The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-24
THE BAXKRvpT LAW UNPOPULAR.

| THE BANhRlHT LAW LNFOFlL LAM
1t would seem from interviews which
we published a day or two ago that
in the opinion. of some of our local
merchants, the bankrupt law ought to
/ be repealed. There is no doubt that the
points they make against it are strong
ones. The law was all right wheu it
was enacted. 1t was just what was
wanted. The country was full of men
who could not pay their debts. and
were debarred from going into business,
because they would be harrassed by
/ creditors.
The situation has changed. This class
of debtors has been eliminated. They
have shaken off their burden and are
now free to begin a. new business ca
reer. Therefore, the class for which
the law was enacted has no longer need
for it, Those who have not taken adj
vantage of it viii never do so. They
are hopeless financial derelicts, and will
continue to be until they sink out of
sight.
But it seems that the law is now in
lui lllb tICuIl. y great many WIZ dAt
able to pay their debts, and who would
do so if an easy way was not open for
them to get rid of them, are now be-
coming bankrupts in order to avoid
paying their creditors, and others, who,
if let alone, would manage to work
themselves into a solvent condition,
being only. temporarily pressed for
cash, are forced into bankruptcy by a
few creditors who act on the principle
that bird in the hand is worth two
in the bush-that is, that it is better to
make sure of part of their claims than
to take the risk of losing all of them.
1t is easy to see how the law is in
juring credit now. The city merchant
is afraid to trust his country Gus
toner. He wants either cash for
wat he sells or first-cIass security.
This is because so many country mer-
chants are taking advantage of the
bankrupt law without, in many cases.
a satisfactory reason. There is a dis
position to charge that, in some cases,
men go into bankruptcy without max
assets as they could. Besides, when a
man becomes a bankrupt there is, as
a rule, very little left for his creditors.
The fees and expenses absorb the
greater part of his assets.
The question of repeating the law
should receive the most careful consid-
GRAFTON of this Congress. A good work
has been accomplished by it. Within
ten or fifteen years there would be
need for a bankrupt law again. BY
that time the crop of financial derelicts
would be pretty large and the business
ing them such relief as it is possible
for legislation to give them.
We know, of course, that the argu-
ment is urged that our country has
become so large and it's business inter-
ests so great and complex that there
is need for bankrupt law all the
while. The National Association of
Referees in Bankruptcy made an in
vestigation of this subject recently, and
the responses it received were almost
unanimously in favor of continuing the
law in force 1t may be, however, that
the inquiries were made in quarters so
interested as to shut out responses in
favor of the repeal of the law.
Congress ought to look into the mat
ter carefully. find out if business men
generally want the law repealed, and,
if SO, act in accordance with their
wishes. We have no reason for think
ing that the sentiment among business
men in other towns relative to this law
is different from what it is in this.