The Washington herald., 1914-06-21

amended, and passed. 1t previdesI frst,
| that any nrni, association, corporation.
or individual engaged 10 the business 81
ieanins money at more than per cent
| year must pay license Of so per az
mum 10 The District Of Columbia
"A iiosnss. you sss, Identifies the Land
or. His name goes on the record, He
can be found at any time. ksrs0ysf, the
law requires that the lenders, Whistler
they are operating individually Or ~
members Of psrtnsrshlps and corpora
lions. must be bona fids residents Of the
District Of Columbia. There are chains
OF loanlng Offices Just ~ thsre are chains
Of groceries and Of tobacco stores. A
man IN New York had leaning oflces In
many cities Of the East And Middle
West. He made millions Of dollars by
lending money 10 persons who were
working for wages and salaries. A man
In Chicago 10 called the king Of the chat
tel loan business. Borrowers from him
must have furniture or some other kind
Of personal property. His ofices are TO
be found almost anywhere on this side
Of the Mississippi River.
The Real Lender Keeps Hidden.
"Ths practice Of such men. Of course. is
to run their offiees with ths help Of care
fully chosen employees. often with shrewd
women trained In the business. Travel
ing managers keep watch on the agen-
cies. The houndsrs.' necessarily. are
big-voiced and hard-nsted men. II some
victim goes to law and attempts to re-
cover the usury he has paid. service can
not be had on the proprietor OF the loan
ing once because he lives somewhere
else-In q New York mansion, perhaps,
or on a Chicago boulevard.
so all money lenders should actually
be residents of the cities in which they
carry on their business. Then they can
be sued or arrested. can 60 to Jail or be
driven into better way OF investing
their capital The Washington law re-
quires that each Ioanins concern must
appoint an agent. living In the city,
upon whom all judicial and other pro-
cesses or legal notices may be served.
Responsibility. you understand, is cen
tralized and localized. The culprit is al
ways in plain sight and can be caught
and punished. These features Of the law
are Of the greatest importance. They
shut such men as Tolman. the New
York multImiIiionsire, out Of the Dis
trict Of Columbia
Also q bond Of 5000 il required from
those who engage In the business OF loan |
ing money at rates exceeding s per cent |
The bond is q pledge that the lender will |
obey all the provisions Of the law. Fur !
thermore. il safeguards the borrower
who has been wronged. He may sue and. |
obtaining judgment, compel the bonds |
men or bonding company to settle In full |
Bonds must be renewed and refiled an
nualiy.
THE lenders likewise must keep regis
ters showing the entire history Of every |
sum OF money loaned. |
the date OF such loan, the person to |
whom It Is loaned. the property or any
thing else given as security. and the
amount of interest and all fees charged |
the borrower. These registers are open /
to the officers Of the District of Colum-
bfa during every business day of the
year. Nothing is to be done behind the
door.
Money lenders In Washington are now
rs closely scrutinIEed as are the rail-
roads and national banks. Once q year
they must submit trial balance Of their
books to the Commissioners OF the Dis