262

160 acres of land, nor worth more than $2,000, of personal property. The tools of a mechanic, agricultural implements of a farmer, implementa of a laborer: wearing apparel; books of a student, libraries, books and maps owned by teachers; iffe insurance policy, not exceeding $10,000, two cows and calves, 20 hogs, 20 sheep, 150 bushels of corn, 500 bundles of cattle feed, ten bushels of wheat or fee, 200 pounds of meat, one cart or wagon, one sewing machine, household furniture worth $100, and growing crops. In towns, villages and cities, instead of the foregoing, personal property is allowed to householders of the value of $200.

MISSOURI. Home worth $1,500 to 83,000, and Personal Property Married men are allowed A homestead of 160 acres of land to the value of $1,500. In cities of 40,000 inhabitants or over, homesteads shall not include more than eighteen square rods of ground, nor exceed in value 83,000, In cities of less size, homestead shall not include over thirty square rods, nor exceed $1,500 in value. Personal property to the value of not less than 800 to the hea of families, besides spinning wheels, cards, a loom, yarn, thread, and cloth woven for family use, 25 pounds each of hemp, wool and flax; all wearing apparel of the family, four beds and bedding, and other household furni ture, worth not more than $100.

MONTANA. Home worth $2,500, and Per sonal Property A homestead not exceeding in value $2,500; in a city or village not to exceed onequarter of an nere, or farm land not exceeding 160 acres, the debtor taking his choice and selecting either, with all improvements thereon included in the valuation. The lien of a mechanic, laborer, or mortgage lawfully obtained upon the same, is not affected by such exemption. In addition to the homestead, personal property to the value of about $1,400, according to value of articles enumerated by statute, is allowed to the householder occupying the same,

NEBRASKA. Home worth $2,000, and Personal Property $500, A homestead not exceeding in value $2,000, consisting of the dwellinghouse in which the claimant resides and its appur tenances, and the land on which the same is situated, not exceeding 160 acres, to be selected by the owner thereof, not in any city or incorporated village, or, instead thereof, at the option of the claimant, contiguous land, not exceeding two lots In any such city or village, owned and occupied by the head of a family All heads of families who have no lands, town lots or houses, have exempt from forced sale the sum of $500 in personal property other personal property is exempted, which is enumerated by statute.

NEVADA. Home worth $5,000, and Personal Property The husband, wife, or other head of the family, is entitled to a homestead not exceed ing in value 80,000, and a debtor has exempted from attachment personal property not exceeding in value $1,000, enumerated in the statute.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. Home worth $500, and excul Pisipetn Homestead to the value necessary apparel and bedding and hon chold furniture to the value of $100, Bibles and school books in use in the family, library to the value of 800, one cow, one hog and one pig, and pork of sume when slaughtered, tools of occupation to the value of $100; six sheep and ben fleeces one cooking stove and its furniture, proviston and fuel to the value of $30, and one sewing machine beasts of the plow, not execed in one yoke of oxen, or a horse, military arms and equipments Domestic fowis, 800

AFW JERSEY, HOME WOTA $1.000, and A householder with a Camdy may own exempt a house and lot worth Love with all wearing apparel, and other per Bowal property of the value of $200

NEW MEXICO, ་ $30 Pos, @100% Real estate to the value of $300 is exempt to arms if the heads AMD CARRÉTO ryside on PASAN 4so the elether beds and best copying TNUSSATA Et the and diy wood srficient for INDAY day wit4tually jew tat endatended

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a house and lot, is exempt to the value of $1,000, if properly recorded as such. This exemption extends to married women, widows and minor children of deceased householders. The necessary furniture of the household, working tools and teams, professional instruments, furniture and library worth not more than 8250, ninety days' food for team, and debtor's earnings for sixty days, if necessary to support the family.

NORTH CAROLINA. -Home worth $1,000, Personal Property $500.--Every homestead, and dwellings and building used therewith, not exceeding in value $1,000, to be selected by the owner thereof; or, in lieu thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in a city, town or village, with the dwellings used thereon, owned and occupied by any resident of the State, and not exceeding the value of $1,000. Personal property to the value of $500, selected by the debtor.

