St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-07
A Country Where Money Is
Loaned to People Almost
Without Limit.
A National Pawnbroking Es-
tablishment and Its Fifty
Thousand Patrons.
Private Pawn Shops and How
They Quickly Eat Up Their
Debtors.
Twenty Per Cent a Year in
Dividends--Field for Saw
ings Banks.

MEXICO. July 2l.-The great Mexican
uncle Is the most numerous of his kind
in the world. Out of the 100000 in
habitants of the country fully 100000
patroniZe the pawnshops, and you can
spout anything from silk handker-
chief to a 100000 diamond, says Frank
G. Carpenter in dispatch to the New
York World. You find these pawn
shops in every village and city, and
there are more than sixty here at the
capital. The biggest of these is to a
certain extent under the government.
1t is known as the Monte de Piedad, and
it has been in operation more than $50
years. 1t was founded as philanthro-
pic institution by Spanish count,
who endowed it with a capital
of 100000, and this capital has
since then been doubled. 1t has mill
ions of dollars worth of goods in its
vaults, and great many of the wealth.
lest families loan their jewels to 1t Tor
safe-keeping. 1t has its fixed rules.
and all depositors are treated alike. The
interest charged ranges from to II
per cent per annum, and ii loans from
al 10 SlU,UUU DIT lIIllC OIl olllSlC al
Everything under the sun is accepted
as security, and the appraisers estimate
its worth, and the pawnshop loans two
thirds of the value they put upon it. All
loans must be renewed within eight
months, if not, the goods are put up for
sale at the appraisers valuation. They
are sold at auction for as much as they
Will bring above this, and these auction
sales are held once a month. Ii the
goods fail to sell, they are marked down
for the next months sale, and this
marking is continued until they find a
purchaser. If the goods do not bring as
much as the amount of the loan, the APP
praiSerS must make up the deficiency
out of their own pockets. This pawn
shop loans Sl,000.000 year, and it has
about $4,000 debtors. so that the average
loan is about 81 The loans average 800
a day, and about one-third of the articles
loaned are never redeemed.
The Monte de Piedad has branch
offices IN all the big cities of Mexico,
and the chief shop at the capital is just
opposite tie great cathedral and within
a stones throw of the national palace.
| have visited it number of times dur
ing the past two weeks, and L attended
one of its auctions this morning. 1t
looks more like great junk shop or
auction room than like the big banking
institution it is. Furniture of all kinds,
from pianos to cheap chromOs, bicycles
and mirrors, saddles and harness,
ShaWlS and clothing were mixed up
in heterogeneous mass, and men and
women were examining them and look
ing at the tickets which contained the
prices fixed by the appraisers attached
to them. As one found what he wanted
bQ XyniilH nnint If nut tn tho nnQtIOnpHrS
and they would put it up and show it to
the rest. If any higher bid was gotten
the auctioneer went on until it was sold.
but as a rule it was knocked down to
the first applicant. In another part OF
the room were great store cases contain
ing hundreds of gold watches, thousands
of dollars worth OF diamonds and pearls
and articles of jewelry set with precious
stones of every description. The APP
pTaisers' valuation was attached to each
of these articles, and they were auc-
toned off to the highest bidders. L
noted that the clerks of the establish
ment always told whether the stones
were true or false. The sales were fair
and in most cases the goods were cheap.
For long time this pawnshop gave all
its profits to the church. Then for
time they went to the government, and
now the institution is run to certain
extent by a private corporation.
In addition to the. Monte de Piedad
YOU find private pawnSnopS all over
Mexico. At these the loans are much
more costly, and 5 and 10 per cent a
mouth is not uncommon. They take any
kind of property as security, and they
are in reality often fences" or recelv-
ers of stolen goods. In no country in
the world will you find more petty
thieving than in Mexico, and these
pawnshops are largely the cause OF
it. The Mexican peon is naturally
sneak thief. He is not ro0ber, and
while he would have no conjunction
about stealing towel or handkerchief
or suit of clothes, he would not touch
a package of $1,000 if he saw it lying in
YOUR room at the hotel. The penalties
for stealing are exceedingly heavy in
Mexico. and the majority of theftS ale
of things that would not pay the eX-
pense of conviction.
These pawnshops form the only bank
ing establishments of the greater part
of Mexico. In the smaller towns there
are no banking institutions whatever,
and Mexico City, with its 100000 people,
its immense business and trade, and its
numbers of wealthy people, has less
than a half-dozen legitimate banking
IUSllluliOuSs
there is big thing to be made
out of banking in Mexico, and the
wonder is that a good American bank
has not been established here. Savings
banks ought to pay in every city of this
country, but so far have heard of only
one, and that at the little city of Jalapa,
which lies in the mountains between
here and Vera Cruz. The American
population of the capital is almost large
enough to warrant good American
bank and New Y ork is the monetary CEN
tire of Mexico to-day: nine-tenthS Of all
the exchanges go through New YOrk.and
drafts on London are sent to New York
for collection. The same is largely
true as to drafts OH Paris and to GER
tain extent so of Spanish drafts, though
the steamship line which runs between
Spain and Mexico decreases the Spanish
business. So far as can learn the banks
of Mexico are making great deal OF
money. The Bank of Mexico and Lon
don, so one of its chief directors tells
me, made 20 per cent last year, and the
stock of this bank, which, as at present
constituted, was organized only few
years ago, has more than doubled in
value. 1t does business of about $751;
100000 ayear on capital OF 81, 900,
and it has large reserve fund.
Another of the big banks of Mexico
City is the Banco National, or the Ma
tional Bank of Mexico. This, like the
Bank of London and Mexico, has the
right to issue bank notes and the notes
are good everywhere when they are is
sued in Mexico City and not by its
branches over the country. All
notes of other banks are
discounted when out of the
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