The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-09-19
STAY LARS--WHhT BUSINESS MEN
THINK.

We publish below communication ON The subject
OF the stay-law. While we give il prominence IA
our Columns, II must not be understood that we
endorse the views entertained II our people had
| not been impoverished by the results OF tho late
war; 1t would bo very well to talk OF men refusing
TO pay their honest debts. Ir our State WAS in tho
condition of tl,ose Statos North, whore money was
made instead OF lost, al with us, during tho war.
the logic would hold good. In our case abstract
reasoning means very little. We look al .tual
facts and in doing endorse the " "ordor of
General SIcHLEs, commonly known as order No.
~. But our correspondent an intelligent mer-
chant has right to be heard: and ne oheerfuiis
giyo him that right.
To he Editor Of the Nf,oi:
Perhaps it will do good TO mako few ron,ark.
about the s'Stay Law" and to show how Injurious
ly its workings affect us in South Carolina. Sail
liberal merchant of New York tn one of our mer
Glc1: 10 PasrpoAe payments aH long possible, ia
tho real oause Of capital being shy OF seeking in
yostmonts in your State. Before the war your
planters run yearly bills with tho sorckeepers who
bought from lib; at tho end of the year, Indulgence
was in majority Of cases asked of us and tho
reason assigned wsA, our customers are not pay
ing up, &c. II ne sue them, it will take eighteen
montha to two years to get Judgment Such
legislation is fraud on the business man and nh
incubus OH trado. No sooner did tho war bronx
y,
passed Htaw Lay-the most stupid act that an
intelligent community could have put upon record
It. created a widespread impression that il WAS
wlse to proeraatinate, and procrastnation was the
order OF the day. Some well-to-do-dobtors took
moneys which should have been saved for pay day
and went into schemes as visionary as a South Sea
bubble; others spent their substance in free living
and extrayagance and when the war ended, nearly
all we're in financial trouble. But for the Stay
Law, all your local debt would have been settlcd-
now, everything yo'ir people owe is piled up
a5nin5t them.
Common sense, would suggest, 3 general settle
mont aud fresh start, and your judiciary decided
almost unanimously to open the Courts, and they
struck down the Stay Law. Again Your public men
hesieged Gen. ScEles, aud he proclaims Stay
Law 'by Order" The fault is not tho Generals,
but thoso who asked for the order to erade justice.
"What ia tho situation t,-day-you come TO raise
money on Jonr credit, your letters are Of the very
best charactor, and you ought to get tho money,
that however good your Intentions, you must use
the money to be able to pay interest for it, and To
it, you must invest in merchandise or crops or
other busineaB-and once out of your hands, you
are at the mercy Of those who have it, and il they
don't @ chSoso goa 70 Pay, yer @ eana q pay"
affsrs; our people have established for them
selves character for procrastinaton, which ia
bar to all loans, to all new credits. Thero is only
one way ont OF it, and it Ia this Put obstacles
in The way OF settling Your just debts; pay M
II III OF the worst signsof the times That our
interior preRs should be so persistent in canlorng
4 for more time for debtors. II is only putting Of
| tho evil day, which must sooner or later come
and while ono CnsH is thus procrastinating the
willing. workers arc dragged down by this heavy
| load Of tho bankrupt law, who rofuso to aoknow
ANTLsTAY-LAw.