Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1889-05-16
A SCoUNDRELLY TRADE.
How Shark Lawyers and Money
Lenders Bleed Their Victims.


Gus advertisements Offering to loan
money privately at legal rates on house.
hold furniture in use? Woe betide the
luckless creature who may be allured
into believing that they present II
means of escape from financial straits!
Here says the New York Town Topics,
is case which is typical of thousands
in this city; for this reason give it in
detail. have assured myself OF the
facts. A we'll bred lady, Mrs. B,
sources, with four young children TO
care for, fouEld a very modest living for
herself and her little ones as a shop
ping agent. BY ceaseless work she
was able to exist. A few months ago
she fell i'll. Rire financial distress re-
suited. 1t became necessary for her
TO raise 800. She responded TO one of
the above class of advertisements. Her
furniture consisted of the necessary he
lodgings of a small fiat in One Hun
drcd and NLnctcenth street. The
money-lender, whose place is
! in Eleventh street, in this
case proved to he woman. The latter
informed Mrs L.. that she could have
the 500 for three months at legal
interest if the furniture proved
sufficient security, and that the only
extra cost would DE her lawyers fee of
about S. for preparing the mortgage.
Although this seemed n large charge
for 10 few minutes work (the mortgage
being mainly a priNted form), Mrs. Il.
accepted the terms, not knowing what
else TO do. She was confident that she
could earn enough 10 pay the loan
when due. The money-lender inven-
toried her furniture and found it ample
security. She then sent Mrs. Il. 10 her
! lawyer, ,one c. in the Patter building.
The latter drew the mortgage with con-
ditions that the 500 should be repaid
in three equal parts at the end OF cacn
month; in other words, the payment Of
one-third should be due one month
after making the loan. When Mrs. Il.
came TO examine the mortgage she
found it to be for Sll5. The lawyer ex-
planned that the extra $lj was his fee
for drawing the paper. Having been
informed that his charge would not ex-
coed S., Mrs. b. demurrcd; but the
lawyer insisted That he always charged
that much and more if the sum borrow
cd were larger, and that she must
allow it or she could not have
the money. BeiBg in desperate
straits Mrs. Il. finally consented and
signed the mortgage. A month later
! Mrs. b. went 10 the money-lender TO
make her first payment of SIS. This
sum she paid, together with 81 more,
which the money-lender demanded as
Interest," sum about four times the
legal rate. This appeared to Mrs b.
as another eXtortiOn, but as il took all
the money she had, and having no
! legal friend who would advise her
without pay, she submitted. She be-
gan then TO first realize how far she
had placed herself in the power of the
money-lender and her accomplice, the
! lawyer. When the next months pay
ment fell due Mrs. B., owing TO delays
in collecting for her work, was unable
TO meet it. She went TO the money
lenders and begged few days grace.
W hen these expired she still found
herself without the money to meet her
overdue payment. She begged for
day or two longer and this was refused;
]
way by which she could save her furni-
ture-namely to begin anew, by giving
a new mortgage or to take up or re-
place the old one. IL she would not do
this they would seize her furnit ure
that day. The balance still due on the
old mortgage was $77. In reality no new
mortgage was necessary; half dozen
words extending the old one would
have perfectly covered every honest
purpose. Never dreaming that she
would again be subjected 10 an out
rageous charge by the lawyer she con-
scented TO the plan. He then made out
new mortgage for an even 500,
which Mrs. b. signed. On account Of
this they gave her just Sc. The lawyer
again charged her $15 for drawing the
new mortgage, which sum, with 81
more for interest added to the $40
made 1914. One may imagine Mrs. b. 5
distress at seeing herself thus plumb
cred, but she was in their power and
her furniture was practically within
their grasp. How dared she protest?
Another month passed. Ill luck had
pursued the poor woman. She tried
her hardest, but could not raise the
money for her payment on time. This
time grace was not granted her. She
was again compelled TO accept the only
alternative other than the seizure and
sale of the furniture she and her child
rem were using. The lawyer made out
new and third mortgage, this time
for Sly (Sl00 TO replace the old one,
81 for "interest," and Sl5 for his fees) ;,
and she wac compelled TO sign it or go
homeless with her two little ones into
the street. Thus just two months after
making the loan she found her furni-
ture mortgaged for 50 more than origi-
nallyalthough in the meanwhile she had
paid $40 of her hard-earned money to
these vampires. Is there any wonder
that Mrs. b. was appalled, at being COM
PEELED to pay $l7 for the use of 800 to
these wretches, out of whose clutches
she at last saw no escape, or that she
should have appealed TO me to give this
outrage hearing before tho world?
AS have said, this is q typical case
among thousands. The money lender
and the lawyer combine and divide their
ill-gotteh pluder. The usury they dare