The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-11-27
A NEW BANKRUPT LAW,


debtor, and the demand for its repeal was 80
unanimous from both classes, that 1t may oe
that the sentiment of the people is believed
to be opposed to bankrupt law Judging
from the discussion of the question now go
ing on in the press of the country anu III
commercial circles generally, 1t wouiu see'h
that this is not the case. In fact inc ousi'
ness men of Boston, and perhaps other To-
cll,ies, not great while ago solicited one Vi
the Judges of the federal court in Massachu-
sets to draft bill for q bankrupt law that
would be free from the inefficencies ana
crudties that marked the law last IN lorce'
aud this judge complying, the bill mas
been published. and distributed generally
throughout the country for the consideration
of the business public Those who endorse
the principle underlying a bankrupt law
believing it to be correct, urge that the me-
cessity for such liw now is that 1t dlstrih-
ues imrartiully among bis creditors any a.
sets that IN irsovent debtor may have ana
and that it does il without unnecessary do
lay md n comparatively little expense. IL
is fact that every state in tle UNION mas
an in5olvent law, but no two Of them sre
alike, aud very 'ew Of them constructed for
the proicclionof the creditors property, ard
there is 10 doubt but that the evils of such a
system are manifold. THIS is one of the AZ
currents used by those who want general
bankrupt law, md it cannot be gainsaid that
it ia souod, strong ere. The creditor has
an interest in the goods he sells to his cIieht
as long as there is IN unpaid balance be-
tween them of the purchase meney promis'
for those goods, and no debtor should by IN
enactment in force, or by the absence of
a law, have the advantage of his creditor
This is prlicipe founded in ethiel and IN
accordance with strict honesty. Further
more, it is urged, all creditors are not, under
state insolvent law or in the Alb
sence of gene nj bankrupt law,
on on equal footing. For instance,
the creditor at home, who is on the grou d
and therefor has superior means ofintorna
ton, has decided advantage, Equals are
about to arise, of the creditor at n distance
and he may, to save himself, seize the goods
in which the crrotor abroad has an equi
table interest, the purchase money being
unpaid, and the creditor abroad suffers IN
I l,ar AID hn
to I'll can enter into dishonest campset
with some FRIEND and make an assignment
in his favor as a preferred creditor, and swiu-
die bona fde creditors. For the past few
years, commerce has been exceedingly active,
aud it now rests on a Grmer basis, perhaps
than ever before. We all know tfst credit
is capital, and it is us as such. No class Of
our citizens do more for society or he p more
ia the grand work of building up the coun-
try than do our intelligent circumPpeet mon
Of business. And commerce is doing more
in the cause Of civilization and Christianity
than all other agencies. 1t carries enlight-
enment wherever its white sails are seen, its
rumbling trains are hear. 1t should be left
as free and rs untrammeed as possible then,
as well as fortified and strengthened by
every enactment that can be conceived. The
coming twenty-five years is pregnant with
mighty events TO be achieved, by our business
men. There is great work before them in
this country, and on their shoulders rests a
responsibility weighty as the fate of nations.
In these twenty-five years, but aquarter Of u
century, there are new fields of labor to open
up; our agricultural interests are to be i'm
proved, for they form the basis Of all our
prosperity; forests and mines and unexplored
plains are to yield up their wealth and con.
tribute to the ameloration of mans condl'
ton, to the advancement of our entire coun-
try in all its material interests. What is best
to do to further the developments and make
easier the labors of the future is the question
to sgitate the mind of the conservative, Of
the political economist, of the statesman.
No impediments 10 the success of any
enterprises for the general good must be
permitted to remain and all that
stands in the way of satisfactory
business intercourse, that is calculated
to impair credit, thereby esssning the vol
ume of capital, must be removed, and effect
ually so. Credit must be guarded and so
grted about with defences, without being at
all hampered, that it cannot suffer in any of
its vitalities. Whether or not n general
bankrupt law will aid towards this end, we
are not prepared to say. The advocates of
such law maintain that il will, however,
and advance cogent reasonings in behalf of
their proposition. 1t cannot be expected,
though, that bankrupt law would obviste
all the difficulties. 1t would be an impossi-
blity TO frame law that would be perfect
in all its parts, that could not be taken advan.
tage of in some way to some extent by the
dishonest debtor and shrewd lawyers 1t
must be admitted, however, that a bankrupt
law would give uniformity to the mode of
insolvency and put all creditors nearer on a
footing of equality. 1t would, no doubt, as
its advocates claim, if properly framed and
fearlessly and honestly executed, greatly re-
duce the losses by failures every year, and
greatly strengthen all legitimate enterprises