INDEBTEDNESS.

235

So far as industrial workers are concerned, the period of limitation for
unsecured debts, which is at present three years, might advantageously
be reduced to two years, and there is no justification for permitting the
creditor who has secured a decree to keep that decree alive for 12 years or
anything approaching that period. At the same time, it may be both
difficult and undesirable to modify provisions of such general application
in favour of a very limited class of workers unless they are to be modified
generally, and it is not possible for us to examine the questions involved
from the point of view of the general population.
Enforcement of Legal Rights.

The changes proposed in the law will not by themselves bring
about the big change that is desired. The great majority of debts never
come within the cognisance of a court and the workman’s knowledge
of his legal rights and capacity to invoke them are both limited. But
if the law is substantially altered in the direction of the protection of
the debtor, all the other forces working to protect him will be greatly
strengthened. We have noted with appreciation the efforts made by
social workers, co-operators, labour leaders, employers and others to
save workmen from heavy debts, but the scales are at present so heavily
weighted in favour of the money-lender as to make these efforts unduly
difficult and largely ineffective. Our recommendations are designed partly
to place powerful weapons in the hands of all who are prepared to assist
the workman, and we hope that they will lead to much greater activity
in the matter of debt prevention and debt redemption on the part of
trade unions, employers, and individuals as well as associations
working for social betterment. Trade unions, in particular, will have
an opportunity of constructive work of a striking kind, and should
be able, by asserting the worker’s rights as against his creditor, to demon-
strate their value to many more workers, while social workers, by the
formation of debt redemption societies or otherwise, should be able to
make a larger contribution to the economic welfare of labour. It is
certain that a successful effort to deal with this grave evil will bring
great benefit to workers and employers alike, and that it will not hurt those
money-lenders whose activities are confined to business of a useful kind.

Besetting an Industrial Establishment.
The preceding paragraphs have dealt mainly with the money-
lender who threatens his victim with legal proceedings and, more
rarely, drives him into court. There are, however, many money-lenders
who prey upon workers and depend upon the threat of violence
rather than of the processes of the law. The lathi is the only court to
which they appeal, and they may be seen waiting outside the factory gate
on pay-day ready to pounce on their debtors as they emerge. Our
recommendations should not be ineffective even in. their case, for they are
as a rule fairly scrupulous even in using intimidation, and seldom
employ it to exact more than the law allows. But stronger measures
are justified, particularly as the object of waiting outside the factory
18 to ensure that their claims form the first charge on wages. We