National Furnace Co. v. Keystone Manufacturing Co.

Citations

• 110 Ill. 427

Syllabus

<p>1. Agency—general agent—what constitutes. A general agent is one authorized to transact all the business of his principal, or all his business of some particular kind.</p> <p>2. Same—proof of usage, in ascertaining the powers of an agent. In the ease of a general agent the law permits usage to enter into and enlarge the liability of the principal,, in respect to contracts made by the agent; and it has been held that the usages of a particular trade or business are admissible for the purpose of interpreting the powers given to an agent or factor.</p> <p>3. Same—extent of the powers of an agent in the particular case. A corporation engaged in the manufacture of pig iron, adopted, through its directory, a resolution, as follows: “¡Resolved, that A B, of Chicago, be and is hereby appointed and employed by this company as its sole agent for the consignment and sale of its entire product, he to receive a commission, ” etc. This agent assumed to authorize another to make contracts in respect to the subject matter of the agency, and the latter did contract, on behalf of the corporation, with another manufacturing company, to supply the latter with all the pig iron they should need, use or consume in their business during the then ensuing season of such business. It was shown to have been the custom in Chicago for iron brokers to employ salesmen to make contracts with manufacturers of like kind for the year’s supply of iron, to be delivered as ordered. On the question as to the authority of the agent, it was held, that under the resolution appointing him, in connection with the usage of trade in Chicago among this class of dealers, he had authority, as the general agent of his principal, to contract, through the instrumentality employed, for the sale of iron thereafter to be produced, and to be delivered in the future as ordered. His authority was not limited merely to the sale of the iron when it was ready for the market.</p> <p>4. And aside from any usage or custom amon