Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-04-24
AGAINST USURY.
THE REGULATIONS COVE RNlNG THE
PARIS MONT DI PETE.
Checking the Extortions of Pawnbrolxeis
by n system of Small Public Loans
"A Fixed Rate of Interest Al
lowed - Security.
Chicago News.l

Chicago News.
How to escape paying usurious interest
and forfeiture OF goods is a question that
deeply concerns thousands Of the very
poor and othc. '.ousasds of the needy
better classes, who, having no other re.
source, are compelled to support and
maintain n sys,rm OF usury that in this
city n.one, to say nothing of the entire
country. annually drain millions of dol
lars fl )m the oorer classes to fattcn and
enrich tie u>urers. There is an oppor
tunty for charitable and philanthropic
minds to devise pan whereby poor peO-
Pile may obtain small loans and yet escape
usury eNtorLon, and ConiisCatiou of their
property. There is a chance for legisla-
tors to devise Il system which will be of
more benefit to the poor than all of the
appropr ations for charitable institutions
combined
British philanthropists and statesmen
have already turned their attention to this
subject, and an effort is being made in
England to establish a small public loan
system similar to the mont de piete of
france, which for many years has been
one of the greatest blessings en- Dyed by
the poorer classes of the French people
Even the Chinese are ahead of their sup.
posed more enlightened and English neigh
bors in the matter of relieving the poor
from the curse of usury. In china there
is in operation very ancient system I'M
der the direction of civil dignitarics, by
which the poor may negotiate loans upon
personal securities Il rate OF interest
varying from : 10 . cent. g. en- back
ward LusSia has ZEN of .oans TO the
poor at pc. interest, while in
America the rh'' IN 20 20 90 per
cent In FACT tb" - brokers snd money
lenders regulate i'd. own rates and by
various devices evaue all law, Intended to
check usury.
The Paris mont Ci peic !, coated in
the hue DIES Blancs MonleauA and there
are two large branches, one "a the Rue
Bonaparte and the other in the ne de la
Roquette The mont di pirLe of Paris
was OF ened Jan. !, as, aud authorized
in li13 TO make loan guaranteed by the
hospital general 1t was closed during
the revolution, but the usuf,ous rates
charged by money lenders during the
reign of terror caused its yeopcnlng in
1898 TO be hailed with JOY by tlIc poor.
In 1881 it was placed uCder charge of an
administrative council, and III 1901 all
mont di piete were placed unjer the SUI
perintendenCe OF select committee. Be
sides the main bank and the branches
there are in Paris over thirty agents ap.
pointed 10y the administration scattered
over the city. The mont Iii piete makes
advances of from 3. francs upward at
rate liked in 1851 att per cent per an
nun. In 1873 the rate was J per cent,
and it varies q tritle with the money
market.
No money is advanced except upon
securities, the value of which is deter
mined by appraisers. On articles of gold
oil al,
four, tfths of the value is advanced, and
upon Other articles, such as furniture and
wearing apparel, two thirds OF the value.
A re ept for the article is given the
owner, who must prove identity in order
to rec aim it If not redeemed the arti
Giles are sold at public sale at the end of
fourteen months, and the surplus money,
if any, is paid to the owner if applied for
within three years. The annual receipts
and cN enditurcs of the Paris mont di
piete for several years We're respectively
about q, 900 600 francs, with balance of
23U, 900 francs per aunum in favor of the
institution. asst year the loans and
profits were largely increased.
The poor patronile the mont Ill piete in
the largest numbers when times are hard
The largest number OF applications for re-
demptions are made Saturdays and just
UClOit NtW l tuI anu G-dSiST. mere are
now about fifty mont di pitcs in | rance
with capital of about $4,000, 400 francs
making loans Of about 20, 900, 900 There
are five entirely supported by charity, at
which tine loans are gratuitous. Holland,
Belgium apd Germany have mont di
pietes, Which are OF immense bene,
fit to the poor. In Germany the
rate dnr!ng the Franco russian
war went up to 10 and II
per cent, but is now being gradually
diminished The mont di picte VA, first
established in continental Europe. and its
object was 10 deliver the needy from the
usurious charges of the Jewish and Lom-
bard money lenders. one is said TO have
been founded in the year 1900 at ireising,
Bavaria, by IL charitable association under
the sanction of Pope Innocent III. but it
is more generally believed that the Iirst
mont di piete swas established in l'crugia
in the latter half of the 18th century and
derived its name from Monte di Plea, the
hill upon which it was situated