Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-10-13
COMPTROLLER IN FIGHT
AGAINST USURY RATES
Completes Investigation Into Interest
Charges of National Banks
I'm United States.
pRAcTICED IN ALL SECTIONS
Highest Rates Exactcd In West and
Soutil-Nature of Reforms to BE
Instituted by Treasury Department
Not Yet Announced.
Especial TO The Times-Uispntch.


WASHINGTON. october l2.--The in
vestiration started n few weeks ago
by John Shelton Williams Comptroller
OF the Currency. and now practically
completed, has revealed the amazing
fact that hundreds of national banks
throughout the country are practicing
uSury. and that many Of them are prac-
ticinE ii to the extent of 100 per cent
per annum.
This Is being done. too. in violation
of State laws. even though no Federal
statute may reach 1t. II is being done
in no particular section alone. but u.s.
on the contrary. practited III all sec
tons In some states the interest
rates are less burdcnsome than in
others but in all the States there seem
to be banks that have not hesitated to
charge all the traffic will bear"
MIR. Williams has not indicated def
nitely what reforms he will insist upon
In this connection, but he has stated
plainly that the power of his office Will
he used as far as ii goes TO reduce in
tcrest rates to a proper level How no
will proceed to that end Will not he
disclosed until he has proceeded For
the present he is willing to discuss
only the results of his inquiry.
HIGHEST RATES CHARGED
IN SOUTH AND WEST
The highest interest rates now
charged, il seems. are eXacted by the
lions in which money is known to be
the scarcest. though the official rec
ords show numerous Instances in the
East, North and Northwest.
In ALL the accounts of 1918 banks
in various sections have been inspected
by national BAN. examiners TO deter
mine the rates of interest charged. or
this number 1920 institutions admitted
that they were receiving an average
OF 20 per cent on all their loans.
H. Ai I'M
included two banks in Illinois. six in
Minnesota, two in Missouri. twenty
three in Georgia, six In Florida, TWEEN
ty-one in Alabama, two in Louisiana,
3l5 in Texas. seventeen in Arkansas.
three in Tennessee, ninety In North
Dakota, twenty-five in South Dakota,
| eighteen in Nebraska. five in Kansas.
thirty-eight In Montana, fourteen in
wyoming. thirty scvcn in Colorado,
twenty-five in New Mexico. 800 in
Oklahoma twelve in Washington. ten
in Oregon. thirteen in California. two
/ In Utah one In Nevada and thirty-thrce
in Idaho
Another list in the possession OF
the comptroller shows that n Septem-
! Der there was total of 1908
banks charging IL per cent or more.
| of which nine were in New York
, state, six in Pennsylvania, two in
Maine, three in massachusetts. five in
Virginia, seven in West Virginia. six
each in Florida and Louisiana. sixty
six in Georgia. hfty-two Alabama,
l6S in Texas, seven in Arkansas, sew
enteen in Kentucky. twenty-eight In
Tennessee four in Ohio eight in In
diana, forty in Illinois. seven In Iowa,
I nineteen In Missouri. siXty-eight in
| North Dakota, forty eight in South
| Dakota, twcnty-Onc in Kansas. forty
! four In Montana. twenty in Wyoming,
| sixty three In Colorado, thirty-three in
New Mexico. 2S7 in Oklahoma. twenty
five in Washington, forty in California.
forty-four in Idaho, eighteen in Utah,
! eight in Nevada, three each In Michi-
gan, Minnesota. Oregon. North Caro-
i lima and Arizona.
| no CHARGES AS MUCH
AS L. PER CENT SINCE JUNE
In New Jersey, District OF Columbia.
and South Carolina only two banks in
| each reported II per cent or higher and
! only one each in Maryland and Ne
bra ska. Bankers in mississippi. New
| Hampshire. Vermont. Rhode Island,
Connecticut. Delaware and Wisconsin
| denied in their report to the comp
| trollcr charging rs much as / . pcr cent
on any loan since June IS, 1915.
In one OF these States there were 1871
] banks which admitted having charged
n maximum rate Of from Is to "a per
/ cent. siNty-scven banks that charged
| 25 to GO per cent; twenty-five banks
! that charged between 60 and 100 per
! cert. and eighteen banks with Il max
| imum rate Of from 10 OTTO 200 per cont.
| In the same State there were eight
| banks that confessed to having maxi
mum rates ranging from 200 to 1000
| per cent a year. Another record is on
| file nj the Treasury. showing that q
/ bank in State unnamed by the
comptroller eXacted 2.400 per cent on a
! single loan.
/ 1t is true that most OF these are
! "hattel loans and are therefore small,
J but it is not an uncommon thing, il
appears for banks to charge from 10
! 10 90 per cent on commercial loans
| even in States where tho legal rate
| Is from to per cent In n few
states the law permits bank to
| charge 10 per cent on special contracts.
In referring TO these records and
! their astonishing revelations, Corip-
| troller Williams SAYS: