The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1858-09-02
the EDebtor and Creditor.

SCuAH dS WIZ VI Nt+C 1'1.''S - 'N'S'J' r.
of that place, and solicits our attention to
a couple Of communications in reference
to the utility of " Stay Laws" as they eff
feet debter and creditor and asks Us to
give, in the JOURNAL, statement OF "the
fruits, advantages and disadvantage" OF
the Stay Law Of this State. We are young,
inexperienced in commercial practice, and
whatever may have been our proneness to
be debtor, we have never had sufficient
opportunity as creditor to observe the
workings Of any commercial laws sufficient
ly to attempt to satisfy the request ofour
spondent. But inasmuch as one Of
the articles in question refers directly to
this State, We will attempt an opinion Of
the matter To commence with, We give
an extract from the communication, not
having room for all Of it:
:" In Wisconsin, a sale Of real estate
gives the debtor twenty-seven months to
redeem-time enough to wear cut q good
farm and slope with the effects. In Iowa,
the shortest time in which an execution
can be obtained is twelve months, aud even
then an affidavit from the debtor that he
is not ready for trial gives him SIX months
longer; then it takes several months to
sell the land, and then year is given to
redeem This Stay Law has proven a
grieyous curse to the State Of Iowa. The
time was when the Star Of Empire moved
towards the State of Iowa but who now
a-days talks about buying land in Iowa; ;
who nowadays talks Of investing money
In Iowa for speculation ?-nobody. In
Minnesota the laws are still worse; and in
! Illinois, the most favored of any OF the
named States, we have entirely too much
stay-law already for our own good. \
shrewd wire-worker can delay Judgment
so that it takes twelve months before judg
ment can be obtained where only two
terms of court are held per aunum. Our
friend in his suggestions refers us to Penn
sylvania for an example. Pennsylvania
passed Stay Law, and it proved to her
Que of the worst laws that her legislators
ever passed !; it drove thousands Of dollars
out of the State that sought Investment
elsewhere, and throwed withering blight
over the commercial advancement Of the
whole State And here let me say, the
moment that the legislature Of Illinois
passes a Stay Law, that moment she opens
wide the door for rascallty."
1t will be well enough for US to state
here that the writer of the above extract
is real estate broker and collector in
Bloomington.
We are disposed to demur to the sweep
ing assertion Of this correspondent in re-
gard to the Stay Law Of Pennsylvania.
We think that the debtor IS equally en-
titled to protection BY law against the
creditors haste as the creditor is against
tae lebtog's delays We think the pro-
teoa5n given by the laws of this Stat is
mutual, as it should be. In fact, iftha~s
IS any advantage, it belongs to the cred
itor, for t ase reasons:
1.-The debtor must give good securi-
ty for the amount Of the debt, interest
and costs, in order to obtain a stay of ex
ecution; tins comforting upon the creditor
the power to secure such bail as will IN
sure him the debt at the expiration OF the
Stay.
2.-Thero can be no Stay of execution
on the bail-piece; thus placing ali debts
within the reach Of the creditor at the eX-
piration Of twelve months.
The debtor has thirty days from the
rendition Of judgment in which to make
up his mind to "take the stay" but those
thirty days are computed in the time for
which the stay is allowed
The business men of this county, SO far
as our observation goes, in cases Of small
debts prefer judgments with the stay Of
execution conceded rather than with it
waived. They assume that they secure
more of their claims by allowing the legal
stay than by waving it-lnasmuch as the
bail-bond must be entirely satisfactory to
the creditor.
There may be truth in the assertion
that the Stay Law of this State has driven
away capital; but we are inclined to think
that it was rather the result of misintcr-
probation of the law than of the real effect
of the law. We think, also, that the
Pantagroph's correspondent is really more
scared than hurt by the Stay Law-that
he imagines fearful ghost, when 1t is
really his own shadow which he SEES