The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-20
PITIFUL ARE
 THESE PLEAS Money Lenders Want Reduced License. APPEARED BEFORE COMMITTEE Committee Decided to Recommend License of $325 Per Annum. Busineas is so Now That They Would Jump the Vocation If They
 CouId--street Tax Is
 Favorable.
APPEARED BEFORE COMMITTEE

Pitifu1 was the scene In the council chamber Saturday night where the finance committee of the city council met to consider items of the license sc:tgdule soon to go into effect. Alder man Moritz, Gunter and Parrish who e.Snpose the finance committee. were later joined by Mayor Teague. Alder man Johnson and Thompson and City Attorney Mcintyre.
 Before the committee, members of the "small loan" business appeared to upport their petition which council had referred to the finance committee. asking that their license be reduced from s400 per amum to s200. The psti- ton was signed by N. B. Burke. J. L. RIca6 Rice c s. biTd P z. KG1Sn.5a Kn05 J c W. Bean. H L. Bray. F.. c. Shivers. c. F. Stephens. s. Phann, J. w. Anderson Gaze J. II. Day B. $. Hardeman, and D. F. Pharr & Co.
 The money lenders pleaded that business was 50 per. cent below par and the money lenders were only in the business because they could not get out according to one of them. Loans were made that were never heard from again and there was no rdress The money was just paid out and dis appeared forever. Every one of them present said he would ba gald to ge. out of the business for since the new city code had gone into effect. which provides that a person making less than $25 a month cannot be garnislh cd the debtors had only to plead this in court and escape all legal procedure.
 If the business is in such a bad way" said Alderman Parrish" why don't you go into bankruptcy?''
 We can't afford to" N. E. Burke answered, ''it costs too much. The charge $l0 down and sI0 month and we can't afford to pay it, we haven't got the money. Look at our friend Bird. he has been in the business d long lime and I don't halipWa has ever seen him with a neck tie on"
 J. L. Rice also made a strong ap- peal for the backward condition of the poor money lenders. he said there werO about fifteen or sixteen licensed busi- nuesses of the kind in the city, but outside of them some seventy five per- son were in the business who did not have licenses. He said that the condition of the business was pitful and that many of the men iD 1t would sell out at twenty-five cents on the dollar of their investments He said the entire capital of the licensed men in the small loan business would not amount to S50,000. that each man only had few thousand in 1t. save himself,
 N. B. Burke. again taking the floor said Rice was the only man in 1t who could live like a gentleman. the others lived Ike hogs. The trouble is,'' he continued we don't lend the money to good people, They do not come to us. they go to their employers. The peo- pie we have to deal with are the real moneys sharks"
 The committee took the matter under advisement and decided to re- commend a license to the council for the business $s25 per annum.
 Other matters were fatorabIy con1 Sidercd were the street tax of s on all men between the agse of twenty one and forty?hve. dog tax of $1. The question of allowing the Montgomery pipe manufacturing Co. the use of the land. at the foot of Coosa street beside the river. for a rental of $250 year, is still under advisement
 The ordinace providing for the crea- tion of the office of City Tax Inspector which was voted by the mayor and turned down by the alderman at the last council meeting. was re-constructe1 and now has the approval of the maSor It is believed with a favorable report from the finance committee and the ap- proval of the mayor 1t will be passed at the meeting Monday night.