The Portland daily press., 1878-10-11
Imprisonmsnt for Debt.

Mh LDlTOR- rev people IN
this state are aware that Imprisonment for debt
is common, every day occurrence. Il is not,
however, SO much for the pu pose of actually
confning the debtor within the walls of
prison, because while so confined the creditor
is obliged to pay the board bill of the prisoner
as Of so frightening him as to induce him to
beg of some relative Or friend. possessed of
property, to sign bond with him. The object
of this bond, which must bs given for double
the amount of the bill and costs, ofi,e fees,
&c., is to throw thu pleasant duty of finally
paying the bill aud costs on this confiding
friends.
In order to pay the deputy sheriff for his ard
uOus duty of filling out printed form of bond
the debtor must pay at once the sam of two
dollars. Thus, a man who has been ill and up-
abba to work fJr long tims was sued for one
months rem. The rent was fifteen dollars
The costs of court, as he was unable to pay
when the rent was demanded, was five dollars.
He was obliged to give bond or bs carted off
to Jail. He borrowed two lolars and paid the
officer, friend having signed the bond with
him. This was done when there was no food
in the house for wife and little children, and
no wood or coal with which to build fire.
When that bond runs out the debtor or his
friend must pay twenty dollars-bssides the
two dollars already paid the officer-or he must
deliver himself into custody, or pay for what is
technically called disclosure" and take the
poor debtors oath. This "disclosure" is a
very funny affair. The fees are somewhere
from fifteen TO twenty dollors If the man has
no roperty and has no one owing him ans
money, he simply makes that declaration and
W ears to it and then pays the two justices five
dollars each for their courtesy in lsteoiDg to
him, and the sheriff for his great troub!e an.
other five dollars. This last charge is under
various headings, like "oficers fees" "writs,"
&c, &c. Such is the law in this state of
Maine. L do not know of any other state in
the Union where imprisonment is allowed for
dept alone. 1t is relic of barbarism that the
Congress of the United States set its face
against at SO early date as 1892 wide Eliots
Manuel of United States History, page 394)
In Appleton's New American Cyclopedis. vol
l, page 765, the statement is made that in the
United States "mere imprisoo ment for debt is
| for the most part abolished"
Since 1881 imprisonment for debt has been
| forbidden in the state of New York, except 10
| certain cases like fraud, embezzlsment, Sc.
| Other states rapidly followed the example of
| New York. Today it is well known fact that
| the system of coersion in collecting debts by
| process against the person is generally abolish
| ed England in 1874 followed the United
| States 10 giving up this absurd practice of i'm
| prisoning one who conld not pay his debts.
| In France the law in respect to th subject
| has been 80 thorough modified that virtually
| there is nU imprisonment for debt there
| In Maine, of the one of the enlightened New
| England states, WHARF the Maine law is in full
force, in a community that boasts of it morals,
of its virtues, of it's civiliz alton, of its Chris
tianity, poor debtor is shut up in prison with
| malefactors and criminals of the deepest dye.
| There is not man in this state that does not
| know that the law as it now lie, is deep and
burning disgrace upon the honor of the state.
Tha law is plain discrimination against the
poor man. If a merchant owes $1O. 900 and
has $4,000 with which to pay it,, the law 10 its
benetcence, allows him to compromise that he
can come to the front With, il many cases, no
better capital whewith he can commence busi-
ness again on a cash basis. There are many
business firms all over the country which have
obtained their capital wholly in this manner
If on the other hand. he goes or is forced into
bankruptcy, he comes out with clean record
although it may be shown that he has beer
living far beyond his means, and has INDUCED
in specalatons that would take an homes
mans breath away. No mark the contrast.
poor man without sufficient money to indulg,
in the luxury of court of bankruptcy, is press
| ed remorselessly to the wall, and If he canno
pay is cast into prison. If be owes $40 an(
cannot pay it, how can he be expected to pa,
| $15 or or 800 to secure immunity from jail? L
lac owes two or three people $40 each, and the!
secure execution in each suit; if he escapes i'm
prisonment he is required to make this eds
CLOSURE" which costs from SIS to S25, il
answer to each sui. If bankrupt had to pa,
the charges OF bankruptcy as many times as b
had creditors, the matter would not then b
equslized; for he might easily arrange to hav
but few creditors, and to owe each of then
large amounts. An honest poor man dread
going to jail; to avoid going there he will max
| every effort that can be made, even TO gettiD
the name of some faithful friend who will ever
tually have to pay the bill. For the law to at
tborize such species Of terrorism as this, is
cruelty which even standardization ought nc
to permit AS rule, poor people pay the
bills better than the ricn. lt certainly is NJ
wise any more than it is Christian to put III
equal burdens upon debtors, making it easy fl
them owing much and unbearable for thel
owing little. JUsTINIAN.