Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1888-01-07

and found canal boat lying a few yards
from the end. a solitary man paced the
deck endeavoring in every way to dodge the
cold wind In,reply to inquiries as to what
was on board the man shouted in answer:
''Nuthin I'm light"
'sGoing to startn
ayes, in half an hour; waitin' for q steam
tug now
Two rough looking men were walking
along in the darkest portion Of the road and
talking in subdued voices, when suddenly
they lodged out of sight. Presently they
emerged on the deserted deck Of a barge
''Hi, there, what dye wantT shouted one,
seeing the reporter Muffin, chs Well,
take it and git, thenm at the same time fol-
lowing his mate he disappeared over tho side
of the barge, apparently into the river. A
moment later and rowboat glided out of
the slip with two men in it. They rowed
close to the docks and steered toward
Harlem.
ssRiver pirates, guess" whispered a
Waterman TO the reporter. The river craft
with their many lights moving in all direc-
tions diminished in number, and silence be-
came more impressive every moment. Dawn
was breaking over the glimmer of distant
lights, and gentle gray light stole over the
entire scene till then so gloomy. Perfect
silence reigned for time, then the sound Of
moving wagons and the sight of hurrying
figures showed that night on the docks bad
passed-New York Evening Sun.
The Plan OF n 'swoo-ey''-Shares and
Sharehoiders-Heayy Premiums.
tn Chinese have way of borrowing and
lending money under a system that they call
Woo-ey, that allows its members to borrow
money in stated sum and repay it by in
stallments. Any member of Woo-ey who
takes share and does not wish to borrow
himself obtains good interest on the money
he invests The plan of a Woo-ey is as follows:
All Sing wants to borrow 500 and repay
1t in installments, so he starts Woo-ey; his
first step is to find twenty persons who are
willing to take IS share in 500 Woo-ey.
All Sing is known as the Woo-ey Tow, or
head of the Woo-ey; the shareholders are
known as Woo-ey Chi, or children Of the
Woo-ey. The Woo-ey lasts for twenty monthx
each Woo-ey Chi pays in S. to the Woo-ey
Tow, so that All Sing obtains his 500. At
the end of the month All Sing goes to each
of the shareholders and asks for bids for the
next loan; each member writes his name and
the amount of interest he is willing topay on
slip of paper Every member has the right
of borrowing money once during the Woo-ey.
After the bids are all received they are
opened and read and the money lent to the
highest bidder. We will suppose that 2 per
cent. is the highest bid All Sing, who now
pays the first installment, has to pay in the
full amount of IS, while the others deduct
the 2 per cent. and pay in $500 When tho
next installment falls due there are two
members who have to pay in the full amount,
and so the Woo-ey runs on.
At the end Of fifteen or sixteen months the
interest offered is often as high as % or 80
per cent, but'as fifteen OF the members have
borrowed, and so have to pay in the full
amount of S. it is only the four or five left
who get the benefit of the heavy interest.
Sometimes toward the last of the Wooey,
when two or three different ones wish to bor-
row, the rates offered are often as high as rs
per cent, and in one instance that l know of,
just before the Chinese New Year, 100 per
cent. was bid on a S. Woo-ey. As there
were three members that had not borrowed,
the hard up Celestial had only to pay the
heavy premium to two mon. Sometimes tho
Woo-ey is as low as fifty cents share, and l
have known Of Woo-eys as high as $50
share. Those who go into Woo-ey as an in
vestment, and do not borrow themselves,
generally get large interest for their
money.-San Francisco Cor. Chicago Herald.