The Washington times., 1895-06-23
Usurers Who Take Furniture For
Debt Are Also PaWnbrOkerS. :
ATTORNEY FOR CITY DECIDES
Commissioners Counsellor Thomas
Discusses the liability of the Shy
locks Under the awnbrokers' Stat
ute-No Licenses Pken Ont by
Them-other Poor Debtors.

torney for the District was called yester-
day to an article in The FINES in which
the opinion was giveh by a well known
lawyer that the shylock companies, Mr.
Newman, and other dealers in furniture
loans. were pawnbrokers under the terms
of the act of 1889.
This act declares that any person who
Ideals in the purchasing of personal prop.
erty or other valuable things on condition
of selling the same back at a stipulated
price, is hereby declared 10 be and defined
TO be a pawnbroker.
Another part of the same section declares
to be pawnbrokers those who lend money
on personal property or other valuable
things when such things are deposited with
the money-lender. s.t5slttst
Mr. Thomas said that under this last
clause if the companies referred to did not
actually take into their possession the pledges
they could not be held to be pawnbro kers;
bat if they did businessin the manner stated,
that is, purchased personal property on con.
dition of selling the same back at stip-
ulated price they are pawnbrokeFs clearly
within the meaning OF the act.
WITHIN THE TERMS. 80
In some of the cases in the hands of The
Times attorneys the defendants are within
the terms of the act and are pawnbrokers
and this is claimed to be Specially true OF
Mr. Newman.
Under the same law such dealers are re-
quired to take out a license of 500 per
annum and also TO give bond
Inquiry was made at the District building
if the companies or persons above noted had
taken out license and 1he statement was
made by the clerk that they had not
Mr.. Thomas was then asked if in view OF
the publicity given 10 these persons it
came within the line of his duty To in
vestgate the cases and see whether the
law was being vieiIted. .l-'
He said that it was not customary to pro-
ceed III that way, bpt. that a csae could be
made by one OF the licensed pawnbrokers
of the city. II these parties were doing
business in violation of the act it was mani
festly unfair TO toe pawnbrokers who paid
for their privileges.
a case OF thIs kind, he said, could be
brought on Information by the police He
also suggested as a remedy that The Times
could write a letter TO tue District Com
missjoners on the subject on which a test
of the law and the facts eould be made
One OF The Times attorneys said yester-
day that the only consideration which
could relieve the companies and Shylocks
OF being violators OF the law was the
suppOSllIOu iudl tntS itdI taken out
license and t.sat the fact that they had
not in lHss judgment, In Certain cases to
be brought, left them plainly .amenable
70 prdsccution under the act quoted.
There is no end yet III sight of the num-
Der of victims of the usurers
- IswQs cases were reported yesterday
One OF these is that of a man who q
year ago borrowed ST on a note for
S22 from the Capital Loan Guarantee
worth of furniture. He has been paying
| 81 month interest right along, and the
last notice he-receiEed7 a-feTy days ago,
was that he still owed S21.
| Another case is thus reported by another
! victim; "On the-19t OF June, 1895,
] borrowed from a money lender $50
! for which | gave my note, payable in
! three months, secured ibY. a deed of trust
/ on my furniture which cost me more than
| $40O.
II was to pay him five per cent. per
i month or 81 so, this being made up or So
| for preparing papersau nd S2for notary fees
making in all S64. Being out OF work l
was unable to meet my note at maturity.
/ continued TO pay him So 30 a month until
| February, when he told me he would not
! give me any further time.
Il pleaded with him that I was oGt of
work. but he was inexorable. Driven to
| desperation. | told him that my brother,
late of Baltimore city, left an estate valued
| at $50 900, the income TO go TO the widow
| during her life, aud after her death TO be
| distributed among certain legatees named
in the viii, in which / was remembered
to the extent of $1,000
The widow being in her eighty-ninth
year, | proposed to borrow $500 and give
him as collateral an assignment to the
extent of $240 OF myintercStin the will. TIL
| money shark went to Baltimore and found
that my statement was true and loaned
me the money. On the same night the
money was paid the widow died, and in
a few days | was Informed that for and
in consideration Of SO l had sold TO Shy
lock all my interest in my brothers estate,
amounting in all to about 81 $50.
THE executor, when he found all the
facts in the case, paid the note, and was
!. strongly inclined to prosecute the none!
lender and his lawyer in the criminal
court"