85 Iowa 66 | Iowa | 1892
The appellant and O. L. Binford having each testified denying any knowledge of the
“In these dull and piping times of drought and grumbling, it is refreshing to note what enterprise will accomplish. For instance, an Ohio firm or corporation that last year planted the seeds is this year reaping-a bountiful harvest. Having a very superior quality of seed oats, they last year sold two of our farmers— Mr. Chamberlain, of State Center, and Mr. Johnson, of this city — a number of bushels at fifteen dollars per bushel, taking their notes for the purchase price, and giving them what they called a ‘bond’ to sell twice the*69 number of bushels from the crop at fifteen dollars per bushel, retaining only the nominal sum of five dollars per bushel as commission. According to the agreement, the Ohio philanthropists returned this year, and carried out their promises, any number of responsible farmers bemg apparently willing to raise a ten-dollars-a-bushel crop. Messrs. Chamberlain and Hockey’s crop of seed oats went off like hot cakes at fifteen dollars per bushel, and it is currently reported that at this price from ten thousand to fifteen thousand dollars’ worth of seed oats have been sold in this community, and that good notes to that amount have been taken. One of the pleasant features of this enterprise was the enormous growth insure d, as the' bond required the Ohio gentlemen, whose object in life is to relieve the mercantile depression, will return, and of necessity sell twice as many seed oats as this, to say nothing of any imported seed they may bring with them. Even the sluggish imagination of a newspaper man cannot fail to grasp the glittering possibilities of this doubling-up process. In a few years Marshall county will be the most delightful farming community on earth, and even our business men will be digging up their back lots and raising oats at the guaranteed price of ten dollars per bushel.”
There was testimony tending to support the ap-pellee’s claim that Mr. Binford purchased the note for and as agent of the appellant. Upon that theory of the case, the appellant was bound by whatever knowledge Mr. Binford had as to the infirmities in the note, and evidence of such knowledge was admissible. The testimony showed that Mr. .Binford resided and was in business in Marshalltown in 1887; that he was in the way to hear the current talks of the town; that he was a reader of the Times-Repub Mean, and probably read the article admitted in evidence. The appellant’s contention is that there was nothing in the talk or pub-
II. Allen Packer and Peter Sell were permitted to testify, over the appellant’s objection, that about
III. The appellant complains of the refusal to give his instruction to the effect that knowledge of
V. The appellant complains of the refusal to give the following instructions:
5. __:__:__:__. “(7) Knowledge of the defects, or want of consideration, or of fraud in the making of a negotiable note must be such information as will call to the mind the defect or fraud when the note is offered for purchase. This is with reference to the article in the paper of August 2, 1887, and other evidence of like character. If the article did not amount to such knowledge as would inform the person seeing the note of the defects of this note, or of the want of*73 'consideration, or canse such knowledge to be suggested to the mind when the note was presented, it would not .amount to notice of any infirmity, even though the purchaser might have read the article.”
There was nothing in the case to call for such an instruction. The entire transaction had occurred within a period of fifteen days. The note was executed July ■25, the newspaper publication August 2, and the transfers of the note August 5 and 8. There was ■nothing to show, and no reason to infer, that any information that had come to the purchaser concerning "the note was forgotten or out of mind at the time of the purchase.. The newspaper article did show that which would inform any person who read it and saw the note, knowing that it was a Bohemian oats note, that it was void.
YI. The court instructed ‘ 'that an innocent holder •of a negotiable promissory note, as meant in these instructions, is one who in good faith buys the same for a valuable consideration, before its maturity, from one having the right to sell and deliver the same, and without his (the buyer) having notice or knowledge of any lawful defenses the maker may have against it.” The appellant contends that he had a right to purchase "from one having the apparent right to sell,” and that the omission of the word "apparent” was prejudicial; The language used is evidently with reference to the ownership of the note; and, as there was no question as to the ownership, the omission was without prejudice. There was some evidence from which it was claimed that the transfer of the note to the appellant was not until after April 17, 1888; hence there was no error in instructing the jury as to the effect of chapter 78, Acts of Twenty-second General Assembly. It is complained that certain other paragraphs of the charge have no basis in the evidence. We think, upon exami
VII. One ground of the appellant’s motion for a new trial is misconduct of the jury. It appears that,
Our conclusion upon the whole record is that the judgment of the district court should be affirmed.