Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-10-24
ERADICATE LOAN SHARKS.

Washington, Oct. 24:-In severa,
American cities attempts are being
made to eradicate the usury evil Of
loan sharks and pawn shops by the
establishment of low interest loan
societies conducted simply to meet
their operating expenses. A band OF
phllanthropists in Chicago, ILL.,, with
apparent success, has established a
pawn society" which loans money
upon pledges at one per cent. per
month as compared with the usual
charge in that city by private bro
kers of ten per cent. per month. The
idea in this country is a copy Of the
municipal pawn societies of several
European cities.
An account of one of these is
given in a report to the State Depart
ment by Consul Henry H. Morgan.
1t is the municipal pawn society of
Amsterdam, Holland, known as the
Bank van Looming. This is probably
the Oldest pawn shop in existence.
1t a started in the early part of
the seventeenth century. The earliest
record loan made by this institution
was on April 20, 1914. The bust
ness is still conducted in the original
building erected for it at that time
though fifteen branch offices have
been opened throughout the city to
meet the ever increasing demands of
the business.
To show the "easy familiarity"
with the "hock shop" which long con-
tact with this venerable institution
has bred in Hollanders, Consul Nor
gan states that it is the custom of a
vast number of the poorer people of
Amsterdam to pawn their Sunday
best" clothes on Monday morning,
redeem them Saturday night and
soak" them again on the following
Monday morning, thus securing their
use for the Sunday outing. Over
forty per cent. of the business of the
Bank van Looming, which amounts
yearly to over a million dollars, is of
pledges of this class, household arti-
cles, etc.
The rates of interest charged run,
according to the kind of goods pawn
ed, from 6 to 13 per cent. per an
mum. Amsterdam has never placed
a single law upon it's statute books
regulating the interest charges of
pawn shops simply because the COM
petition of the municipal society has
practically run them out of business.
Besides the interest charges there is
a fee. demanded on all pledges to
meet the administrative expenses of
the institution. This is only from
5 .004 to 5 10 an article. Yet from
these sources of income, and from
the sale of unredeemed pledges and
rents for offices in the bank building,
the Bank van Looming insures every
article which it holds in pawn, pen
sions all old employees and their
widows and clears three per cent. on
its investment.
Each pledge is held for six months
and then, falling it's redemption by
the owners, Is sold at public auction
after being advertised for two days.
The capital of the bank is $202,350.
It's annual revenue is about eighty
thousand dollars a year. 1t contrib
utes $4,000 a year to- its pension
fund.
The Bank van Looming is strictly
a municipal affair, the business be-
ing conducted by five directors ap-
pointed by the city government and
by the ~Burgomsater or mayor. By
it's charter it is restricted In earnings
to three per cent. not on its invest
ment, and each three years its sched-
ule Of charges Is made over so that
the estimated income will mount to
only the three per cent. The insti-
tuition Is under strict police super
vision and this has made the bust
ness of fencing or handling sto-
len goods very dangerous in Holland
as at best 1t is difficult for other
pawn shops to show legitimate rea-
sons for remaining In this business.