The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-16

he is brought before the court and COM
mitted for contempt in refusing to
obey the courts order If the court
finds that there are other judgments
against the same debtor, and that this
debtor is paying regular sums on these
Judgments, under this same law, the
court takes this fact into consideration,
and then determines how much, if any
thing, the debtor should pay on the
judgment before the court.
Under the old trustees law, which
has been in operation for 20 years, 1t
was allowed creditor who had a claim
against debtor for the necessaries Of
life, to summon a debtors employer
into court, and under the trustee pro-
cess to make him divulge to the court
the amount due to the debtor, and even
if the claim was for the necessaries,
the creditor might secure, with the or
der Of the court, that the entire amount
held by the employer should be applied
to the liquidation Of the debt.
Trustee suits naturally became the
rage. An exceedingly large number Of
trustee suits We're brought, and Excess
sively large and burdensome costs were
often thrown upon the poor debtor, who
was in no position to meet the extra
tax.
Under the operation O. this act the
unfortunate clerk or small wage Garner
who had the misfortune to get into
debt, became heavily involved in COM
plicated legal problem, and when he
was ordered to pay the costs in the suit
in addition to meeting the legitimate
demands. he saw bankruptcy cartooned
before him.
So burdensome had become this law
to the small debtors who were COM
pletely at the mercy OF the creditors,
Y,aOdi xNarp ry1ndp The
was changed so that IN cases where
wages secured were for personal SER
vices and where the claims were for
the necessaries of life, it was provided
that at least $40 must be left with
the trustee or employer, TO be exempt
from attachment at each service of
writ and a debtor could draw from his
employer $40 each time the writ was
served IL there was 50 much money in
the employers hands al that time, and
the creditor could not In any way reach
this amount.
This law secured to the debtor release
from the exacting conditions of the old
trustee law which allowed a creditor
to seize his entire salary, and the cred
itor's powers were greatly curtaiied.
When thes weekly payment law came
into vogue in many cases the
creditors We're left without any
recourse to recover their claims
against people. as the modified
trustee law provided that $40 should
be left In the hands OF the trustee I'M
attachable.
Thus the clerk or any bue engaged in
personal service could draw $40 from
his employer, SO that the bocy of those
who received $40 a week or less in pay
ment could not be reached by their
creditors In any way. 70 those of this
class who earned sufficient to pay their
bills and yet declined to do So there
was full safety from the pursuing cred
itor.
The operation of the weekly payment
law gave the small debtor the free
limits in which to move, ard the same
freedom as had been aocoriei the or ID
itor class by the old trustee law To
reach this class of debtors and yet pro-
vide that the small debtor should not
be compelled to pay HIS entire salary,
the Dubuque law an. into existence
rs midway or compromise Measure
between the Two extremes of faV0rit-
ism for the creditor and favortsm for
the small debtor, and from it's operation
1t seems assured great success.
BY the new law, any jlgitice of any
court of record, or police, or district,
or municipal court or any special jus.
tice. has Jurisdiction in these cases.
There shall be no appeal from the
judgment of the court, and when an
execution has been obtained against
the debtor the magistrate mas full pow
or to issue writ of habeas corpus to
bring the debtor into court for exam
nation or for the purpose of entering
into q recogni2ance a debtor impris.
oned on q process or execution
In case the debtor fails to obey the
order of the court to pay a stipula-
ted sum week after an examination
has been held before the court as to
his earning capacity he Is sent to Jail
Is days for contempt.