"Second. From the disabled veterans of the old army registers;
from the professional assignees and wreckers of estates, who,
by exorbitant fees and collusive sales of assets to convenient
favorites, plundered debtor and creditor alike and made the
system an engine of larceny and confiscation.
"Third. From those who desire, instead of a system for the
discharge of honest but unfortunate debtors upon the surrender
of their estates, a criminal code and a thumb-screw machine
for the collection of doubtful and desperate debts. They
covet a return to the primitive practices which prevailed
in Rome, when the debtor was sold into slavery or had his
body cut into pieces and distributed pro rata among his creditors.
"Fourth. From those timid and cautious conservatives who
believe that nothing is valuable that is not venerable.
"Like the statesman described by Macaulay, they prefer to
perish by precedent rather than be saved by innovation. They
adhere to ancient failures rather than incur the risk of success
through venture and experiment.
"Fifth. From Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce and other
ornamental organizations who, being entirely uninformed on
the subject, permit themselves to become the conduits through
which the misrepresentation and animosity of avaricious creditors
and rapacious attorneys are discharged upon Congress and the
country.
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