The Price of Hay and the Cost of a Grudge
A minor dispute over ten tons of hay escalated into criminal trespass charges and a civil court battle that left neither party satisfied.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A charge of trespass against T. A. Wood, preferred by Mrs. John B. Allen, was dismissed in Judge Huffman's court this morning. However, a counter civil suit that Wood brought against Mrs. Allen for $100 damages, alleged to be due owing to her failure to carry out a hay contract, was decided against him, with the defendant being awarded $15. The costs of the case were taxed to Mr. Wood. The case was bitterly fought; Mrs. Allen was represented by Attorney John Sharpstein and Mr. Wood by Attorney Blandford. The trouble arose over the purchase of ten tons of hay from Mrs. Allen by Wood, who claimed he bought it at $8 per ton and paid a $20 forfeit. On September 21st, after Wood paid the balance, Mrs. Allen returned the money to his mother, effectively declaring the deal off. Suspecting the deal was broken, Wood went to the Allen property to take the hay. Mrs. Allen ordered him off as a trespasser. He refused to leave until he had loaded about 1,000 pounds onto his wagon. Mrs. Allen testified that she had agreed to the market price, which she contended was closer to $12 per ton. It was upon the lack of a clear understanding of the market price that the decision against Mr. Wood was rendered.
“It was upon this point that there had not been a clear understanding as to what the market price was that the decision against Mr. Woods was rendered.”
Agricultural contract disputes remain a staple of rural life in the Walla Walla Valley. While the venue has shifted from local courts to broader commercial arbitration, the fundamental conflict—who owns the value of a crop when prices shift—is as old as the soil itself.
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