The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-02
+ UNCLE
~,s-T TO T5E PA5IAN PAWN
1pOKrNG EsTABSH1dENT.

VISIT TO T5E PAsIAN PAWN
BROKING ESTABSHMENI'
Hundred Thouro Wauciies-
gor the Governme Protects lhe
.~,scunious ParisisWho Is FORCED
-oavu His GOOdSone interest
&c in COMPTON With the
--,-rings of the ireat ESTABLISH
VIZ r.a R,,1es Ainst Fraud and
r-on the Lond Graphic.
u Iiekhatschef. NOR of st. Peters
- and privy councor OF the Russian
-s has lately Turned home from
p Si During his stthere be visited a
-rnbsr Of number Ofubllc functionarles
1nbljc institut1onbut what appeared
lest him most y the Paris Monde
ai..svs+em. and to Is, hear, he paid
-, soecial attentioIgOing so far as to
'''! rarsated visits. OF only to the chief
a.. a.s in the Rue des ancs- Manteaux, but
w. =. 20 various of Il offices in different
nE0
If Paris. so ao be able to convince
t,.sIf on the spot sto the working OF the
-, On the who he expressed himself
s.se5 as to tn public utility of
~ PARIS pawnbrokg system under gov
mani managerial. and stated that he
'bonld use his besendeavors to have a
liar institution bundled in st. Peters
s sit--, where. as is ell known, the business
D " iss11ding on pl,ges is to-day In the
lands Of a numbepf private individuals,
Ir;tb whose characr and methods OF busl-
".Ss the terriblenovel of Dostolewsky,
aCrime and Puphment, has made us
4.miisr. | had ie advantage of accom-
Ianyinp NJ. Liekatschef on two OF his
ifToaditioDs. The rsb was on his visit to
tba Rue des tManteaux, and the sec
n1d--a day or twcater-was to pawn
sSon in the Rue iuffault, which, situated
n the midst of very busy quarter OF
Paris. offers the INST characteristics.
THE Office INTERIOR.
Va arrived thel at 2 o'clock in the after
mon and. after Gmbing three flights of
stairs AID going down long passage,
found ourselves j a large room, divided
into two parts bya long wooden counter.
The mart reserved or the public was sim
NV furnished will low, wooden bench.
IN tbe center stooca stove, and against the
walls cOlored in iistemper, were various
notices referring sales of pledges. The
counter was dividd into two departments
nv means Of a lo- rail. Each department
was labeled, the ne Engagements" and
the other "Degagments, that is, the one
for the pawniug, md the other for the re-
demption of pedges. The Office was
very full when we entered, and so,
while waiting fora more favorable oppor-
tunity for watching the proceeding, M.
Richard presiden of the municipal council
Of Paris, who WIS doing the honors, ex-
planned to M. Lielhatscheff the working of
the sales announced on the aforementioned
posters. "These sales continue all the year
round, said N. Richard. ''and are held in
rooms at the Rue des Blanc-Manteaux
establishment, socially designed for the
purpose They ire, of course, supposed to
be public, but, as matter of fact, it is
quite useless for anybody out of the broker
ing ring to atteInpt to do any business. The
sales are attended by regular gangs of
brokers, who combine together when any
stranger tries to bid, and force him to pay
30 dearly for what ne wants that he never
tbtDAA4 lbo giaS per lLlellb n bbCOiiO IL
s only when the brokers consider bargain
lot worth taking that an outsider can get a
'hance to do business.
THE SALE OF PLEDGES.
"These sales are one of the curious sights
If Paris and it is a pity that you will not
)e able to see one, for the types of the
abltues are characteristic in the extreme.
he doors usually open at 9 O'Clock in the
morning, but long before that hour you can
ee a crowd of seedy-iooking Individuals
'aiting about outside. These men make a
peclalty of their business, which consists
getting hold of the best places-that is,
nose nearest to the auctioneer's desk-and
filing them to late corners. In cases of
lies OF any Importance. such as on iewelry
avs, good places fetch as much as four or
We shilling, while even on ordinary days at
asst two francs can be earned by this
uslness."
How long are pledges kept before being
Id q asked N. Liekha sscheff.
About fourteen months-that is to say.
hen no interest has been paid. Toward
le end OF the fourteenth month the pledge
considered forfeited and is marked for
ne. IL usually comes under the hammer
lout three months LATER
- VIZ AAAhC4Oob 10 Ddlus
THE MYSTERY OF AN OLD UMBRELLA.
The pledge is kept for a long time
mere are some pledges in the store rooms
the Hue des Blancs- Manteaux which
we been there for years and years. Won
I'VE heard the story of the umbrella that
as pledged in 1864, and the interest of
llcn has been paid regularly every wear
&c, ms Is quite a true story, and the
9orella is there still, for when the
1 man who owned died it had
u SO shabby was so old-fashioned
az, rather than sell it, the then
lecVor OF the Mont-de-Piete redeemed
ouU OF MS own pocket and has kept it as n
IioSlty. Nobody ever knew why the old
Ateinan never redeemed it or whv he
,nC on paying III yearly interest six Times
!, value OF his pledge. Some eccentric.
uoleS', as there are thousands in Paris
one occasion visitor to the Mont-de-
cue, nearing of his story sent a message to
owner TO say he would redeem the nm
sna IIr MN, an offer which was most in
snantly refused"
THE USE OF THE FUNDS.
what is done with the funds realized nv
s1leS OF unredeemed pledges q The
auce, II any, that remains over after ali
5elISes nave been paid, the amount of the
,I.t auu me interest thereon having been
-ucOed, is handed to the borrower. This
Icy Is called a boni and is payabesabout
~ iilo4ths after the sale of the pledge and
vi within about eighteen months of this
:. After that it is forfeited to the est.b-
iuient, very rare occurrence" Are
Sc pom ever very considerable g' VERY
ely The amount lent usually represents
market value of the article, allowing for
interest, the expenses Of the sale and
natural deterioration that the pledge
.. undergo. In many cases there is no
Il. at all. The brokers bid too low for
l. AT the same time, there are occasional
pIlses at these auctions as at all others
OCCaslOnallY q rnladrn l. knn.u.a e ...L