The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1881-02-24
ADVERTISING Legal saLrs.

Attention is called to the commu-
nication, touching the bill now be.
fore the Senate, in regard to the
publication of judicial sales. 1t is
written by a gentleman who has
given careful thought to the subject,
and who has witnessed the wrongs
that have been committed through
this miserable system, which per-
mits a defendants property to be
sold by the plaintiff, merely causing
three written notices to be posted,
In probably out ofthe way places, in
the county where the sale is to be
made. With all the advancement
that Texas has made in looking
after the legal rights of widows and
minors and other poorly protected
people, it is wonderful, indeed, that
this law has been allowed so
long to cucumber its statute books.
AlIthe advanced nations and states
of the world have done the poor
piece of justice to protect the debtor
to the extent that his property,
when sold, shall not be sacrificed in
/ consequence of insufficient notice.
Some of the more liberal 60 so far
as to prescribe that property, un
der judicial sale, shall bring two
thirds of its appraised value, and
Texas stands almost alone in per-
hitting this outrageously unjust law
to- cucumber the list of its stat
utes. Touching this question the
Dallas Herald, in an elaborate arti-
Gle, says . -
G Suppose that when the notices in
question are posted in three public
places in the county, or n dozen pub
lie places for that matter, they re-
main up. how many people ever see
them? And of those seeing them,
how many read them? 1t is per.
fectly safe to say that not one per-
son in ten visiting these public
places see them, and equally safe to
say that not one in ten who do no.
tice them ever read them. They arc
generally stuck with tacks at the
courthouse of the county, at the post
Office il the county site, and at one
or more places. Now. people living
in the country come to the county
site but seldom, especially if they
live any distance, away, and when
they do come, they have business to
attend to which prevents them from
wasting time in reading notices
stuck up here and there. People
living in towns and cities acquire
such habit of rushing and attend
ing exclusively to their own busi-
ness affairs, that they never notice
such things. So of what benefit is
this manner of advertising? But
then 1t is a fact that these notices
three-fourths of the time do not
remain posted up. The wind tears
the tacks loose and blows them off:
or the rain beats them down; or in
terested parties seeking to profit by
a sale and wanting as little competi-
tition as possible pull them down
and destroy them; What is the re-
suit of this? GAS" land is adver-
tised for sale under execution, or for
taxes, or the property of minors is
to be sold to raise money for their
support or to pay debts of their es-
tate, and when the day of sale comes
around, probably not half dozen
persons wnow of 1t, and property,
really valuable, and that would have
brought its worth, had its sale been
generally known, goes for a song,
and "A" is largely loser, or the
minor heirs are indirectly swindled
being powerless to help themselves.
Suppose this legal advertising were
done through the medium of a news
paper2 The merchant in his count
ing room; the farmer by his fireside;
the mechanics at their work benches;
the professional man in his office
all classes of people read the paper
and become acquainted with its
contents.