San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-04-15
OUR EXEMPTION LAWS SHOULD
BE REPEALED.
To the Editor :

To the Editor:
= god deal of criticism mas been
made against our exemption laws. No
one can deny that our exemption sta
,ates are considerably in favor OF tine
dead-beat and are in need OF radical
changes. / fully agree with Governor
Neff that our state is in dire need OIL
a new constitution and especially that
part of our constitution upoh
which the exemption statutes were
created. When the Legislature meets
next time it ought to endeayor TO
remedy some of the existing evils oil
our exemption laws which 1 will try
10 point out. OF course, the constltu-
ton Cannot be repealed without vote
of the people. A married nan has Fix
teen different items under our STA
tutes exempt from attachment, execu,
ton and every other species of forced
sale. and a single person has tive such
items of exemption. These statutes
are the result of the constitution oil
~rS76, and very little changes, If any,
have been made since their passage.
Conditions in Texas have changed con-
siderably in the last Al years. Lana
has become more valuable and mod
ern science has eliminated the OK and
Ox-cart.
There are three vital changes which
I would specially suggest and they
are the exemption of current wages
for personal services, the homestead
exemption, and lone carriage or
buggy" exempted to a married man.
Exemption OF current wages Tor per-
sonal services is given both to a mar
ried man and single person. L
would not completely repeal the sta
tute so that creditor could garnishee
and take all of a persons salary, but
il should be changed SO that creditor
could garnishee a certain per cent OF
ones salary, say from III to 20 or
even 50 per cent. Many Of our states
have such statutes and they tend TO
make the people more honest as well
as conservative in purchasing on q
credit. For instance, should per-
SON who makes $50 or 500 per
month in the form of salary be
permitted to owe and not pay his
grocer, butcher or in fact, any legiti-
mate bill? A change of this statute
SO that in case of Il married man
creditor could garnishee a certain per
cent of his salary if he made 500 or
more per month and a certain per
cent OF a single persons salary who
made. say $50 or more, per month,
would be equitable and just both to
the debtor and creditor. This would
insure a reasonable exemption to per-
sons of small salaries and force those
earning larger salaries to either pay
ND or be forced to do so. This part OF
the exemption statutes has always
been discriminatory against certain
classes of individuals engaged in GER
tain callings. For instance, one whose
earnings are for personal services and
is paid periodically, and which IS COM
monty known as wages or salary, Is
exempt, while there are many callings
that are not entitled to this exemption,
such as real estate agents commits
sions, commissions of all sorts, doc
tors fees, attorneys fees, etc. There
is no Just or sound reason why
bank president, a railway engineer, a
mayor, a Judge, a sheriff, or any sal
aried official or laborer who is paid
in the form of wages periodically
should be exempt and real estate
agents commission not. They are all
for personal services, except the real
estate agents commission is not PAID
peYiodically-only when he makes
sale. But such is the law today. The
statute should be changed SO that all
callings should be entitled to equal
exemption and that certain per cent
or all above a fixed amount of ones
salary, commission, fee, or what not,
could be garnisheed for liquidated
debt.
The homestead exemption as it now
is should be repealed and modified.
The homestead exemption is only CIV
en- to a family-especially a married
man. The rural homestead exemption
is 200 acres, regardless OF improve
ments, and the city or town home
stead exemption is lot or lots Of not
over the value of $4,000 at the time of
their dedication as such, exclusive of
the improvements. A man can build
any price house or mansion upon the
lot or lots and use the same for the
purpose of a home and they are all
exempt. A farmer can have a 2OO-
acre farm worth $500 or more per
acre and build him mansion upon
it regardless of its cost and the 2OO
acres and mansion are all exempt.
Neither the value of the land nor the
amount of improvements are limited.
would suggest that the number of
acres exempt to a farmer be reduced
to say 100 acres, or that he be al
lowed land not to exceed in value
$1,000 or $4,000 and that he could
own land I'D to that valuation, pro-
vided the acreage did not exceed 100,
$50 or 200 acres as may be fixed by
TEaste. The present statutes are
unfair to some farmers and too favor
able to others, because the exemption
is not based upon value of the land or
improvements upon it, but upon acre
age only. Some farms around large
cities and in certain yicinities of Tex
as are worth from $500 to $500 per
acre, while the large part of the
farms are only worth from few dol
lars to 500 per acre. The homestead
exemption statutes were passed when
land was cheap and when stock rails
ing was chiefly resorted to by fam
lily for q living and when it required
more land in order to support fam
lily. No ordinary family today can
cultivate 200 acres in say cotton and
corn.
The city or town homestead should
. be reduced SO that it would include
F the lot or lots upon which the home
stead is actually situated and used as
such and that the lot or lots should
not be over 15 to 100 feet wide by
100 feet deep and the lot or lots
should not exceed in value $500 at
the time of the dedication Of the same
as such.
Also, the constitution and statutes
should be repealed so that in case
q sfrecf 10 haipC navel in front of