The representative., 1900-05-17
MERCILESS IN USURY
ISAAC GORDON, WHO DIED RECENT
LY IN ENGLAND, A FIEND
INCARNATE.
HE HAD NO SENSE WHATEVER OF
PITY, JUSTICE OR SHAME.

Accumulated Millions Of Dollars In
Twenty Years by interruptions
Extortion and Knavery.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum is q maxim
for which l have profound respect, but
1t is simply impossible to observe it in
tho case Of Isaac Gordon. Nothing fav-
orable can be honestly said Of him, nor
can a veil of silence be drawn over the
death Of one who cut so conspicuous a
figure and wrought such widespread mis-
chief in the country.
The interest that has been aroused by
the announcement of Gordon's death Is
not surprising. Among all the tribes of
present-day bloodsuckers there was none
80 universally known and detested. He
was rightly looked upon as the persona
fication of everything that is evil and
odious in the practice of usury. There
are many money lenders as extortionate
as Gordon, and several who surpass him
in the magnitude of the sums in which
they deal. But he was without an equal
for the enterprise with which he spread
his network of usury shops over the
whole country, the cunning with which
he ensnared his prey, the number Of
transactions in which he was engaged,
the relentlessness and vindictiveness
with which he exacted his full pound Of
q o11 f0yp
uous manner in which he received
the scathing denunciations of judges and
juries, and the hatred and loathing of
the public at large. Other professional
money-lenders shun the light as much as
possible, deeming 1t bad business to ex-
pose their doings to the world Gordon,
on the contrary, seemed to revel in
the notoriety he acquired. It is at any
rate difficult to account in any other way
for his conduct in scores Of cases in
which he persisted with futile litigation,
or presented bankruptcy petitions
against dupes out of whom he had
squeezed the last penny. Time after
time he took this course when he has
had back over and over again the money
he advanced, and when he must have
known that a further prosecution of his
inordinate claim could bring him no
pecuniary gain but would merely result
In another damaging revelation of his
character and methods.
A SPIRIT OF REVENGE.
1t Is said that Gordon had nurtured a
spirit of revenge against society ever
since his conviction at Worcester in
1889. Very likely, but the suggestion
that he suffered an injustice on that
occasion is utterly unfounded. He was
convicted of as clear and cruel fraud
as could be imagined. He offered to
lend small, struggling farmer the sum
of e1O0, repayable in installments
spread over i've years with interest at
the rate Of five per cent per annum. The
farmer. an ignorant, illiterate man,
signed document which he did not
read, and which was not read over to
him, on Gordon's assurance that It en-
bodied these terms. When he got pos
session Of the paper, however, Gordon
refused to advance more that eco. while
1t turned out that the security the farm
er had given was for the repayment Of
e100 in IL months. Gordon was found
guilty Of obtaining a valuable security
by false pretenses, and Lord Coleridge
sentenced him to 20 months hard labor.
Before the money lending committee and
In the witness box elsewhere Gordon
suggested that the injustice of his con-
viction was recognized by the home Sec
retary, who released him from prison
at the end of eight months. The truth
Is, however-as he well knew-that he
was liberated solely on the ground of
his i'll health.
BIG BUSINESS RAMIFICATIONS.
After this unfortunate experience at
Worcester, Gordon contrived to elude the
meshes OF the criminal law. though
there were many occasions on which he
had narrow escapes. He established
himself in Birmingham, and there rapid |
ly built up huge business, whose rami-
factions extended throughout the king
dom. In London, Bristol, Manchester.
Liverpool, Leeds and Q score of other
towns, he at one time or another set up |
branch Offices, each carried on under an |
alias. With the help Of brother, nam |
ed Leopold Gordon, he started a similar |
system in Scotland, but, owing to what |
he considered the unfairness Of the |
Scottish law. he abandoned his opera
tions there. In Ireland he carried on |
business under various aliases in CO.
partnership with cousin named Levin.
who, In at least one case in Dublin.
showed scant respect for the law by
swearing that he had no connection with
the Birmingham bloodsucker. When he
was examined by the money-lending
Gordon declared that his
many aliases were adopted as a pre-
caution against swindling borrowers.
The TACT was that in the first place he
could not trade with any prospect OF
success in his own name, which was too
well known; and, in the second place.
his disguises enabled him to fleece likely