The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-09-19
HOW THE SALARY LOAN
SHARK GETS THE MONEY

the loan EnaTks or lender or money
ct unlawful rates Of interest, has beer
for round number OF years one 81
the poignant social problems Of the
worker Legislative enactment, usury
laws. legal aid bureaus, the Efforts OF
employers and half dozen other re-
formatory agencies have in nowise
curtailed the evil or taken from the
profits OF the shark. The number OF
lenders and the volume OF their BUSH
ness have grown yearly and continue
TO grow-a fact probably rooted in the
mires OF extravaganza and thus ex-
pansive and ineradicable.
IT Is however fact that far more
than nine tenths Of all the robbing
and misery making Of these persons
is made possible by the ignorance of
the borrower. What does he UNDER
stand Of the methods and temper OF
these people?
In Chicago where hard fight is
being made against them, writer
for a leading magazine thus sums up
their methods:
Numbers Of them have four or FIVE
offices, so that no possible borrower
may escape.
The solicit business" load the
mails with soft sounding offers, and
use every forbidden form Of advertis-
ing.
These sharks charge from S to is
per cent monthly on salary loans.
A few are merely honest usurers;
the great majority are getting rich by
fraud and trickery.
They take advantage OF sickness,
business misfortune and death to get
victims into their tolls.
They are not in business for their
health. They want money and will
take the pound Of flesh II the money
fails.
They violate the law, yet they use
its forms to force their debtors to
time.
Many are unquestioned and unques-
fioniEg felons. But they have con-
trived means Of outwitting the law,
and they build stucco palaces and /
travel in Europe on the blood and /
tears Of the myriad poor.
They drive men from their families, |
they make refugees Of those whose |
largest offense was misfortune; they /
are big factor in wife desertion;
they multiply the bread line; they /
pander TO the tenderloin--but they
move in social circles.
One Chicago loan shark, who
capital in beginning was $4,000. In |
wrecked bank before he entered the
similar traffic Of wrecking men, has
offices in forty or more cities and has
come to millionaire's equfpage. His
capital In beginning was 100000. In
about seventeen years his original In
vestment and its accommodating profits
have earned about 100000 in inter-
ests commissions etc. This refers
to his Chicago business.
In addition to the 16l regular loan
companies, there are about 100 In
dividual loan makers about Chicago.
Their rates are fran 5 to 10 per
cent the month. These are little If
any better than the others. A larger
per cent Of them, however, possess
some elements Of honesty and decen-
cy.
These are the people to whom the
salaried worker goes in an hour Of
stress. 10 these he tells the sercets OF
his closest affairs; to them he intrusts
his honor, from them he accepts "fav-
orse
In taking MP the general subject or
the loan shark and his operations, per- ]
haps the first point Of interest to the
worker is the amount of interest gem
orally paid. Probably next I'm impor-
lance win be the methods by which {
loans are made.
Let us take the modest sum Of SIS.
In order TO get this amount the bor- /
rover is. with the ordinary company,
made to sign a note for sSs In other
words, he has signed himself to pay ]
s15 more than he ever got. Probably
ne rould be made to pay this squ ]
no matter how short at ime he had
Kept the SIS. The loan shark is, of !
course. careful Of the principal. to
say nothing about the interest.
The note merely reads that for .
value received or "for a valuable con-
the borrower agrees to
pay the loan shark sss in twenty ]
weekly payments of $3.50 each. Thus