The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-15

first default. " The notes are pay.
 able in Providence. and if the borrow
 CT succeeds in getting the money to
 Providence each week on time. when
 the notes are paid the debt is can-
 celied. If, however. the money fails to
 reach the ofice of H A. Courtright
 upon the date when the note becomes due, acording to the clause in the note
 all of the series become due immedi-
 ateiy, and a protest fee and also coi- lection fee are due upon each note.
 This occurs so frequently that one Is
 inclined to believe that the protest fee
 and the collection fee are only devices
 used to collect a higher rate of in-
 terest on each loan.'
 An important parsonage In the ssi-
 ary loan offlce Is the tracer whose
 business 1t is to hound borrower who has lost his position through an as- signment of wages. The thoroughuess
 with which this spy follows a victim is illustrated fin one case where q
 borrower lost four positions in New York because of an assignment of
 wages and finally in despair he went
 to Cuba only to be discovered and dis
 charged. The "philanthropte" spirit
 exhibited b~ office managers Gin this
 case a woman) Is. shown In one in-
 stance when collector reported to her that a certain customer stated that
 the loss of his position meant suicide.
 The manager volunteered the informa- lion that if the customer did kill him.
 self she would ciose the office and ev- erybody could go to the funeral. put
 suicide or no. his employer would De notified unless the customer paid the next day.
 Ar. Wassam does not make wide spread denunciation of all loan com panies. Some are very considerate ana f~t rrrh nra panies have waited for several weeks for regular payments and made no extra charge. But the business is un' doubtedly an important contributory cause of destitution crime and break ing down of home ties. Many employees who secure loans find 1t impossible t0 save mere than enough money to pay the interest and are constantly m deot for the original loan. MT. Wasssm states that "the prevalence of tnls condition of affairs is shown by care cul examination of the books of one of the prominent loan offices in the city. l In a list of four hundred borrowers one hundred and sixty-three had been with the company. over two. years ana an equal number from year 10 year and half. A manager or a prominent office in the city. when ask- ed the reason why the company did not advertise, replied that there was
 no need to advertise as the majority of the customers took out a new loan
 as soon as the old one was paid; that it was not uncommon for them to take a new loan to pay the old one in order
 to avoid paying more than the diner- ence."
 The effect of the business on the customer may be judged from a few
 sample letters printed In the report; one man writes: T cannot understand
 what has become of my wages. know I am so seriously involved that if do secure a new position I can
 never hope to-pay the different com .ssn1a lime support my family. I have
 had no money and my wife has had
 barely enough to pay our living ex-
 nenses. It has been one constant round nS naving the different companies. when they threatened to file upon my