Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-02-23
Borrows Ten Dollars and Pay
Seventy-Six Interest.
ESTEILE GRANTS NJUNCT1ol
Says Peoples Loan Company Canno
Take Woman's Furniture.
OTHER ACTIONS WILL FOLLOW
Loan "shRrks" who Have Beei
Guilty of Usury Are to he Brought
Into Court and Their Victims
VIII Have Inning.

! Because a poor washwoman has beer
compelled to pay $3.50 interest on a loai
of $40, John o. Yeiser, attorney has file,
/ action In the district court which is in
! tended as an opening wedge to an ultimab
| split of the power which a certain class o.
money loan agents have welded over tn,
heads OF unfortunate people. Ii is under
stood that large number OF persons wh,
| have been the victims of this grade o.
money sharks has combined to test the
law and obtain final decision as to the
/ legal rights Of one man to exact from an
| other rank usury instead of legal interest
1t is the intention of the prosecution tS
submit TO the most glarng exhibition tn,
methods of extortion which are said to bt
! practiced.
Judge Lee S. Estelle Of the district court
Saturday signed a temporary restraining
order to prevent the Peoples Loan com.
pany from selling the furniture OF Mrs
Annie NJ. Hoffman, $500 Rees street.
poor woman who makes her living by TAX
! ing in washing.
John O. Yeser as attorney for Mrs
! Hoffman, secured the temporary Injunction
/ at noon Saturday and thereby took heavy
| load from the mind of Mrs. Hoffman, who
was in constant dread that the agents of
! the company would at any moment swoop
! down upon her and take her furniture,
! leaving her without home or bed
| An effort was made Saturday afternoon
to file the petition and writ which was
signed by Judge Estelle, but Robert Smith,
clerk of the district court refused to re-
! ceive the petition. Mrs Hoffman was un-
able to supply but $3.50 as a filing fee and
under the ruling of the court Mr.. Smith
y ,,aa I,
the entire S. paid in advance. MIR.
/ Yeiser, who represented Mrs. Hoffman
asked Mr.. Smith to figure up just what the
/ costs in the cause would be and he would
/ try to raise the money to pay them, but
Mr.. Smith replied that he did not know
what the costs i'm the case would be. The
J petition and the temporary injunction were
left with Mr.. Smith and Mrs. Hoffman VIII
! try to raise the rest of the money Monday
or Tuesday to start her case.
story of Revolving Imposition.
! According to the story of Mrs. Hoffman,
which is set forth in the petition, she has
been in the power OF these loan agents for
nearly six years, during which time she
has paid a total of $76S0 interest on an
original loan Of $40, which seven months
ago was increased to SIS by an additional
! loan of s..
For five years she paid 81 a month on her
loan of $40, or S12 year. and at the end
of that time had no part of her principal
paid Last May she had to have s. more
for emergency and borrowed an addi-
tional So, and for seven months paid $40
a month on the S15 mortgage The Jan
uary payment she could not meet and says
she is now in fear of losing all she pos
sesses in the world.
I bar 10 Vntv n
Yeiser and tell her tale Of oppression. She
did so. Mr.. Yeiser Immediately set to work
to see II something could not be done to
save her home from the people who were
grinding her down by demanding usurious
interest.
Judge Estolle granted the temporary in
junction.
The petition as filed sets forth the tale
of oppression in such a way that 1t is
clearly shown what hold was had on
this woman and in what great fear she has
been for several years.
Text of Petition.
The petition recites:
Comes now plaintiff and alleges that she
is the sole support of her family consisting
of an invalid husband and herself and is
compelled to take In washing for a living
and has not other meansi OF support II
deprived of this means OF a living be-
hold furniture to continue said means OF
living and being. the only property owned
by said plaintiff.
That on the 2Oth day of July or August
1902 the plaintiff borrowed OF said defend
ant $40, and the said defendant contracted
for, took, charged, reserved and received
interest on said loan 81 per MONTH being
more than the legal rate of interest and
usurOus.
be paid within one year at said rate and
gave a chattel mortgage to secure said
loan upon upon al Of Of the furniture and house;
and continued to pay, upon the said loan
Of $40 each month thereafter the said
usurous interest rate Of interest, namely
81 per month for the period Of four years
and ten months, aggregating the sum OF
s5S usurous interest which the defendant
and received as alleged, without being
able to discharge the plaintiff from any
part or portion Of the original demand OF
the said defendant of so
That on the Goth day Of May, 1907 and
as part OF said usurous transaction. the
plaintiff was compelled to and did borrow
from the defendant and received in cash
s5 more; that because OF the said relations
with the defendant and his demands and
household goods and the payments OF the
large sum OF interest aforesaid she was
compelled to borrow the said sum and 10
borrow the same from tho said defendant.
Adds Five Dollars.
That the defendant added the amount OF
ssid s. to his claim Of $40 for the so
originally loaned, merging the same IA .
new note for Sl5 and compelled the plaintiff
10 execute a new chattel mortgage upon
all of her household goods Aforesaid, con
sisting of stoves beds and furnishings
servings machine dining room and kitchen
utensils. That the defendant at said time
contracted for took charge, reserved and
received upon the said loan 81. per month
as interest, being more than the legal rate
and usurous and the principal IN INSTALL
ments OF Sl.3O per month for twelve months
That plaintiff paid upon said last mort
gage described Aforesaid seven DaNmeuta
OF S240 each, aggregating 1850 making
total payn ent on the debt OF 1850 payinE
the debt over many times.
That plaintiff was unable to meet the
January payment and cent a neighbor for
whom the plaintiff washed. TO the de-
fendant 10 obtain an extension OF time
which service said neighbor volunteed 10
perform; that the defendant became angry
and threatened to throw the said agent out