Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-17
NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY LAW
Many Applications FOR Relief Under It
Filed.
Experience of Nations With UnfOr-
Object of the Law.

The national bankruptcy law which has
been in force about six months, has Demon
strated the wisdom of Congress in it's en-
actment. Apparently ii has not made so
much difference in the District of Column
bia, where comparatively few suits of this
character have been instituted, but else
where throughout the United States the
applications for relief have been numerous
In Massachusetts over 500 suits have been
instituted, while in New York city alone
from one to three suits are daily COM
menced.
The present law follows largely that of
1867, except that the bad features of the
latter have been eliminated and valuable
additions made as result of the eleven
years experience under that law One seri-
Gus complaint against the old law was the
expense of litigation, in some cases the reg
lister receiver and attorney receiving three
fourths of the estate and the creditors one
fourth.
Experience of Nations.
This defect has been remedied under the
present law, and for that matter the ex
perence of all nations has been drawn
upon in it's preparation, for bankruptcy
laws, according to the exhaustive work on
that subject just issued, of which Edwin c.
Brandenburg, in charge of bankruptcy
matters for the Department of Justice, is
the author, form a part of the admnistra-
tive systems of nearly all of the civilized
nations, varying as to details of execution
and as to the conditions upon which a per-
son may be discharged relieved from
further liability The right to enact such
law in the United States is. of course
founded upon the right given Congress by
the Constitution to establish uniform SyS-
TEN of bankruptcy throughout the United
States This idea of uniformity in Ia n
ruptcy proceedings may be said to have
become part of the federal Constitution
by process of evolution from the English
statutory law.
1t is interesting to note as a matter of
history that the earliest statute on the
subject of bankruptcy was that of 1912.
which was primarily provided by England
protection against the Jombards and
fraudulent traders, who, like dishonest
debtors of today, incurred obligations and
liabilities and ther surreptitiously removed
themselves beyond jurisdiction without
having been first discharged therefrom.
Among the earliest English laws affecting
insolvents, applicants for relief are refer
red to as persons craftily obtaining into
their hands great substance of other mems
goods, who suddenly flee to parts unknown
or keep their houses, not minding to pay
or restore to their creditors their debts
and duties, but at their own will and pleas
ure consume the substance obtained by
credit of other men, for their own pleasure
and delicate living against all reason,
equity and good conscience
Object of the Bankruptcy Law
THE object of the national bankruptcy
law" says Mr.. Brandenburg, sis to pre-
vent Just such a state of affairs, and
ables creditors who see their debtors
squanderng their estates or secretly dis
posing or transferring their property to the
detriment of the creditors security, to file
a petition against such debtor and have
him adjudged a bankrupt and his estate
administered by federal court and its
officers. The law at the same time enables
the honest debtor who has been unfortu-
nate in business transactions to file a vol
untary petition to be adjudged a bankrupt
and be discharged from past obligations
which have been burden and enables him
to start life anew. While this right to be
relieved may be criticised by some 1t is no
more than is permitted under many of the
state insolvency laws, and has been recog-
nized for years by civilized nations as a
duty due unfortunate debtors. The ma
tional law goes step further than the
state insolvency law, which only guaran-
tees relief within the jurisdiction of the
state and extends 1t to the whole United
States"