Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-01
They are Not Satisfied with the New
Law-How They Propose to Evade It.

AaW-noW 1ney Propose to Evade tts
The new Law regulating pawn brokers in the
District Of Columbia goes into effect TODAY.
Under the new law each pawn broker must paw
e100 for o license and must not demand nor
receive greater rate Of interest than "A Der
cent . year upon any loan not exceeding cas- or
more than II per cent per annum exceeding
the sum Of e25 under q penalty Of eos fine for
any offsnse. When the law passed it will be
remembered that the pawn brokers tried by
every means to have it rescinded. The act
distinctly said that the law should 20 into
efectimmediately upon the passage Of the bill,
but, upon an opinion from Attorney Riddle,
they were allowed to operate under their old
licenses until the beginning Of the new
what is going to be done2 The pawnbrokers
say that under the law as it now stands they
cannot make living. All of them, it is under.
stood, will 60 out Of the business and take out
secondhand dealers licenses. When person
wishes to borrow q sum Of money upon an
article he takes it to the secondhand dealer
and sells it to him, getting in return bill Of
sale, and when the article is received the Sec
ond-hand dealer, counting upon his standing
and reputation, receives the article with the
understanding that it can be bought back from
him at any time within three months, he charg-
per cent a month, as the law originally stood.
This scheme to get around the law, it is said,
will be resorted to. and when Congress con-
venes an effort will be made to change the law.
Just what view of this plan the Commissioners
will take is not known, but it is believed that
they will issue an order prohibiting such trans
actions.
CHARGE OF EXACTING ILLEGAL INTEREST.
warrant has been served on Elias Heiden-
heimer of No. 1886 Pennsylvania avenue ION
complaint Of one Doherty) for an alleged
by exacting an illegal rate of interest-equal
to 60 per cent per annum. Doherty al
leges that in April last he borrowed $50 on his
watch and when on the Goth of last month he
offered to redeem it he preferred So for the
interest in addition to the principal. but Mr..
Heidenheimer refused to accept that and de-.
manded $40.
When the present law went into effect in
March last Mr.. Block notified the pawn
brokers Of its provisions that it made
law a rate not exceeding per cent
per month was provided for, while under the
new law the rate, as stated above, could
not on sums less than S25 exceed twenty
four per cent per annum. and on sums over
that amount not more than twelve per cent.
The question was referred by the District Com
missiOners as to whether the new law annulled
the licenses then existing, the pawn brokers
claiming that the licenses were contracts, the
terms of which could not be anuulled until the
expiration of the contract. The attorney for
the District decided that the old licenses we're
not annulled and they continued in force until
midnight last night. Today, it is said, there is
not single pawn broker in business as such.
Contract for Cruiser No. II Awarded.
The Secretary of the Navy today awarded to
Harrison Loring Of Boston the contract for
constructing cruiser No. IL, of 1900 tons dis
placement, for s674, 900, to be completed in two
and one-haf years from today. When the
bids we're opened at the department. the other
day Loring and the Palmers of New York were
tied, and the delay in awarding the contract
has been caused by the desire of the Secret arv
to let them adjust the matter between
them. As the other two cruisers-Nos.
9 and 10-were given to the Column
bian iron works of Baltimore there was
but one left and 1t was necessary that the con-
tract should be given to one party in order
that there might be an individual responsible
ity. The question was settled this morning by
the receipt of letter signed by both bidders
stating that they had agreed that Mr.. Loring
should have the contract. The impression
around the department is that the firms have
reached an agreement whereby Loring will
build the hull and the Palmers the machinery,
but the latter will not be recognized by the
government.