Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-04-26
Merchants Moving To
Wipe Out An
Evil
BENlFlG IN JAPAN
IT is USURY III RE
What System Is and How it Operates
General Cooperation Is Sought
to Prevent Its Con.
tinuance

people Vi travail 10 put stop 10 inc
pernicious "Tanomoshi' system, by
which a great number of the poorer
japanese are being practically robbed
Of their earnings.
Attorneys have been consulted and
there was at one time a move ON foot
to bring a bill before the Legislature
in order to regulate the business" by
law. This was deemed inadvisablc,
consequently the movement to bring
all the influences possible to bear
through the various avenues open to
the plantation arrangements and the
business men Of the Territory
A description of what "Tanomoshi"
is and how It operates has been furn.
ished by the japanese merchants and
follows:
A given number of persons, say
ten, form an association and each
contribute to "a common fund, GER
tain sum, say ten dollars Each of
these ten persons, or as many of
them as may desire to borrow the
fund, thus accumulated. amounting
to the sum of one hundred dollars.
make a sealed bid for the loan, stat.
ing the premium he is willing to pay
therefor. and that bidder who has Of
tered highest premium for the loan,
is awarded the same. Assuming that
A has offered a premium of twenty
five dollars for the loan, and he
being highest bidder, is awarded the
same, he is paid in cash. the sum of
seventy-five dollars, his premium OF
twenty-five dollars being deducted
from the sum borrowed, and he then
executes to each of his nine coopera.
tives, Il promissory note for the sum
of ten dollars, payable in ten months.
The note is generally Endorsed by
two persons. The premium paid by
A for the loan is equally divided
among the parties, other than A, who
receives no part thereof.
In second month, the remaining
nine persons, excepting A, make Il
sealed bid for the loan, stating the
premium he is willing to pay there
for. A having borrowed the fund in
first month already, he has no more
right to make bid, but he must have
to pay ten dollars at this time. AS
suming that Il has offered a premium
of thirty dollars for the loan and he
as being highest bidder, is awarded
the same, he is paid in cash, the sum
TANoMOSHI.
OF sixty dollars together with Ten
Dollars which Is paid by A, his pre-
MUM OF thirty dollars being deduct
ed from the sum borrowed, and he
then executes to each of his eight Co
operatives, promissory note for the
sum of the ten dollars, payable in
nine months. The premium paid by
b for the loan, is equally divided
among the parties, other than A and
Is, who receive no part thereof. Il
gives back to A the promissory note
which is given by A to him In the
previous month, as A paid Ten Dol
lars. -,
The foregoing procedure will be
continued the third month, fourth
month and etc-.until the expiration
of the tenth month, that is until last
person receives money in the last
month. III the last month, there
being no bidder, one who remains I'M
til the last month, receives whole sum
of one hundred dollars.
In some Tanomoshi, promissory
notes are used not in regular legal
form, but use a simple form written
% by Japanese characters.
HISTORY OF TANoMoSHI,
The original purpose of Tanomoshi
was very good, and It was practiced
in Japan since olden times, especially
In the country districts where means
of money circulation were deficient.
Surprising a man was suffering
from poverty or met some calamity
or misfortune, his friends or neigh
bors, with idea to help him, put W
some money. so much each, and help
ed him from his sufferings temper
ally, and according to a certain agree
ment made by and between him and
the helpers at that time, he paid
back to all of his helpers one after
another every month, without inter
est, until all of the helpers were
fully paid As to the order of the
helpers to whom money to be paid
monthly, was decided by ''lot" every
month.
All tanOmoshi which are now prac,
ticed to a considerable extent by the
japanese in Hawaii, was, perhaps
originated with good idea as above
mentioned; but the nature of tanO'
moshi In Hawaii at present is en-
tirely changed. Most Of tanomosh