The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-05-22
ShyIocks Must Go.

Timothy O'Leary, assistant super
intendent of police, Is now ready to
put the loan sharks out of bust
ness.
Armed with the Fox Law, Just ap-
proved by Governor Stuart, U'Leary
sees success crown his long campaign
against the usureTs, persons and
companies" that have ground the
face OF the poor in this city.
The Fox law. which he worked and
argued for, prohibits any charge for
small loans save legal interest and a
Teas enable premium. 1t provides for
licenses, too.
If the men who lend to the poor
and needy upon furniture and salary
dc not obey the law, and if they at
tempt TO do business without a Ii
cense. OLeary viii nave the misde-
meaDants fined and probably locked
ur in Jail, upon complaint of their
victims
Hundreds of thousands of Phila-
delpEians, bled by the TapaCity of the
Usurers. owe to him a debt o. graft
tUde for his energetic campaign
against the heartless, avariciOus mon
ey lenders who have drained the wild
ow'S purse and broWb6aten poor
clerks into frightened consent to
their greedy demands Nothing
O'Leary has done in the police depart
nIent is likely to make him more popu
lar than this warfare of mis- against
these loan sharks" that have charg-
ed as mucn as 800 per cent. for loans
fifty times legal interest.
Sharing the credit with him is A.
|. SoudeT, detective, whom OLeary
| assigned to the work of fighting the
oppresSOTS of the poor, end for two
years has worked against them. And
he has achieved much albeit he had
no sufficient law to work under until
now.
He has adjusted between 5000 and
6.OOG claims to the advantage of the
loan sharks victims. He has say
| ed thousands of dollars TO Door peo-
/ pie. When he started to go after
| the usUrers the victims were 10000
| in number; now those doing business
/ with them number less than 100000
/ The number of the leGCh-like com
| panies" doing business in PhiladeI-
| phia has been largely reduced.
| 1t is estimated that in the last six
( teen months these companies
known by every hifaIutin name under
! heaven-lave lost 100000 o. bust
! mess they might otherwise have goug-
/ ed out of ueCcssitOUs citizens of this
| town. O'Leary, aided by SOuder, did
that.
O'Leary and his assistant have been
proceeding along reasonable lines,
! although it has been difficult to eX-
eTCise patience after the almost I'M
| balievable piIlage of the needy that
| has gone on
In the first place, it was recognized
as a fact that the poorer classes need
| ed something between the pawnbrOk-
CT and the bank whereby they could
raise money on whatever security
| they could furnish. a well-to-do per-
| sor can take bonds or stocks TO a
| bank and get a loan on them, but the
| poor man or woman has no such col
! lateral to offer. At a pawnshOp small
! articles can be pledged by leaving
them i'm the DawnbrOker's possession,
i So no attempt has been made to
wipe all these loan companies" out.
What Ms been done is to place them
under roper regulations, now to be
enforced.
The Fox law is one to regulate
the business of making small loans
of 5000 or less, for which no security
other than a note or contract, with
or without endorseT. is taken, and to
provide for the licensing OF such bust
ness in cities or towns; and to regu-
late the assignment of wages when
given as security
The law provides that no person,
firm or corporation shall engage in
the business of making such small
loans upon which any other charge is
made than legal interest, and -or
which no security other than note or
contract is taken without first OBJ
tanning a license in city or town, the
license to be granted by the city or
town clerk or by some person or com
mission designated by councils to is
sue such licenses.
An amount not exceeding 10 per
cent of the amount lent may be
charged as a brokerage fee, in addi-
tion 10 the legal interest; and, II