The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-03-04

The revolutionary troubleS are
crowding the national pawnshop ana
scores who have been ruined by the
recent commandment are hooking
everything under the sun.
How would YOU like TO borrow
money Of Uncle sam a ] per cent
a month?
do not mean big. longtime loans.
but something like five. ten or ifty
'plunbs" to tide sou over TIL next
salary day. Tha is what YOU can DO
In Mexico City. The government here
has a pawnshop in which you can
hook" you. watch or your WeddlnS
ring, or even an oil stove or & pofce-
tain bathtup. 1t is known as me
Monte - picdad, or national pawn
shop The Spanish words mean d
mountain of piety,' and this noun
tain of easily gctable gold STANDS JUST
opposite the cathedral and within Il
stones throw Of the National Palace.
on one OF the corners or Clnco dc
Mayo street and the great plaza, right
IN the heart OF the capital. IT IS a
big. three-story building which looks
like a prison. 1t has q cross on one
corner OF the roof, and the Mexican
coat-of-arms over the portals. II
covers almost u block and il Is filled
with everything pawnable nde the
Mexican sun. 1t has millions of dol
lars worth OF gold II silver stored
away in it's vaults. and in the sale
cases today I saw y peek OF gold
and Of precious stones, and
also rings and bracelets galore.
In the National PawnshOp.
During my stay | went through the
various rooms. seeing people OF all
ages. sexes and financial conditions
borrowing money OF articles OF every
description. watched the selling
and saw crowds looking Over the
toll nf trnytnl,S n1..IonD ~ pnf h4r.
gains. In the loan rooms the pcc-
pie stood before long counters, above
which We're wire networks like those
of our banks, n in the great patio
or square,, around which the rooms
Of the building run, ! saw them bring
i'll automobiles. steel safes. baby
cradles. parlOr sets and pianos. /
watched the opening Of an upright
piano. Tho owner was n pretty girl,
dressed In black. with a mAntilks
over her head, and h tears stood
in her eyes as she saw II u~npacked.
In another part OF the patio were Il
man and his wife getting u loan on
their parlor carpet. which still show
I'd the dust of recent wear. and away
OF in one corne las a half dozen
oid bathtubs, which had been evil
IDENTIFY taken from the houses and
brought here as pledges. 1t may be
they will be redeemed by Saturda.
night.
In going through the building I
saw warehouse after warehouse filled
with household goods OF every con
ceiv hi kind. There were hundreds
OF porcelain and zinc bathtubS, chairs.
stools and CandleStickS n tables and
beds without number. There were
great shelves filled with clothing. and
organs, talking machines and pianos
Ivy dozens. There were also kitchen
and cooking utensils and things one
would o he able to avn In the
States. The smallest sum l~oaned"O
any article Is 6 cents OF our money
n the loans run from hat to 81,
900. / am told that about SO, 00t
pieces are pawned every month, ant
something like 100000 In loans i
given out in that time. All but abou
10 per cent are redeemed. the interes
paid in monthly amounting to $40,
900 and upward.
How Money Is Loaned.
] watched the process OF l~oanine
The m a pledge IL brought i
IN expert valuator fixes the price, an
the loan is only a certain percentag
Of this. The price is low. for if tn
pledge Is unclaimed and it cannot b
old The valuator has TO take 1t him
self. giving therefor the amount c
the loan and the interest. AS Ion
"a the interest is regularly paid a
pledges are held. bur after this the
are offered for sale. In going throug
thc courts. ehous and sale:
rooms l found price tags on every
thing. These showed the origin:
values and the loans. and in nan
cases the values had been reduce
three or -four times. and most thins
seemed 10 me wonderfully cheap. III
decd. the first price Is aboug what I'll
FOODS would bring in a second-han
store. This is held for a month. an
then, IL no one comes 10 buy 1t, is r.
duced. The next month 1t Is furth,
marked down., and this goes on fro
month To month until five month
when. IL not sold. the ~valuator mu
take back the article.
| spent some time in the Jewell
saicSrOom. Here were cages OF pear
and diamonds. and quantities of rims
brooches and pins set with Jewels
every description. i saw earrin
with pearls as big as the end of 70
finger. and great sapphires a,
emeralds valued at from $500 to 5
200. Many Of the jewels were in Sc
consisting Of bracelets. brooches al