Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1885-12-17
The Mississippi Mortgages Dealt In BY
Shattuck 4 Holman.

hN y Wy NhhNo ~ sho SsRu"'SSf
ahan,ot uazlehurst, Miss: 1--WE no
tice a New Orleans firm, Shattuck 4
are proposing TO loan
money on improved farms, III sums
Of not less than $500. We advise orr
farmers TO be cautious In rushing
into this. They pn'lUse to loan
money ut s per cent also charging
o commission tor their agents at
each point. The firm may I've reli..
ble, but when the interest, discount
and commissions are paid, the fir.
mers will lind that they could have
made rs good arrangem nts Mt
home. Our people are strangers
to the iirip ami no indulgence can
DO allowed. Payments will have to
10 met promptly or else the proper.
~ must be sold.'
AChronicle reporter called at the
Office of Shatttck 4 Hoffman, No.
rs Union street, this morning, and
met Mr. Shattrck. That gentle
man said:
81 had not seen the article. Yes
we have money loaned out in that
country and in others IN Mississippi,
AT the rate mentioncI-S per cent
which, with the commission,
amounts TO q trife under ten per
cent. We lend on first mortgage
on farm property ut four or six
years; and are not hard on our Gus.
toners. or course, when VIC lend
money for u certain time, we eS
pect 10 get IL back. 1 think the
usual custom among the merchants
in that section of country is to
lend money Oh the same terms Tor
only one year. This branch OF bus
mess is entirely separate from our
commission business, aud there ART
several other firms in this city who
are lending money Oh like terms.
i think the article was provoked by
the fac: that We advertise with the
Neteorat Crystal Springs and NOT
in the Signal. We inaugurated
this system Of lending money direct
OH the land, as many farmers pre-
fer il to drawing advances against
their crops. Our reliability could
have been easily established by the
editor Of the paper, and 1t Is not
our ialt that he does not know us"
allow long have you aud Mr..
Hoffman been in businessf"
"About Eve years
ais the rate YOU mentioned con.
si,lered high among the merchantsP
"Not at all. On the low lands Of
Louisiana, we require the handling
of the cotton. raised on the mort.
gagged lands in addition to the rate,
~ tue risk is much grcater.'
As we said before, we presume
the firm is reliable and able TO do all
they propose, but We do insist that
the farmers will he misled IL they
think they can borrow money at q
cost to them OF only s per cent per
annum. Suppose farmer was to
borrow 800, does he imagine that
he will have 10 pay only so for the
use of III OF course VIC know
nothing of the plan or terms upon
which Mlessrs. Shattuck & Hoffman
propose to loan money, but Of the
general plan We can say something,
and presume there Is no great de.
parture from the usual way Of con-
Quoting the business. In the first
place, when q party wants to Dor
row $500 or more, he must pay sl5
fof examining the (Which must
DO worth mt least $4,000. Then the
borrower is to pay $500 as attor.
uey's fee for drawing up the
writings aud 10 the lender, jointly.
The farmer borrowing the money
obligates to ship the drin a,lvanc'
ing, all his crop OF cotton, and Is
subjected to all commission charg-
Us, such as storage, insurance.
commissions, etc. When all this
is footed up, il will DC found the
farmer has paid IS per cent in.
stead of 8 for his money. After
the fret year.it will be less, but
never down to less than 10 per
cent. The intimation that our par
agraph was provoked because
Messrs Shattuck & Hoffman adyer.
tise with the Meteor and not with
US, is grltuitons. The small amount
they pay for that purpose, say
some two or three dollars, could not
act as hush money to prevent US
from warning our people against
being led into the belief that they
can borrow q thousand dollars for
eighty dollars interest per anuuin,
when such Is not the case. We
still think our people should be eau
tious. However, they will get into
the true inwardness of this matter
when they attempt to borrow the
money.