Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-01-05
LIEN LAW REPEAL IN EFFECT.
Act Passed by Last Sessions Causes
Much Speculation.
(The State, Jan. 1.)

not eXist--thc planted crop.
The act providing for the repeal of
the law is very brief, being as fol-
lows:
Section /. BE 1t enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of
South Carolina that Section 3O59,
Volume |, Code of Laws of South
Carolina, 1902, relating to liens for
advances. be, and the same is hereby.
repealed.
Section 2. That all acts and parts
Of acts Inconsistent with this act are
hereby repealed.
"Section 3. That this act shall take
effect on the first day Of January,
1910; Provided, That all liens taken
before this act takes effect shall be
valid, and may be enforced as now
provided by law"
Approved the 4th day Of March,
A. d. 1909.
Although the crop mortgage act
and other lien laws are included in
the statutes, "lien law has come to
mean generally that portion Of the
laws relating to the mortgaging of a
crop that was planted. This class of
lien was given to those who have ad-
vanced money or supplies and in this
ply himself with rations and farm i'm
plements while his crop was being
planted, the lien being on the pro-
duet Of the field. 1t is, therefore,
seen that Section 3O59 Of the code
was "tuturity" lien, so to speak.
This lien, moreover, was good only
when written contract or agreement
of legal status was drawn up between
the parties giving and receiving the
advances. With this paper the cred
itor could levy upon the crop after
rent and laborer's lien had been sat
isficd.
1T is this portion Of the mortgage
laws that is repealed, and after Janu-
ary is null and void. OF course
other liens remain. and also those
liens of this kind that were made be
fore the first OF the year.
The repeal Of Section 3O59 merely
means that a lien upon a crop that is
not up shall not be legal There is
now on the statutes a law that says
that mortgage can be taken upon a
crop that is up In the fields. and at
the last session Of the Legislature
some advocates of the non-repeal
said that If any part Of the law were
repealed this section should be re-
pealed. This would tend to make the
giving Of liens of any kind on crops
illegal and the contracts would not
ho.d.
The discussion as to the wisdom of
the repeal OF the lien law has taken a
wide scope. When the bill came be-
fore the Legislature last session,
also, was there quite q lengthy dis
cussion. The House passed the bill
by large majority and for two or
three days the Senator's discussed the
repeal pro and ON. Finally the mea-
sure, fathered \n the Senate by b.
Frank Kelley, of Lee, and in the
House by John &. Richards, Jr.. was
passed and became a law.
How to get around the provisions
OF the repeal has worried many farm
ers and merchants. In sections of the
State the ellen business" Is extensive
and many merchants have founded
their fortunes upon the placing out
Of goods on liens. OF course, when
the lien law was passed 1T was be-
lieved that 1t was for the best inter-
ests Of the people OF the State. 1t IS
pointed out that conditions were diff
fereni then. that 1T would have been
impossible for many poor ti,iers Of
life. But the lien law has been abus-
ed. In many instances not only
would the advances be for food and
clothing, but toys for the children,
horses and buggies and other arti-
clcs that could be done without would
be placed on the lien list
Section 3O59 provides:
ANY person who shall make ad-
to any person or persons, employed
or about to engage in the cultivation
OF the soil, shall be entitled to a lien
on the crop, which may be made dur
ing tn" year upon the land in cult
vation on which the advau IS so made
have been expended, in preference to
all other liens, existing or otherwise,
except as herein provided. to the ex-
tent Of such advance or advances:
Provided. An agreement in writing
shall be entered into before such ad-
vance is made, 10 this effect: in which
1t shall be specified amount to be ad-
vanccd, or In which a limit shall be
fixed, beyond which the advances, if
made from time to time during the
year, shall not go"
1t has given the merchants dealing
In lien business almost exclusively q
chance to charge high prices for
goods. Naturally one taking supplies
on lien would be willing to pay the
premium because he could possibly
not get any advances on a note or on
his own credit.
1t has made the poor farmers
poorer and given them little opportu-
nifty to improve their lands.
Good points OF the law have also
been pointed out and many other bad
points have been complained OF from
time to time and the final result was
the repeal, after a fight OF twenty
years.
The matter Of repeal Of the re-
peal has been SUGGESTED but II is