The Harvester World: Volume 4, number 8, August 1913

              The. Harvester World

The Official Force at the Calgary, Alta., Collection Office

out, that the machines for which our notes were executed were destroyed by fire, and that the wife's parents had given them a few hundred dollars to start up on. The results will show that they had carefully worked out this story to support their claim that the personal property on the rented farm belonged to the wife, who was not a signer on the notes,
1 landed in the town early one morning in September, 1909, made the acquaintance of the attorney who had been representing us in this and other matters, then drove to our debtor's place before noon, I located my man in his field, and just by way of introduction, in¬ quired about his crops, a subject that appealed to his self interest, "What are you going to have for sale this fall?" I asked him. That opening hit the respon¬ sive chords, audit was not long until I had his story — in which self interest played the commanding part—of how he had been burned out, started up again on insurance money collected from a local insurance organization, the success he was having with his dairy, etc.
Presentation of the notes for payment exposed a lot of lamentable confusion on his part, and of course he did not immediately pay over the cash, neither did he meet me in town that afternoon according to appoint¬ ment. However, I got busy and unravelled his story by inquiring at the insurance company's office, dis¬ covering that our debtor had receipted for the insurance money covering his fire loss, and that his wife had absolutely nothing to do with it.    The local creamery
on whom I next called, exhibited their contract with him, and advised that checks were mailed to him monthly. Further inquiries were made of acquaint¬ ances about town, which disclosed that the wife's parents had been dead for years, and had left her neither money nor property. Having verified his own unguarded statements as to his insurance money, creamery outputs, etc, I felt confident of our ability successfully to refute any further claim or defense that he might be disposed to make in the line of property being owned by his wife. The notes were returned to our attorney under instructions to realize the money just as quickly as possible, and under date of Septem¬ ber 2S, 1909, our  attorney  wrote us in part as follows:
"I report levy by the sheriff on personal property in possession of this debtor and his wife, followed by claim that she owns the property except as to two items. The sheriff has been instructed to demand the costs provided by the interpleader act for making the appraisement, which has not yet been paid. The at¬ torney representing the debtor, has just called at my office, and you will kindly make no settlement whatever of this claim without my approval. 1 believe we are in position to get all the money. 1 regard the case as extra-ordinary, and in view of the trouble caused by this debtor and his past record, I believe we should insist upon payment in full of your claim, debt, interest and costs."
The notes were closed by a remittance from our attorney on October 2, 1909.
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The Same — Taking Lunch by the Wayside