The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-12-03

able to a suit in favor of the employe
for the balance after deducting ten
per cent Of the weekly wage, and
since the bill provides for a weekly
payment of 10 per cent Of the wages
he would be liable in case of dispute
to suit for every week that he re-
tanned the employee in his service.
And since he is by the bill liable to
the extent of 10 per cent of the week
ly wages to as many creditors of his
employee as may choose to file judg-
ments with him, he may be compelled
to divide this 10 per cent among half
a dozen creditors. Suppose the week
" wage was six dollars as would be
the case with many workers includ-
ing both male and female, farm and
shop employees, he would nave ten
per cent OF six dollars or Coo to di-
vide among six creditors or ten cents
to each creditor What small or
large employer is going to be bother
ed with all these details OF payment?
He will promptly discharge the en-
ployes. The creditor will gain moth
ing the employer will be inconvenen-
ced by having to change servants and
the employe will be oppressed by the
loss Of a position.
If the agreement between employer
and employe is TO pay monthly as is
often the case among farmers, the
employer must nevertheless pay the
10 per cent weekly II the employer
has advanced a full weeks or months
pay. on an agreement that the en-
ploye shall repay him with a full
weeks or months work. nevertheless
the judgment creditors will be EMIT
led 10 10 per cent OF the weekly wag-
es, or the employer will be subject to
a separate suit 10 each creditor for
each creditors proportion Of 10 per
cent or, IN the case supposed, to six
different suits for ten cents each. The
merchant who advances goods on
faith OF an assignment Of wages may
have his assignment impaired to the
extent of 10 per cent. Is not this
the sum OF absurdity? Yet II Is all
there in the Cushman bill.
Some may think that there are con-
stitutional objections to such a bill,
but the promoters of IL waive aside
all such objections with disdain. The
reasons that led them to incorporate
IN the bin provisions with such effects
upon existing contracts were to pre-
vent any circumyention OF the law
by an absconding debtor to whom six
days notice az least must be given
of the probable filing OF a Judgment
with his employer They had 20 take
their chances with the constitution
and make the employer liable to nu-
merOus inconvenience or else the
debtor would escape The result,
however. Is that they have made the
bin so hurdensome to the employers
and oppressive to the honest debtor
that they will necessarily fail to ac-
comp ish their purpose. In their zeal
70 legislate against dishonesty they
have gone TO the extreme of placing
burdens upon the employer, to which
he will not submit and upon the hon
est debtor that he ought not 10 bear.
/ But 81 is now claimed that this bill
fufllls the promises made TO the
people in the party platforms upon
which all the senators were elected.
i This was not the CAIN made by the
d promoters OF the bill when il was
first discussed In the Senate. They
then claimed that rneir oath and
conscience forbade their support OF
the House bill Later they claimed
that the Cushman bill complied with
the spirit, II not the letter OF the
platform promise. But now Senator
Cushman seems to claim that II COM
pletely fulnlls the party promise. Let
us look AT the promise Farming and
the professions are exempted from
attachment ION the theory that the
i bare necessities Of life shall not be
sued away from these men and their
dependent ones. The wage Garner
and his dependent ones are entitled
to share In this wise and humane
law. Therefore we recommend the
enactment OF law saving from at
tachment wages sufficient TO obtain
the necessities OF life. which shall
be an amount OF not less than ten
dollars"
Since the Cushman bill does not
exempt any dhlNuuA N'N iNNu Nh' NNhe
from the 10 per cent levy or attach
ment when the Judgment is filed with
an employer. by what iugg'ery OF
words can Il be claimed that mot less
than ten dollars" Is exemptedg Sup
pose the weekly wage was seven dol
lars. BY the Cushman bill, the cred
itcr can take 10 per cent OF this
amount. by no necromancy can you
make seven dollars equal ten dollars
according to either the letter or spir.
II OF the party promise. II the bill
had read that the 10 per cent should
not be levied upon $1,000 or less, the
drafter might have tackled on all the
other onerous provisions and still
have claimed that ne had complied
with the letter, though not with the
spirit Of the promise, for We do not
believe that Il is in keeping with the
spirit OF the promise enact a law with
provisions burdensome 20 the employ.
or and oppressive to the employe
such as this bill contains. Having
asked for bread, the wage Garner would
I.N.a -.