Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-01
MOVE ON THE LOAN SHARKS
ROnrd serves Notice on Firemcn aud
Policemen 60 Get out Of Their
Clutches.

salary loan sharks and other morey lend
ers were the subjects Of discussion at the
regular weekly meeting Of the Board OF
Fire and Police commission last night.
Following tn" Introduction and adoption Of
a set Of resolutions drawn up ~ Commits
sioner Robert Cowell, deploring the fact
that about one-third Of the members of the
police force and about two-thirds of the
members OF the fire department have been
borrowers and arc now owing considerable
sums Of money to loan agents who charga
usurlous rates Of interest. and G]enouucing
the system as injurious to the efficiency OF
both departments, the board took the fol-
lowing action:
That the chief of the police department
and the chief Of the fire department BE- di-
rected to notify all the men in the service
in both departments that the board looks
WIN distavor upon the existing condition
anu expresses its thorough disapproval of
the same, and further
Fiat whore evidence is produced that any
man in either department has become in
efficient as the result OF such borrowing,
the board may decide to discharge him for
The good Of the service.
The action OF the Board Of Fire and
Police Commissioners is i'm conformity with
a decision recently handed down by the
Kansas City court of appeals to the effect
that it Is against public policy for a public
officer to sell his salary and that a con-
tract to that end. made by a public officer,
is void in law. The case was first started
in a lower court and appealed to the court
Of appeals, where the decision Of the lower
court was affirmed in the following de-
cision:
An assignment of a contract of sale by
a public officer OF his salary Is contrary
to public policy and void. Courts will not
aid the enforcement Of such contracts. 1t
Is a principle of law that a party to an un-
lawful contract shall not receive the aid of
the law to enforce that contract or to conn
)ensate him for the breach of it. The plain.
tiff cannot recover whenever IL is necessary
for him to prove, as a part OF his cause
of action, his own Illegal transaction. In
this case, the plaintiff not only pleaded
the Illegal transaction, but he testified 10
it at the trial. The judgment of the lower
court is affirmed.
The case decided by the Kansas City
court of appeals involved a policeman in
the city of st. Louis, b.. F. Townsend; and
John ]. Nelson, doing business as the
Cooley Credit company of that city. Nelson
gave to Townsend, according to his own
statement, S47. 80 for $50 OF Townsend's sal
airy as a policeman Of the city OF st. Louis
for the month of November, 1901. Al
the time Of the transaction. Townsend made
an assignment Of that much of his salary
to Nelson and executed a power Of at
torney authorizing Nelson to collect the
same. A~fterward Townsend collected his
entire salary for the month. Nelson brought
suit for $50, the amount of salary for which
he had contracted, with interest at 6 pei
cent from the date of the contract. The
jury at the trial. under the Instructions of
the court, brought in a verdict for Town.
send and Nelson appealed the case TO the
Kansas CITY court of appeals.