St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-07-08
GOVERNMENT PAWN1ROklN0.
4 Foreign Idea That Might Work Wen
Hero.

faWDOrOklng, as pf0cvlceO IN ltaIys
France and some other countries, might
be adopted by the United States to good
purpose. 1t is there used a. . help Ia
people in need of money instead Of a
source of wealth to individuals Some
time in the fifteenth century an Italian
priest established pawnship at Rome,
where the poor could obtain temporary
relief by parting with small articles.
afterwards redeemed by the payment Of
q trifie above the sum loaned. After .
time the government took up the work,
establishing the head Office at Rome on
. hill called the Mount of Piety,"
whence the institution took its name
''Montc de Pete" Loans are made on
anything portable and not pcrishable.
such as jewelry, precious stones, plate,
clothing, tools, implements. household
trifes whose value is more than five
cents. the smallest sum loaned. The
most common articles in pawn. because
the most easily spared. are the carnival
costumes deposited after the sport Is
over.
A small sum is obtained, the garments
are well cared for and the owners re-
deem them at the opening of the next
season, and this course is pursued as
long as the garments hold together.
The French government. recognizing
the importance of such a system. adopt
ed it. with its name, many years later.
For more than a hundred years it has
been successfully carried on at Paris,
with large central Office and bureaus
or branches, one in each of the twenty
wards. BY law, no other pawnbroking
establishment can exist The rate Of
interest is seven per cent per annum,
and the gross expense to the borrower
who obtains loan made for one year,
with the privilege of redemption at any
time by paying the principal and in
tcrest for actual time expired plus
small charge for storage and release,
must not exceed ten per cent. If not
redeemed in one year the borrower can
get extension by paying the interest,
but the longest extension is one year.
At the expiration of that time, the
goods are sold at public auction and the
money received in excess of the sum
borrowed, with interest and charges,
is kept by the administration of the
Monte de Piete, subject to the demand
of the borrowers. Loans as small as
one franc Q9L cents) are made, and
there is no limit to the maximum of
loan. Preference. however, is given to
small borrowers, for whom the institu-
tion was founded. The profits, which
are enormous, are divided unequally
between the institution and the Paris
poor, q small proportion being set apart
each year to increase the reserve fund,
which is also used for loaning, and the
wisely used by the govern
board Of charities
Although each pawned article il care
fully examined and appraised. and an
honest return is made the borrower,
many attempts have been made to
cheat the administration. One Of the
most successful was the passing of of
plated jewelry for solid metal. thereby
a larger sum. One swindler,
relying upon the law that every object
made of gold must be plainly stamped
with the karat mark, bought an 1S-kar- |
at chain, detached the swivel bearing |
the government karat stamp and put it |
On plated chain, which was carried to |
the pawnshop The unsuspecting clerk |
gauged its value by the stamp and its |
weight. In the course Of time the trick |
was discovered, and acids have since |
been used to test the metal
Many families in Paris live in q hand |
to-mouth manner, although economy is |
the distinctive trait of the Partisan. |
On Saturday the husband receives his |
wages, which are entirely gone by
or Thursday. The wife
then comes to the rescue and pawns her |
best gown. or if that be already depos-
tied, her cloak bears it company. less |
fortunate people part with household
utensils and dishes. pots, kettles. tools,
mirrors and even the baby's cradle fur
nishes the money necessary to finish
out the week. The oldest pawn on
record is q cork leg, which was put up
BY an impecunious fellow who un-
screwed the leg, deposited it on the
received five dollars and hob
Dled away by the aid of cane.-Boston