Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1908-03-26

French Rate Is Per Cent--Somesimes
No Interest Is Charged.

With none of the timidity or hesita'
ton or the shamefaced aspect of our
| user of pawnshops does the Partisan
perform his journey TO the money lend
! er. Far from feeling, after the door
has closed behind him, that he Is IN
the country Of the enemy the French
| man can have his patriotic nrdor at its
| highest, for over the paWnshop hies
| the trlcolor of France instead of the
| gilded balls, and the guard at the door
is a helmeted, white gloyed republican
| guard. The customary whispering as
the borrower exchanges goods for cash
Is unknown Borrowing Is Il business
| transaction with the government
1t Is not out of appreciation 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
men;s will finally go back TO the peo-
Pile.
There is no haggling, says a writer
in the Philadelphia Record On jew
| elry four-hfths Of the value Of the OBJ
ject can be secured; on the other arti-
| cles two-thrds. The interest is Z per
cent per annum Should a borrower be
In the unfortunate position OF having
| paid interest for many years without
| being able to release the article the
| authorities viii return it, When inter-
est has not been paid the object in
| question goes to the auction, and then
| the righteousness of Paris pawnbrok-
| Ing is decidedly in evidence. for after
| the sale has been consumm0ted and
| the original loan and interest are de-
| Quoted from the money secured by
the sale the surplus goes TO the bor-
rover Should the money remain I'M
| claimed 1t is turned over to the Paris
hospitals and. curlously enough, these
hospitals profit TO the extent of 1907
| coo francs year
When one has made study OF
| French pawnhroking laws it is easily
seen that the first object served by
| these laws is to protect people who
want immediate money advantages.
France land we may say France, for
| municipal pawnbroling Is to be found
| In every corner of the country cares
little that many transactions are car
ried on at loss In one yepr of some
| 100000 pawned articles in Paris
100000 were effected ut loss, since
no auction will bring n complete re-
turn on small objects. or course this
Is offset by the return from loans on
the other million articles. but should
there be n deficiency the municipality
has no hesitation in going down in its
pockets and TINS has an Indirect mode
of taxing the well to do to support the
| needy. Since no country has raised a
cry against charity, this, as one form
of it, can be passed without criticism.
The fact is, money il lost on all loans
under 20 francs.
The capitei of the pawnshops con
slsts of legacies, gifts and subventlGns
of the state, department or the com
mune Occasionally as at GrenN5le
and Montpelier. the establishments
are so well endowed that no interest
is charged Paris, for no unfathomablc
reasons, does the largest pawnbroking
business on the continent, $4,000 000
francs being the average yearly
pledges and 30000,000 francs redeem
ed. The total revenue is 4OO0000
francs, the expense Of management
100000 francs, the interest on capital
about loo 900 francs and the net prof
its 10000 francs.