Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-01-04
RAISING THE WIND.
The Money Lenders and Bill Discount
ers Of London.
Borrowers, and the Way They Are
GOuged.

.
| Dodge in his Office always went to him
again. Mr.. Dodge was q club man in the
first place; he. belonged to the "Junior Re
FORM" Mr.. Dodge had s'little place"--a
bachelors box-near Windsor, for friends
who hunted with the "Queens," in the
next. And Mr.. Dodge gave excellent din
ner parties at St. Johns Wood, in the last
"a kind of free and easy supper party, at
which one met an actress or two, literary
barrister, and half dozen men about town.
And Mr.. Dodge drew his income from the
following prolific source: from the commis-
sion he made as tout to West-end-ofLon-
don money lenders.
Mr.. Dodge had two ways of doing busi-
ness, one by means Of advertisement, the
other by private information. In the for
mer he waited till the fish had nibbled st
the bait, to land him at his leisure; in the
latter he preferred to act merely as the
| gay, pleasant, jaunty old fellow, who had
been ''a bit of scamp himself in bis day,
| sir" glad to help man out a scrape in
money matters. The advertisement No. 2
served to attract, and was intended chiefly
for "gentlemen." Of course, if a stray
coarse fish came along, Mr.. Dodge was not
above putting him into bis wallet; and such
persons invariably answered the advertise
ment by letter, stating what money they
wanted, and upon what security. The
| latter, With the "noblemen, gentlemen"
etc., class, is always "bill" English for
"note,") and the applicant is as surely, in
nine cases out Of ten foreign-office clerk,
an officer in the army, the youngest son of
some "sWell," or some one who has what
London money-lenders call an ''available
position" Prompt reply is made to the
letter, stating that the applicant shall have
! a definite answer in course of day or SO.
The actual means of Mr.. Dodge's EN-
bryo clients were always to be sscertained
in a few hours; and, if they were found
satisfactory on the whole, our eminently
respectable friend dispatched 'private and
confidential note to his principal, who
there and then discounted the note at
his own rate, forwarding the check to
"Kraphty Dodge, Esq" A letter is now
sent of, requesting Mr.. So-and-so TO call,
and the money will be found at his Cisp0-
sal. The borrower usually asks for Gl00.
He gives his note for that amount, and re-
ceives K. DPS cheque for f70. 1.-THE client
demurs at paying one hundred and tlCentg
per cent. for his money, Mr.. Dodge will
inform him, in slow, mild, and deprec2-
ting sort Of way, that "Really, mere
| accommodation bill transactions are not
business but that, if be will procure the
endorsement of friend, the interest charg-
ed will be reduced considerably. As the
client would pay, as a matter of course,
any pei centage that can be named, rather
than divulge his want of money, or place
himself under obligation to friencs he pOcs-
cts the seventy, and goes on his way sor-
rowing.
Mr.. Dodge pockets, as his commission
on this transaction, 5 per cent. from his
principal, plus exactly the amount he has
bled from bis client, and D per cent. for
every subsequent renewal of the s'note."
The lender here relies entirely upon the So
called available position" of the borrower,
who must pay ultimately, though he may
be little long in doing so.
At the Junior Reform, in the smoking
room, the 'Jolly old cock" is sometimes
appealed to thus:
"Dodge, old fellow, you know every one:
do tell us Of some scoupdrel who dis
counts"
"Really," says Dodge, 81 know so little
about such things now, that [ can't posi-
lively, can't Just at this moment call to nv
4
managing clerk, and drop You q line. He
knows more about such men than | DO
low."
K. D. knocks the ash off his cigar and
goes down to the library to write a line to
a friend. 1t informs that friend that the
day after the morrow a gentleman named
will call to borrow so much money. Il
gives information as 10 whether and 10
-l,aF l,o ho -
ton, means, character, ETC.; and TO what
extent be viii bear bleeding, and it adds
that the writer will be obliged By cheque
for his usual commission on the tTansac-
ton when closed.
Mr.. Dodge has the reputation of being
lawyer; he is nothing Of the kind; knows
nothing Of, nor soils his hands WITH lcrits
ca SG's, and other objectionble documents;
simply sits In his office, pilOt-fsh to shark.
Every one likes him. No one knows he's
helping hawks to pluck pigeons. He has
The reputation of being thoroughly trust
worthy, and stands well at his club. He
has negotiated the 'paper" of nearly every
English nobleman who ever went to the
bad; and be has helped to rob Of their
commissions half the retired officers Of the
English army.
The money-lenders and discounters of
the West End of London are SUI generiS:
they possess no original counterpart nor
copy iD the whole world. They are usual
" men of little or no education They live
apart from the rest of their fellows, tdbOOed
by society. They possess for the most part
considerable wealth, which they succeed
in spending in a way peculiarly their
own; and, strange as it may seem, they
never look out for business. Their rates
vary from eighty to ninety per cent. per an
mum, and some of them are not above deal
ing in forged paper, and for largish sums.
Their tOiItS are men who have been plucked
themselves and who know every wrinkle of
the discount trade. And, notwithstanding
the precarious nature of the discount busi-
ness, these men seldom or never lose much
to speak of in the long run.
At the head Of this profession was gem
tleman who held commission as captain
in the Leeds Volunteer Engineers; who
owns q magnificent establishment and COL
lection Of paintings at Brompton, near Lon
don; who rents an expensive residence at
Brighton in the season, and who keeps as
fine stud of horses as any in EEnglsnd
His income can't be far short Of 100000
year. Next him is a notorious turfmsn
who figured cOnspicuouSly in the Marquis
Of Hastings scandal, and who was a princi-
pal creditor Of the duke of Newcastle's;
who rubS shoulders with half the earls, bar
ons, marquises and dukes, during the rae
ing seasons, in England.
Then comes an iliterate, vulgar, quon-
damjEailor, veritsble Rothchlds, who deals
in large figures alone. And among the
rank and file are men who In point of
wealth could take thier stand by the side
Of some Of the richest merchants in Lon
don. Few people would believe how many Of
their agents are to be found in every
rank of life in England, helping to
bring grist to the mill. There is more
than one broken down peer whose sole
source Of income for years has been de
rived from introducing business to a we'll
known money lender. Among retired Of
ficers of both the English services it is an
exceedingly common occupation. The
writer, himself, knew clergyman, curate
of a fashionable church off Regent street,
who "dabbled in psper," as it is called.
And amongst the O5pOlLOi, the dirty half
hundred of society, the profession of a "dis-
count agent" is sought after by every brok-
en-down rOue racingman, quondam wine
merchant, pettifogging solicitor and ruined
civil servant, to be found in London.
The "available position" which it is al
ways so desirable to hold before venturing
70 for l.