The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1864-03-17

DEs MONIES. March,

DEs MONIES. March, u
EDITOR GATE CITr There is much
misapprehension about the provisions Of
the bill which recently passed the Senate
amending the Homestead law, and / think
from an article see in the "Gate" that
you share in this Misrepresentation. Al
low me, therefore, to explain very briefly.
The bill allowed all citizens hereafter ID
acquire and hold exempt from debt d
homestead not tn exceed in value the
sum Of two thousand dollars. 1t has no
reference to homesteads heretofore pur-
chased or acquired. This necessity for
the act grows out of The fact that as the
Law now stands no man who owes a debt
which he is unable to pay, can ever acquire
homestead. Although he may earn by
his daily labor shelter for himself and
family of the humblest character, yet the
creditor whose claim accrued "before the
purchase of such homestead" may sell
him out of house and home. Now it is
we'll known that ever since the great
financial crisis of 1857 there has been in
Iowa thousands of men who are ins solvent,
and who can never acquire . home for
their families while the law remains as
at present. Some Of the most worthy
people in the State are in this condition.
and if the object of the homestead law is
to protect the family and give every fam
lily absolutely the right to home, then
an amendment such ss is proposed Is sb-
solu,ely essential. Again, the law as it
now stands operates most harshly upon
the best class Of men. The man, who,
when the storm came turned out bis
homestead to pay his honest debts, bu,
did not thereby get them all paid, can
never acquire home, ever so humble,
for himself and family until be has ''paid
the uttermost farthing," while the more
shrcwd or dishonest debtor who has held
on TO his old homestead, and perhaps add
ed tens of thousands of dollars, to its value
holds it because his debts were contracted
after he purchased it. The leading OBJ
ject of the Homestead bill to which /
have alluded is to open the way for men
who are in debt to obtain home. This,
however, could not be accomplished with
out placing limit upon the value of home
steads hereafter acquired. This limit
was fixed at two thousand dollars. No
other State is more liberal, and few as
liberal as this. 1t gives man comforta-
bic home, either in city or country. Ifa
man hereafter wants more magnificent
homestead than can be procured for that
sum, he will not involve himself in debt.
Everybody knows how the present law
has been abused. There are men in
Iowa living in palaces worth ten, twenty
and thirty thousand dollars, and owing
debts to other men who have no homes
because those debts are not paid, and q
hundred thousand dollars can now be
crowded on a half acre in the city or forty
acres in the country, and held exempt
from debt. If the Seuate bill shall pass
the House, hereafter erery man may ac-
quire home and hold it exempt from all
debts whether contracted before or after
the purchase of the homestead, bat no
man shall cheat his creditors by turning
his fortune of tens of thousands OF dol
lars into homestead. Another impor.
tant provision of the bill is this. Il is
provided that piece Of land acquired for
homestead may be held exempt from
debt for six months, although no building
is commenced within that time, and ma
terials for homestead are also to be ex.
empt.
The General Assembly has removed its
postmaster because he voted for the Cop.
perhcad candidate for Mayor at the late
election. Served him right.
Adjournment viii take place about the
25th. Yours, OCCASIONAL.