OHIO. Home worth $1,000, and Personal Property. There is exempted by law the family homestead, not exceeding in value $1,000; the wearing apparel of such family; beds, bedsteads, bedding necessary for the use of the family; two stoves and fuel necessary for sixty days; domestic animals and their food for sixty days, to the value of 865, or, instead, household furniture of equal value; other necessary household furniture worth $50; family provisions to the value of $50; mechanical or agricultural tools worth $100, if in use in business. In case the debtor is not the owner of a homestead, he is entitled to hold, exempt from levy and sale, personal property not exceeding $500, in addition to the chattel property as aforesaid.

ONTARIO, CANADA.-Grants that are Free, and Homesteads that are in the possession of actual settlers, in the Algoma and Nippissing Districts, and certain lands between the river Ottawa and Georgian Bay, are exempt from seizure, while in personal property, beds, bedding, and wearing apparel of the debtor and his family. household furniture, provisions, farm stock, tools and implements, to the value of $100 are exempt

from seizure.

OREGON.-Homestead. $1.500. -Books, pictures, and musical instruments to the value of $75; wearing apparel to the value of $100, and, if a householder, to the value of $50 for each member of the family; tools, implements, apparatus, team, vehicle, harness, or library, when necessary in the occupation or profession of a judgmentdebtor, to the amount of $400; if the judgmentdebtor be a householder, ten sheep with one year's fleece, two cows, five swine, household goods, furniture, and utensils, to the value of $300. No article of property is exempt from execution Issued upon a judgment for the purchase-price.

PENNSY

NIA. Real or Personal, 8300. Property, either real or personal, to the Value of $300, besides wearing apparel, Bibles and school books. Homesteads are not exempt.

QUEBEC, CANADA. Personal Property enumerated as follows is exempt from forced sale, being used and owned by the debtor: Bed, bedding, and bedstead; necessary apparel for himself and family; set of table and stove furniture, all spinning wheels and weavers' looms in use in 1 the family, one ax, one gun, one saw, six traps. fish nets in common use, and ten volumes of books; fuel and food for thirty days, worth $20; one cow, four sheep, two hogs, with necessary food for thirty days; tools and instruments used in his trade to the value of $30, fifteen hives of bees, and wages and salaries not yet due; besides certam other properties granted by the courts. RHODE ISLAND. No Home exempted, The Law exempts from sale on exceut.on the household furniture, and fami's stores of a housekeeper, provided the same do not exceed m valge $ap all the necessary wearing appare, of a debtor and his family; one cow, one hog and the tools or implements of a debtors profession to the value of $700, There is no homestead exemption.

Property. To every citizen, householder, or head of a family, two hundred acres of real estate, including homestead, in the country, or any lot or lots in a town or city, used as a homestead, not to exceed $5,000 in value at the time of their designation as a homestead (subsequent increase in value by improvements or otherwise does not subject it to forced sale); household and kitchen furniture, $500. To every citizen not the head of a family, one horse, saddle and bridle, all wearing apparel, and tools, books, and apparatus of his trade or profession. To the family, all household and kitchen furniture, cemetery lots, books, family portraits and pictures, five milch-cows, twenty hogs, working animals, twenty sheep and family provisions.

UTAH. Home worth $1.000, and Personal Property. To each member of the family $250.-To the head of a family is allowed a homestead not exceeding in value $1,000, to be selected by the debtor, and personal property to the value of $700 or more, according to the value of articles exempt by statute; aside from the homestead, each member of the family is allowed $250. No property shall be exempt from sale on a judgment received for its price, on a mechanic's lien, or a mortgage thereon.

VERMONT.-Home worth $500, and Personal Property.-Homestead to the value of $500, and products; suitable apparel, bedding, tools, and articles of furniture as may be necessary for upholding life; one sewing-machine kept for use; one cow, the best swine, or the meat of one swine; ten sheep, one year's product of said sheep in wool, yarn or cloth; forage sufficient for keeping ten sheep and one cow through one winter; ten cords of firewood, or five tons of coal; twenty bushels of potatoes; such military arms and accoutrements as the debtor is by law required to furnish; all growing crops, ten bushels of grain, one barrel of flour, three swarms of bees and hives, together with their produce in honey; 200 pounds of sugar, and all lettered gravestones; the Bibles and all other books used in a family; one pew in church; live poultry not exceeding in value $10; the professional books and instruments of physicians; professional books of clergymen and attorneys, to the value of $200; one yoke of oxen or steers, or two horses, used for work, as the debtor may select, in lieu of oxen or steers, but not exceeding in value the sum of $200, with sufficient forage for the keeping of the same through the winter; also one two-horse wagon with whiffletrees and neckyoke, or one ox-cart, as the debtor may choose; one sled, or one set of traverse sleds, either for oxen or horses, as the debtor may select; two harnesses, two halters, two chains, one plow and one ox-yoke, which, with the oxen, or steers, or horses which the debtor may select for team-work shall not exceed in value $250.

