The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-01-21
LOOK CONDITIONS IN THE FACE
AND GRAPPLE WITH THEM.

/
the cause was just or groundless, we
all know the alien land law carried with
It deep-seated prejudice against the gen
eral spirit of our laws. We all know
that the fact that leading and influential
statesmen in Texas always took for Il
text some platitude whenever they made
speech as a theme to excoriate corpora
| tons has had an influence to induce the
money ccntcrs of enterprise to regard
Texas as inimical and its laws unfair to
capital. Coming more directly to one Of
our vital evils. we all know that our
homestead laws that make it possible for
a bankrupt to retain $75, 600 house as Il
homestead, have given Texas and Texas
merchants q black eye wherever they
proposed to deal.
And then, carried directly home to II
live issue, we all know that our prefer
encc creditor laws have made an impress
sion abroad that they were so framed as
TO encourage the fraudulent conveyance
Of bankrupt's assets, and that today, on
that very account, the Texas merchants,
in fact. every man who desires to borrow
money TO promote any enterprise, is es-
topped and paralyzed in his efforts by the
existence of that law on our statute
books. 1t is not so much any one of
these things as the impression made by
n confederation of unfavorable aspects in
this respect that has discreditcd us with
Ia thn ,tu al y,;t iata,
any one of these things had been fully
explained it could have been justified to
reasonable men, but so many evil re-
ports, following 80 rapidly one upon an
other have fallen upon us to withcr our
hopes and blight our enterprises. We
say, whether any or all of these things
are true or not. we all know and must
confess that these, things have tended
nightly to discredit us and arouse sus-
picion to such an extent that others have
the cogn of vantage over ns in the
markets of the world.
There is not a state in this Union that
has more wealth in the way of products
to ensure prosperity than the state of
Texas. There are no people in any
state with greater integrity and more
purpose to do right and sustain their
credit than Texans, and from the un-
developed resources of Texas and it's
mighty possibilities of outcome there are
no people with stronger reasons to main
tain credit absolutely above sus-
picion, but in some way some of these
things, or perhaps all of them combined
have created the general impression that
Texas was an unsafe state to deal WITH
that II was inimical to capital and that
its laws and courts did not offer the
ready remedies to creditors that the laws
and courts of other states offered. If
there is any doubt about the truth of
this statement all man has to do to
convince himself of it is to travel and
talk with the business men and capital
lists of eastern cities, and while we be-
licvc that prejudice is, in large degree,
unfoundcd, we are perfectly certain that
such prejudice, distrust and suspicion
do exist very generally.
The failures in Texas in which pre-
fcrrcd creditors swallow up the assets
are known better and known more about
in the eastern cities than they are in
Texas. The men who have failed in Tex
as and afterwards developed property as
Il conclusive proof that they failed full
handed, are better known in eastern
cities than they nrc at home in Texas.
The men who have failed in Texas who
still hold homcstcads worth all the way up
from $4,000 to 100000 are better
are here. If you do not believe it. go
and talk TO these men and they will as
tonish YOU with their familiarity with
things in your own state that you know
very little about. 1t is humliatng to bc
to confess to these things, but
If we desire to remedy them we must
meet them face to face. 1t is the duty
of every honest newspaper in Texas to
let the people know their true condition, /!
and then it becomes the duty of their rep |
rcscnativcs in the legislature to remedy |
the evils from which this evil report has !
grown and been magnihed. 1t is the |
duty of the newspapers to show clearly |
and truthfully the condition by which |
we are cnyroncd, and then it becomes
the duty of the state legislature TO pre-
scribe the remedy for the evil.
We believe the present legislature is
of men equal to the grave con-
ditions and emergency that confronts
them, else this humiliating confession |
could not have been wrung from us, but |
having confidence in the capacity and in |
the strength of this legislature to grapple |
with these difficulties and settle them to |
the great benefit of the people ut large, |
we do not hesitate to paint true picture |
of our condition, These things can not |
be poophood away: these conditions can |
not be ignored or lodged. 1t is the sworn |
duty of the members of this legislature |
to SO lcgislatc upon the basis of princi- |
pies of right and justice that Texans
should no longer labor under these disa- !!
bilitics and disadvantages. Will you
come up to tine responsibility of the cmer-
gcncy and remedy these great evils, or
will you tempori>c. postpone dodge and |
cvadc them, leaving them, when YOU ad- |
journ sine die like black cloud above
the horizon of Texas prosperity?