The Osceola times., 1886-08-14
CHATTEL MORTGAGE.
How 1t Has Become Ono Of Our
Institutions.
Over 10000 Mortgages Recorded in Chi
cago in Six MOnths-GoOd Times
Favorable to Money Lenders
Buying Furniture on
lnstallments.

BY lnSensblc degrees tho ChattCl
mortgage, has established itself as an
institution aud has come to be looked
on with some degree of complaccncy il
not confidence, The startling announc-
mcnt in n recent issue Of BradStrc Is
that chattel mortgages had doubled in
Chicago during the last SIX weeks. led a
reporter to investigate for himself
whether these things were So" and to
consider whether the causes assigned by
the commercial authority quoted were
TO be received as the true solution of
the problem, or whether explanation
was to be looked for deeper beneath the
surface, BrddStYcsrS claims that the
poverty resulting from the recent strikes.
lockOutS, and labor troubles is manly
accountable for the increase seems at
first thought to be so obviously reason
able and satisfactory, that TO look for
other causes of any thing like equal I'M
portance might fairly be considered
presumptuous and vain; but a searching
analysis of the evidence furnished by
the chattel mortgage indexes and from
books in the recorders office. backed
by the testimony OF business experts.
goes to show that other subtler and less
obvious factors have played no incon-
siderable part in swelling up the mort
gage legions. An examination Of the
chattle mortgage indexes showed that
u, l64 chattcl mortgages were recorded
during the first six months Of 1888.
while the number recorded during the
same period of 1856 had increased to
10, 1853. Is this increase of twenty-five
per cent. to be accounted for almost
entirely by the poverty arising from the
labor troubles, with some slight allow
ancc for the increase of The population
thrown in?
''No," answered a shrewd and ex-
perienced chattel-mortgage man. that's
no satisfactory explanation. We make
more and better loans in good times
than in bad. In fact, in bad times
there's not nearly SO much demand for
borrowing money, because we're very
chary about lending money then at all.
Its the unprecedented increase in tho
number of men going into the furniture
instalment-plan business that's pilng
up the mortgages. For one man that
was in that business about two years
ago. there aSc four or five in
it now, and multitudes of people
who two or three years ago
would have spurned the idea of
buying furniture on time now take quite
kindly to the arrangement. Take my
word for it, the big increase in chattel
mortgages this wear is infinitely more
due to the remarkable extension of the
time system than the hard times that
we're passing through. One reason
why so many are going into the busj-
ness is that no license is required, as in
the case of pawnbroker, and between
you and me we're drawing of a lot of
the business from these latter. WHY,
bless you, you've no conception of the
number of men that come TO me for
loans ON their gold watches and dia-
monds, instead of going TO their uncle.
They've more confidence that | won't
do any of the sweating work that their
uncle is so well up to. Sweating?
Why, don't you catch on? That means
taking $40 or $50 out of gold watch
by substituting an inferior movement,
or extracting that amount OF gold out
OF the case in some mysterious way I'M
known to me. The same with dia-
monds. They'll collar your brilliant
and return you your ring with faulty
stone, and that makes It almost value
less.
Another point to be considered in
your calculations, said the now chatty
chatlel-mortgage man, sis that five
mortgages are now being recorded for
one about a couple of years ago.
Money-loaners have at last tumbled to
The Tact that their only protection from
khavery lies in the recording of every
mortgage, however small Men in the
business who never used to think of re-
cordng n mortgage for less than $500
now record every thing from SO up.
ms practice is largely the growth of
the last ear, and the reason for it is
very plain. Suppose you take $3.50
worth of furniture from Mr.. Brown, and
give nm mortgage on it. You know
py hearsay that he is not in the habit of
recording his mortgage. and, having
satisfied yourself from the records that
he has pursued his usual course in your
case. you come to me for loan on the
furniture. ] make you the loan and put
.he mortgage which you grant on
record. Now, if yo' fail in your pay
ments the law protects me in forcclosing
,he mortgage and setting the furniture
ior The simple reason that l had the prl-
uence to record tho mortgage. Mr..
Brown. 70 whom the furniture rightly
belongs. can whistle for what he ever