VIRGINIA.-Home and Personal Property $2.000.-Every householder or head of a family shall be entitled to hold exempt from levy his real and personal property, or either, including money or debts due him, to a value not exceeding $2.000, to be selected by him. The personal property exempted is defined by the statute of the State.

TERRITORY. —

WASHINGTON Home worth $1000, and Personal Property-To each householder, being the head of a family, a homestead worth $1,000, while occupied by such family. All wearing apparel, private libraries, family pictures and keepsakes; to each householder, one bed and bedding, and one additional bed and bedding for every two additional members of the family, and other household goods of the coin value of $500; two cows and their calves, five swine, two stands of bees, twenty-five domestic fowls, and provisions and fuel for six months. To a farmer, one span of horses and harness, or two yoke of oxen, and one wagon, with farming utensils net exoceding $500, ecin value. To attor neys, physicians and clergymen, their libraries valued at not to exceed $1,000, with office furniture and fuel Small boats and firearms kept for use, not exceding $50 in een value parties engaged in Hghtering, two lighters an i ." small beat, valued at $250, the team of a drayman. Tha mechanic, the tools and implements Els trade and materials not exceeding in value $0 Toa person engaged in king three joke of exitie and yokes, chains, at 1 tocis to the value of $30

WEST VIRGINIA. auf Pers

ཆོམ ས ༢༠ ཨ སྟེ་ སོ་སྙན

Parents, HAY DOS mestead vand sted in the pulle

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ALTHOUGH an earnest effort be made to do business upon a strictly cash basis, debts will be incurred which dishonest, careless, improvident and unfortunate people will neglect to pay. To understand the necessary steps to be taken in the collection of such debts is a matter which,

while it concerns all, is nevertheless understood only by the few; and, thus lacking acquaintance with the course which should be pursued, vast numbers of people are defrauded of their hard earnings and honest dues, and themselves frequently thrown into bankruptcy, when prompt and decisive measures pursued in the collection of debts would have saved to them fortune and independence.

Indebtedness having occurred, and the party owing the same neglecting to pay, what shall be the first step taken in its collection? Naturally that will very materially depend upon the nature of the indebtedness and the circumstances under which the debt was made. To illustrate, the following are among the various means by which debts are incurred:

How Debts are Made.

By buying goods to be paid for when convenient.

By buying goods on credit, settlement being made at certain times. By employing service, to be paid for at certain stated periods. By obtaining the use of lands, houses and other property, and contracting to pay for the same as per agreement.

By purchasing houses, lands and other property, giving a mortgage on the same as security for balance unpaid.

By borrowing money; usually secured by note and mortgage, or responsible indors ent, as the case may be.

General Suggestions.

To avoid any of these various classes of indebtedness, the following safeguards can be used:

First, do a strictly cash business. Mark goods in the beginning as low as you intend they shall be sold, and then part with them only for cash in hand, unless in cases of emergency. This is the best way to obviate all necessity of collecting, and is by far the best course to pursue alike for the buyer and the seller.

Precautionary Measures.

Send goods abroad only to be paid for when taken.

If goods are bought on account, to be paid for at stated periods, let such period be as short as possible, and collect promptly at the time specified.

If engaged in the service of others, secure payment if possible once a week, unless engaged in working for a strictly responsible firm who make it a rule to pay monthly.

If furnishing boarding-house or hotel accommodations, make it a positive rule to collect all bills at periods not exceeding a week apart. To do otherwise is almost certainly to meet with loss, though there are exceptional cases with strictly responsible parties who may arrange to pay monthly.

If renting houses, lands or other property, always have leases made in duplicate, one of which should be kept by the landlord, and the other by the tenant; the wording of the lease being specific as to the conditions of payment, and forfeiture, (see "Landlord and Tenant," elsewhere) if payment be not made promptly. In cities it is customary to have rent paid weekly or monthly, in advance. The payments should always be made at the landlord's residence or place of business. Acknowledgment of the payment should be made on the back of the lease when rent is paid.

