The Justice Who Defied the Law of the Landlord
A local judge in Davenport declares the state's 'board-jumping' law unconstitutional, sparking a debate over the rights of the hungry versus the interests of hotels.
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.
Justice O. T. Oswalt of Davenport has declared the new law relative to jumping of board bills to be unconstitutional. The decision was made in the case of the state versus Lena Reynolds of Okanogan county, who was charged with skipping out on a bill at the Davenport Hotel. After the case was dismissed, Judge Oswalt stated, 'The legislature has no right to pass such a law, and I declare it to be unconstitutional.' The decision is remarkable from the fact that its author is only a justice of the peace. The weighty words of the justice astounded the counsel for the complainant, but delighted the prisoner and her counsel. Just what effect the decision will have upon the practice of law over the state is hard to determine, but board jumpers can eat and grow fat in the precinct presided over by Judge Oswalt, who is manifestly a friend to the hungry.
“Board jumpers can eat and grow fat in the precinct presided over by Judge Oswalt, who is manifestly a friend to the hungry.”
This 1903 dispute over the criminalization of debt reflects the ongoing tension between housing affordability and the legal protections afforded to property owners. It highlights a rare historical moment where a local jurist placed the survival of the destitute above the 'sanctity' of commercial contracts.
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