OCR Text |
Show I- " vl! :-'s who, fcav'-r T-'t ! r ' ' r-. t e. -e tr.i:o to .. 1 t ' . fc i la- e-ives from Uieir' c..T-ou.es. rearsoas . etaiy. ' QUEER CLUBS FOR BJLI-CSUPTS. '-.' The first city to found a bankruptcy club was. It la believed, Boston, Mass., and today these useful institutions have spread over all English-speaking countries throughout the continent The writer recently re-cently had the good luck to meet a bankrupt bank-rupt who had formerly been a member of one of theee clube, and who volunteered eome interesting Information on the subject sub-ject He stated that they were conducted In a strictly honorable manner, and every inquiry was -made before an applicant's request to be enrolled was allowed. "These clubs," my informant declared, "supply a long-felt want Take my own ease, for Instance. Three years sgo I was a florist in a modeet way, and though I prospered at. first I ultimately struck a hard-luck vein, and then my troubles began. be-gan. I was up against It' as the saying is, for nearly a year, and at the end of that time I was not only broke, but also la debt for at least OoU "I was in a tight fix, and one day I con-Aided con-Aided my troubles to a friend, who advised ad-vised me to see the president of the local bankruptcy club, - who -would pilot me through the courts In the best and cheapest cheap-est way possible. "My friend took me up and Introduced me to the president who was a pretty smart lawyer. This gentleman invited me to tell him everything;, and so I made a clean breast of It hiding nothing. When I had finished he Informed me that at the next meeting he would himself propose pro-pose me aa a member of the club. . "On the following Wednesday I was elected a member, and everything turned out satisfactorily. I forget exactly what It cost me, but I believe It was under 14, and after I had obtained my discharge I set up in another kind of business, made a success of it and have since paid my old creditors in full. ' Indeed, one of the stipulations en being made a member Is that when opportunity arises you will endeavor, en-deavor, as an honorable man, to discharge your debts. "There are some eases cases where It has been shown that a bankrupt has attempted at-tempted to practloe fraud in his business which no self-respecting club wUl take up. I myself know an Instance of a man who has been for many years endeavoring endeavor-ing to get his discharge from bankruptcy, and has failed to do so, to spite of the fact that today he Is a very wealthy man. There was a screw loose somewhere la his dealings, and every attempt he makes to get his discharge is met by a refusal. He baa appealed to many bankruptcy clubs to take . up bis case, but they have all declined, as it is their boast that they only undertake thoee where It can be proved that the bankrupt has always been fair and square in hie dealings. "If these clubs have struck a blow at those avaricious lawyers who grow fat on the misfortunes of their clients, they have also been a boon and a ble Ins; to thoee |