Loaning Money.

If loaning money, always require a promissory note of the borrower. (See "Promissory Notes," elsewhere). Some exceptions may be made, of course, where the amount is quite small, among very intimate friends. Ordinarily, however, always take a note; and if the amount is considerable, or the responsibility of the borrower in the least doubtful, have the payment of the note secured by a mortgage on property worth several times the amount loaned. (See "Mortgages," elsewhere). When difficulty is experienced in collecting an account, get the same, if possible, converted into a note, as it is much easier to handle and collect.

Be very certain, when loaning money on real estate, that the amount of security is not only sufficient to pay the note, but that it is free from encumbrance. If a loan is made taking personal property as security, covered by chattel mortgage, see that no other mortgage bas been placed on the same property before.

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If the loan is secured by mortgage on real estate, which is much the safest, an Abstract of Title should be required of the borrower, signed by the county clerk or other responsible person, showing that the prop. erty mortgaged is entirely free from encumbrance. Or, if there be encumbrance already upon the same, ascertain what its amount may be. See also that your mortgage, taken as security, is recorded immediately. We have thus enumerated some of the means with which loss by credit may be avoided; but should credits be given, and the parties owing neglect or refuse to pay, the following suggestions, it is hoped, may aid in the collection of the debt.

Preliminary Proceedings.

Of course the first steps to be taken in the collection of a debt will depend upon circumstances. The party owing may have met with a sudden reverse of fortune- -may be willing, but unable, without great sacrifice, to pay at present; and thus a variety of circumstances will tend to determine the action to be pursued in the commencementwhether it be sharp, positive and energetic, or mild and lenient.

We will suppose, however, that the debtor neglects or refuses to pay a just debt. It becomes necessary, therefore, to proceed to its collection by the various discreet and legal steps at command. These are:

First, To write a letter calling attention to the account unpaid, stating the time when the obligation was due, and accompanying the same with a bill of goods bought, when, etc.

Second, Another letter, a little more pointed than the first, urging the necessity of immediate settlement.

Third, To sue for the same before a competent legal officer.

You have exhausted the usual moral means of collecting your due, and the debt is not yet paid. It is proposed now to collect it, if possi ble, by legal process.

In the first place, can it be collected? Is the debtor worth enough to be compelled to pay it, aside from the property which the law exempts? What does the law exempt? (See "Exemptions from Forced Sale," elsewhere), which applies to heads of families; also, (“Limitations,” elsewhere.

Being satisfied that the debt is collectible, you now place the account in the hands of a Justice of the Peace, unless the amount to be collected is so large as to be out of the justice's jurisdiction. The amount which can be collected through a justice varies in different States.

Dakota Ter..

Delaware......

100

Missouri.

250

Utah Ter..

800

Florida...

Georgia..

100

Nebraska..

Washington Ter... 300

West Virginia.. 300 Wisconsin..

200

100*

New Mexico Ter.... 100

Wyoming Ter...... 100

Oberlin, O. Dear Sir: We are compelled to place some of our accounts in the hands of collectors for settlement; but our relations with you have always been so pleasant, we wish to avoid doing so in your case. As all uncollected bills go into the hands of the collector next Monday, you will please call upon us before then, and oblige,

Yours Respectfully,
BROWN, MEYER & CO.

Borrowed Money.

In case the indebtedness is for borrowed money, possibly a small amount, for which no promissory note was given, the easiest method, probably, of disposing of the matter, when it is discovered that the individual does not intend to pay, is to erase the transaction from the memorandum and forget the affair entirely, if possible; considering yourself fortunate in discovering, before loaning a larger amount, that the borrower was a dead beat. It may be best that you continue on friendly terms, and you cannot afford to break pleasant relations for a small amount of money, though by this neglect the borrower has orever forfeited your confidence, unless the matter is satisfactorily explained. Should you propose, however, to press collection, a letter similar to the following may be written:

Iowa... Kansas. Kentucky.

It may he remarked that the law varies in different States as to where a debtor may be sued. In some States he cannot be sued out of the town where he resides. In others more latitude is given, the facts concerning which the justice will explain, upon application, as to his own State. Upon the issuance of a summons, the constable will proceed to serve the same immediately. But if the defendant cannot be found, or shall evade the service of process by refusing to listen, or by secreting himself, the constable may leave a copy of the summons with some member of his family of the age of ten years or upward;