The Russellville Democrat., 1886-01-28

rHE nome AoE FEATURE.
 The mortgage -the aanacpnda at xhich Judge c. hurls bis most keenly pointed shafts, Is, 1 under take to say, natural outgrowth and accnnpanyment of the exemption laws which the distine gen |tleman so xeaIousiy advocates. They % together and are inseperable.
 They disappear together likewise. Abolish exemptions and let all a man has stand good for Ills honest ldebts--and no law In any state VIII compel the payment of debt unless Tt is honest-and the "anaconda will disappear.
 Whenever and wherever credit IS |given and received it is presumable that the givcr aud receiver are mu tually accommodated and benefited. ! If it sss.9..s. ss..s..;ss SO, the creditor would s.::::,v,s extend, nor the debtor seek credit. Without credit the business of the country could scarcely he carried on, and since it is mutually beneficial 10 lcreditor and debtor, the laws should lguard with sqnal care and zeal the right of each. When the law, how ever, gives the debtor the obvious advantage of the creditor--as the exemption laws of our state do-tie creditor seeks, Tn self defense, to procure counter legislation, to place l himself on an equal footing with his creditor. The mortgage law is the 1 result.
 Judge c. says we practically have | no exemptions at all, because, for soothe, sstEere is no inhibition against remembering the homestead and per sonal property exemptions" Neither is there any compulsory law whereby the citizen may be com peIled to cucumber by mortgage or
 otherwise his property exemptions or his homestead. If he does t,
 he does so voluntarily and for his
 own benefit and advantage, to cha
 ble him to accomplish ends which
 he could not attain without the cred l it he secures by mortgaging. or what avail to man would his
 homestead, his mules or his growing crop be, were he destitute of money or family supplies, were lie not per
 mitted to pledge them for the money and supplies he needs? And why should the state take this control of a citizen's property out of his own handsp It is fair to presume that every man knows his own wants and interests best, and any general en- actment attempting to control for the citizens of the state the manage
 ment of their personal effects or even
 real estate, even under the pretext of preventing them from. becoming paupers, to be supported atthe states expense, mnst prove abortive. | If Mir. A. desires he to advance
 $500 in supplies to enable him to
 make crop, and am wiling to trust him, why should he not be al
 lowed to make me secure by mort
 gazing:
 WHAT IS THE EFFECT l If he does so mor:gage2
 l lst. He inspires me with conf
 dence in his good intentions and his
 determination to make something to
 pay his indebtedness; and, 2nd. Having thls faith in him,
 and feeling that am safe in supply 1 ing him, l am willing to furnish him at reasonable prices.
 3rd. He secures the aid he needs
 to enable him to make his crop, and
 retains the free use of his own prop Ierty until the debt is due. It is true, that if he mortgages,
 there are some things which he Is COMPELLED TO DO. He is compelled by his honor as a
 man to plant and cultivate the crop
 upon winch he gives lien. He is compelled to work it-and not aban
 don jt--aEd gather it as it natures.
 He is compelled to bring It to mar
 ket and settle up his accounts for supplies when due. He is compelled to retain the ownership of the live stock embraced in the mortgage and
 let it remain as security for the ad
 vances until his account is paid. This is about what he is compelled to do.
 We will now see what he is NOT COMPELLED TO DO,
 for Judge c. lays great stress on this as will be seen by reviewing the pen
 picture which he gives illustrating the pitiable plight of the poor nor
 tai who falls into the coils of his ''anacohda."
 In the first place he Is not com
 pelled to mortgage at all. But If he does mortage, he is not compelled to
 take goods offered him il tic quality or price does not suit him. If he
 wants pair of No. 3 shoes for hls
 wife and the dealer has an old, shelf
 worn, unsaleable pair of No. 9 gait ors, he is not compelled to take them. If he wants dollars worth of rice. and the trader suggests that he take dollars worth of rotten beans Ut double price in lieu thereof, he is not compelled to take it. If tine season is favorable, and the labor of the .., o,.,,ae1 sa l.L..l.. ls<x .~....s<l...l