against loss.” Across tlie face of the lease was printed in red ink a proviso that “ any contract made with any canvasser or agent different in any respect from the terms of this lease, will not be binding upon the Victor Sewing-Machine Company under any circumstances.” The Judge held that this limitation could have no effect where the instrument itself never had any validity. The moral of all which is, that people should carefully scrutinize tempting inducements offered by any kind of agents, and should never sign their names until they know exactly what they arc binding themselves to do.