Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-09
FOR EARLY HEARING
OF LOAN SHARKS
Plans for Trials Of Companies
Charged With Exacting
Illegal Interest.
SPECIAL JURY LIKELY
FOR CONTINUOUS DUTY
Amendment of the Law Proposed.
Statement by the Chairman of
Citizens Committee.

With evidence on file involving nearly
! all loan shark companies in the Dis
! trict of Columbia. the office of the cor
| poration counsel of the District today
put the finishing touches on its plans
| for commencing in Police Court We'd
nesday active prosecution of companies
charged with having exacted interest
! in excess of the rate of ! per cent
month allowed by law.
1t became known today that request
| will be made for the empaneling of a
special jury to try the loan shark
cases If this plan is followed the jury
will remain continuously in session and
the docket viii be cleaned up as rap
idly as possible.
To assist George r. Tasgart. repre-
sentative of the corporation counsefs
office in charge of Police Court prose-
cutions. in the handling of the loan
shark cases one or more of the as
sistant corporation counsels will be
assigned to Police Court The selection
will fail upon r. l.. Williams. Roger J.
Whiteford or Francis H. stephens
Corporation Counsel Conrad II. Syme
has issued instructions to have Jail
sentences asked for in all cases in
,. which the defendants have failed to
settle notes on IS per cent basis.
without interest, as required by law,
when effort has been made to collect
illegal interest.
Effort to Amend the Law.
With the Districts legal department
endeavoring to enforce the present Law.
members of the citizens loan committee
backed up by the District Commissioners.
, are putting forth every effort to have the
law amended SO as to provide for an in
crease in the amount of interest that
may be charged from | to II. per cent
month
A bill designed to accomplish this pur-
pose. which was recommended by the
committee, was sent to Congress by the
Commissioners Saturday.
The committee consists Of William II.
Baldwin. chairman: George S. Wilson,
secretary: William F. GUIDE. Cuno II. Ru-
dolph. Mrs. Richard Wainwright, Mrs.
Evan H. Tucker Walter S. Cfford. Dr.
George A. kober. Rev. John Van
schaick jr.; VIII Eynon. Z. II. Thomas.
Henry l.. West. John d. Colpoys, Henry
c. Gauss and Henry White.
1t was active in bringing about passage
of the present loan shark law, though
the fixing of the interest rate at J per
cent was without the committees consent.
Statement by Committee.
Concerning the enforcement of this law,
the committee through its chairman, has
issued the following statement:
Although for the last three weeks Nj.
otephens' WI hieeioiu anu MI
liams. the assistants of the corporation
counsel. have been doing all they could,
and WORKING overtime. 70 assist those
who are iii the grasp of the loan sharks,
and nave made the law plain to great
numbers of persons who have called upon
them. 1t IS Prooaole that only small
poi .,oii "a tho. =; 80 ~ ~ oann.st -
yyorl Of the otficiaIs MANY are still not
actually aware OF their rights under the
law. or are not in position to insist on
them.
while suits against five more persons
of any loan shark since the law was
affirmed by the Court of Appeals in the
one has been fined or imprisoned, and.
eycept in the cases where the borrowers
have conferred with the assistant cor
noration counsel. the loan sharks have
not vet been numbered in collecting from
thair natrons not only all the principal,
h,It ali the inio,,itous interest charged or
as nuch of II as they could get
THE citizens committee finds that
many of them. if not all of them, stiIl
have their offices open. ana are reapihS
ali Tho harvest within reach from the
,,n,..yfu, business of the past year They
,,.t all tbev can on their claims in spite
ef ,ha law ono poor woman, who had
baen informed as 10 the law was re-
n,,;red tn nav / per cent a month in
adait;on IN the entire principal, and she
Aid this because of the fear of con-
snouences If she refused.
INTERPRETATION OF the Law.
Recognizing the bitter inJustice OF such
.e..,,o,,s;h,,;,v in the matter. the citizens
respoi.s :. ~, ; ,,.Lin. u
committee oes'res " yoiii ~
plain to all, every borrower AGAINST
whom any loan shark has any claim for
money borrowed at more tlan the law
f,I rate since the present law took effect
a vear ago that:
.:He need only pay aback three-fourths
| IF the amount borrowed. and
"He need not pay any interest what
| over
This is what tne la9 sans ~ d;nectiy necv or
| Indirectly. Tor. or receiving srea.er
rate OF lnterest .ha m ;tst - 80,
act sna - recaiyed. and in addi
"a. thereto shall forfeit to the bor-
rover a sum of money, to be deducted
from the amount due for principal.
| enual to one-fourth of the principal
sum'
"The law. therefore. cancels for the
borrower that much Of the obligation.
Just Just as completely as il it had been