The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-12
REACHING THE SAME END.

Two persons, starting back to back
and travelling around the circumference
of a circle, will meet face to face. Ben
than proposed the abolition Of the use
Of courts for the collection Of debts,
on the theory that their use for such
purposes impaired the sense Of honor
among men and consequently affected
injuriously the individual and national
character. While no man of his or any
day made so great an impression upon
the legislation Of his day and ensuing
days as did Bentham, this proposed
amendment has nowhere found accept
ance. But, starting from the same
point, the welfare Of men, legislators in
most civilized countries have enacted
exemption laws which, when carried
to their logical end, bring about the
very end Bentham recommended.
Exemption laws do not take into con-
sideration the broad views of the Eng
lish philosopher, but see only the indi-
vidual debtor. They rest on the SEN
timental view of him as an oppressed
person, prosecuted by a grasping Shy
lock, and ignore the vital fact that debt
is always voluntarily incurred and
| never forced upon the debtor by the
creditor. Ostensibly the interests Of So
| ciety are made the motive Of these acts,
| guarding it against pauperism that
might follow compulsory payment Of
debts, and 1t Is also argued that the
state must care for the wife and chill
! dren. Fundamentally these acts rest
| upon the assumption Of the incapacity
of men to take care Of themselves. But
it is singular that they all tend in the
direction of the end sought by Ben
| than, for the wider the exemption Of
property from seizure the more the
| credit of the owner is restricted to re-
lance upon his character for honesty.
Where this Is doubtful, recourse is had
by the creditor to security upon the
exempt property, and, by permitting the
debtor to mortgage it, the very end
sought by the law is defeated. The
chattel or real estate mortgage, I'M
paid and foreclosed, leaves the improvi-
| dent or unfortunate debtor precisely
| where he would have been had no ex-
emptions been allowed.
NO state except one, we believe. has
gone the length Of the logic Of exemp-
ton laws, and that is Texas and there
not only is there a liberal exemption
OF property from seizure on executions,
but the owner is prohibited from pledg-
ing the same as security for debt. A
correspondent Of the Evening Post.
writing on the alleged scarcity Of c1Ir-
rency IN the South, says of that state
that the trouble there is not lack of
money but collateral, owing to the in
ability of property owners to use it as
security for debts. The farmer who
would borrow must own more than the
zoo acres allowed for a homestead.
while the villager must have some
thing beside his home lot and his bust
ness lot, if he would make a loan TT
the ground on which the latter is car
ried does not cost to exceed IS 900
1t is exempt, but no matter how vaIJa-
BILE his homestead it is exempt. 1--WE
have now practically no collateral in
| Texas which can be used as a basis
on which to secure capital on which to
inaugurate new enterprises. While
the banks have as much cash as ever.
he knows Of "a good number of people
suffering for the necessaries of life and
wearing patched garments, while living
in homes that are worth from 81 900 to
$25, 0OO"
Here Bentham and the Texas Iegis-
lature, going around the circle in oppo-
site directions and for purposes as di-
verse as their routes, reach the same
result. Practically courts are deprived
of jurisdiction for the collection of
debts in cases within this liberal ex-
emption. If the exempted obtain credit
it must be solely upon the reliance the
creditor places upon their honor. for
he has no other recourse. If the law
| remains long enough on the statute
| books its certain effect will be to place
| such premium upon honesty and in
| tegrity as to materially affect the char
acter of future Texans, if not present
ones.