Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-06-26
A BANKRUPT LAW.

| Inc senate mas agreed 10 the report OI
the conference committee on the disagree
ing votes of the two houses of Congress
with reference to the bankrupt bill. 1t
is expected that the House will take like
action If so, in a short time the bill
| will go to the President for his signature.
| That he will approve it. there seems to
be no doubt at all in the public mind.
This is matter Of vast consequence to
the business world Bankers. jobbers.
| manufacturers, retailers. etc, will find
they are more or less concerned. If the
| law should prove 10 be fair one, If the
cost of administering IT be reasonable,
! and its execution falls into trusty hands,
it may prove Of benefit to the country at
| large. But, as a rule, our merchants and
manufacturers look with distrust upon
| bankrupt laws. They remember the days
| Of Underwood--the Federal judge, who
made himself odious here soon after the
civil war; and who had around him in
the bankruptcy court a set Of men, many
| of whom were very Objectionable. Be-
sides, that law seemed to have been
of the bankrupts' estate and leave the
smallest conceivable part for the credi-
tors. God forbid that the new law should
prove TO be such a pliable instrument for
wrong-doing as the old one was.
The assurances given by the patrons OF
this measure are that it is a vast i'm
provement upon the old law, and we feel
courts vastly better. On this score we
may truly congratulate ourselves.
In an explanation of the bill made by
Senator Hoar, he expressed the belief
that the fees and allowances will be
thought TO be too low" They may be too
low to please the officials, but not to
satisfy the people who have to pay them.
We have yet TO hear Of any sort OF court
case where it was alleged by the payers
that the costs required of them were
immoderately low. in the Federal courts
it is quite generally the case that the
fees allowed by Congress are much higher
than analogous ones allowed by the Vlr-
ginia Legislature.
Under the proposed law. there are only
two crimes for which a bankrupt is TO be
punished-one that of wilfully making a
false answer in the bankruptcy proceed
ings; the other, the embezzlement Of
the property of the estate According
to Mr. Hoar's view. 1.-The terms of dis
charge are exceedingly liberal" and IL
is provided that farmers and wage-earn-
ers shall not be made subjects Of in
voluntary bankruptcy. which extends in
general to merchants. manufacturers,
bankers. printers, publishers, etc.
We take Mr.. Hoar's word for il. also,
that settlements cannot be delayed by
appeals TO the Supreme Court of the
United States, except where a Federal
question is involved, or where a decision
Of the Supreme Court is needed for uni
formity Of construction throughout the
country" The bill has provision for
summary application 10 a court of ap-
peals in an interlocutory way TO correct
mistakes as the proceedings go on, in
stead OF waiting until the final determi-
nation in the court below and then keep
ing the whole estate tied up until after
a final decision in the higher court"
We understand that all State exemp-
tons are preserved and allowed by the
bill. 1t is estimated that between 10000
and 2OO, 900 persons will avail themselves
Of the opportunity thus to be afforded to
be discharged from their debts. 1t follows
that the legal fraternity, who have been
as great victims of the hard times as
any other class in the community, will
have much work 20 do. Especially Will
this be the case until the courts have
given constructions 10 all the new pro-
visions of this new law. While the old
law was in operation carloads of more
or less authoritative books appeared.
Some of the decisions then quoted viii
stand now, but others will not, so numer-
Gus are the changes that have been made
by this law