The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-10-24
PAwNlNo A MoTHER-INLAw.
PhiIadelphian Tried il at Atlantic
City, but Ianominuously Failed.

City, but lgnominuously Failed.
Providence Journal: A Philadel-
phia man who found himself in pc
cuniary difficulties after q stay Of
some weeks with his family at an
Atlantic City hotel, was responsible
for more than a little published COM
ment. Probably he did not fully re-
alize the peculiar nature OF the propo-
sition he made to the hotel proprietor
to whom be owed an unpaid balance
Of about $50 for board. His cash was
exhausted and apparently his bank
account was similarly fatigued by the
summers strain. 1t would seem also
that he had no jewelry or other OBJ
jects of value which might be left
with his creditor as security, are per-
haps he felt such a sentimental at
| tachment for his possessions. If he
had any, that he could not endure the
thought of even a temporary separa-
ton. In any event. 1t looked as IL he
were down to hard pan, and II he
owned a watch or a diamond ring or
any little knick-knack of that sort he
kept the secret. But he did want to
get away with his baggage and go
home to Philadelphia. so he frankly
confided his craving to the hotel man
and offered to leave his mother-in-law
as pledge for the payment of the
$50, to be redeemed as soon as pos
sible
The landlord declined the OFFER. It
is not reported that ne gave any rea-
son for his unwillingness To accept
such q pledge. but naturally a cred
itor in such circumstances scarcely
feels under obligations to give rea-
sons. An object offered in pawn is
either satisfactory to the other party
to the transaction or it is not. He has
only to accept or to refuse IL without
preamble or comment. unless the
proposition looks good to him, In
which case remarkable of haggling
over the fixing OF a mortgage value is
to be expected.
In this instance the value to be se-
cured by the pawned object was al
ready established, and possibly the ho-
tel man did not feel that the lady pas
sively involved in the suggested trans
action represented the equivalent nf
$50, which Is considerable sum. after
all, although 1t will not go very far in
these days. In the material sense IL
does not appear that the proffered coll
lateral was In any way inadequate,
for 1t was stated that the mother-in-
law weighed not less than $50 pounds
SO far as can be learned this Is
the only recorded instance of such
security for loan or debt, although
the chronicles Of hard times contain
many cases OF strange pawns. Arti-
fetal teeth and all sorts of incredible
personal paraphernalia have been
pledged by INDECENT gentlemen, and
| many times the outcome OF such
| transaction has been extremely lido
syncratic, to say the least On rare oc-
casions men have even voluntarily
| placed themselves In pawn.
There Is a legend that famous
American actor in the old days once
did this, shrewdly calculating that his
manager would be compelled to re-
deem him in time for the evening per-
Torrance.
The security AFFORDED by any pledge
for a loan depends largely. Of course,
upon it's value and desirabllity to the
owner. 1t is not merely matter Of
intrinsic value, although in CONNER
cial circles, unfortunately this factor
commonly rules. There win be a nat
ural suspicion, as possibly there waa
in the mind OF the hotel man, that the
Philadelphian might have been un-
scrupuously planning to kin two birds
with one stone escape his mother
in-law and the payment OF his debt
both with one transaction. But this
surely Is an unjust suspision. Thous-
ands of men would not give up their
mother-in-law for many times $50,
and Philadelphia has an especially
enviable reputation for domestic har-
mony and tranquil family relations.