The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-11-11
STATE PAWNSH0PS.
French Rate Is ? Per Cent.-Semetin1A
No Interest Is Charged.

French Rate Is 7 Per Cent.-SomesifuA'
No Interest Is Charged.
With none Of the timidity or hesita-
| ton or the shamefaced aspect or our
user Of pawnshops does the Partisan
| perform his journey TO the money lend
err Far from feeling. after the door
has closed behind him, that he is In
the country Of the enemy, the FfeLch-
| man can have his patriotic ardor at lis
| highest, for over the pawnshop file ;
! the tricolor Of France instead of the
| gilded balls. and the guard at the door
| is a helmeted, white gloved republican
| guard. The customary whispering as
the borrower exchanges goods for cash
is unknown. Borrowing is a business
| transaction with the government.
| 1t is not out of apprecia ton OF these
conditions, of course, that 1000 people
daily visit the municipal pawnshops.
| but their business trip includes a
knowledge of the fact that whatever
profits will accrue to the establish
ments will finally so back to the peo-
pie.
There is no haggiing, says writer
| in the Philadelphia Record. On jew
| elry four-fifths of the value Of the OBJ
| ject can be secured: on the other arti-
! cles two-thirds. The interest is 7 per
| cent per annum. Should borrower be
| in the unfortunate position Of having
! paid interest for many years without
being able to release the article the
authorities will return it. When inter
est has not been paid the object in
| tn
| the righteousness of Paris pawnbrok-
ing is decidedly in evidence, for after
| the sale has been consummated and
| the original loan and interest are de-
Quoted from the money secured by
the sale the surplus goes to the Dor
rover. Should the money remain I'M
claimed it is turned over to the Paris
hospitals, and, curiously enough, these
hospitals profit to the extent of 1OO,-
| 900 francs a year.
When one has made a study Of
| French pawnbroking laws it is easily
seen that the first object served by
| these laws is to protect people who
! want Immediate money advantages.
France (and we may say France, for
municipal pawnbroking is to be found
in every corner of the country cares
| little that many transactions are car
ried on at loss. In one year Of some
| 100000 pawned articles in Paris
| 100000 were effected at loss, since
no auction will bring complete re-
| turn On small objects. OF course this
I Is offset by the return from loans on
the other million articles, but should
there be deficiency the municipality
has no hesitation in going down in it's
pockets and thus has an indirect mode
/ of taxing the veil to do to support the
needy. Since no country has raised
cry against charity, this, as one form
| Of it, can be passed without criticism.
The fact is, money is lost on all loans
under 20 francs.
The capital Of the pawnshops con-
sists of legacies, gifts and subventions
{ of the state, department or the com
! mune Occasionally, as at Grenoble
! and Montpelier, the establishments
are so we'll endowed that no interest
! is charged. Paris, for no unfathomable
reasons, does the largest pawnbroking
business on the continent, 34,00o,Oo0
francs being the average yearly
pledges and 100000 francs redeem
ed. The total revenue is 100000
francs, the expense Of management
1900, 900 francs, the interest on capital
about /, 800 900 francs and the net prof
/ its 10000 francs