Evening star., 1915-05-13
Corporation Counsel Syme
Says His Office Is After
Every Known VioIator.
STATEMENT EXPLAINS
PROSECUTORS POSITION
Investigation in Case of Annie,
Reported in The Star, Shows
$23.1O in Usury Involved.

I ing the publication of an article on a
specific loan shark case in The Star
| yesterday. Mr. Syme outlines the posi-
ton taken by his office in handling the
loan shark matter, and says there is
not the slightest disposition on the
| part of the corporation counsers office
to do anything except enforce the law
with strictness in every violation which
| is known.
Investigation by Detective Evans of
the case stated in The Star of yester-
day resulted. it is understood at the
! District building, in report to the
| effect that the loan to the colored
woman annie" did involve s23.1O of
| old usury which she should not pay
| under an iron-clad reading of the
| loan shark law but which was made
| possible because of the general agree
ment entered into between the corpora
| tion counsel and the loan shark" COM
panies at the time the law went into
effect, or shortly therea fter.
| AS the loan shark" matter stands
| those interested say that the loan
| companies are enabled to get from
borrowers money that was paid back
to the same borrowers at the time of
the agreement, and is a matter of pub
| lie morals, rather than of law.
Corporation Counsel Syme's statement
| follows:
Statement Of Mr.. Syme.
"As soon as the loan shark law was
passed the corporation counsers Office
had Maj. Sylvester assign detectives
to ascertain what the individuals or
| loan compa MES were doing, and
whether or not money was being loaned
| in violation of It, AS soon as it was
ascertained that the law was being
evaded by the acceptance of receipts,
| ]. Q. Us and other evidences Of in
debtedness instead of the usual prom
| issory notes, and that promissory notes
were also being used to evade it, the
corporation counseis ONCE brought
prosecutions covering all such opera
! tons and several cases were taken into
| the Court of Appeals in order that the
exact meaning of the law might be
authoritatfvely stated by this court.
The Court Of Appeals finally held that
any writing whatsoever or anything
else which made the ascertainment Of
the debt more certain was Sc
curity within the meaning of the
, law. and that where it was made the
than s per cent per annum the law
was being violated. AS soon as this
decision was handed down every man
| or corporation agent known to be doing
was Immediately arrested
1T had been .ascertained by detec-
tives that the number of borrowers ran
into the thousands. They had the right
| to either recover from the loan sharks
| illegal interest, already paid or have
their obligation reduced by the entire
amount of interest due and 25 per cent
i of the principal. It was also apparent
| that these borrowers were poor people
who could not afford to employ LAWYER.
fn
fore. a stipulation was entered into un-
| der which the loan sharks were com
PEELED to plead guilty, pay a fine Of
500 and have an additional fine of
5000 and thirty days Imprisonment i'm
posed upon them. which became opera
tive II they again violated the law
and to agree to remit all illegal inter
est and accept Is per cent Of the prin-
cipal Notices were given by ali the
new spapers and sent individually to
thousa nds of borrowers that thew had
the right to settle their obligations in
this way, and they were told that if
they would come to the corporation
counsers office their accounts would he
audited and the amount which thev
could collect which had been iIlepaIIv
paid or which they would be required
| to pay In settlement of their obligation
would be audited. This was done in
was a private matter between the bor-
rover and the lender. between thirty
and forty thousand dollars was thus
saved the borrowers without expense to
them. Many borrowers refused to avail
themselves of this protection. OF
| course, ii was impossible for some Of
the borrowers to settle their accounts
| In full.
New Loans Not Intended.
when the stipulation was entered
into with the loan companies it pro-
vided that the loan company might ac-
cspt an amount in excess of the three
fourths which the borrower Of his
own free will desired to pay. 1t was
not intended or understood that the
loan companies should execute a new
loan to the borrower for the purpose of
providing funds to pay usurious inter
est on previous loans. A few weeks
20 all the loan companies met in the
| ONCE of the corporation counsel and
were advised of the fact that all the
| loans made for the purpose OF usurious
| interest on previous loans would he
treated as a loan of the actual amount
| Of cash received by the borrower and
| the borrower would be required to pav
| only. that amount Of cash with per
cent interest
| .The law gives the Commissioners
the right, upon complaint and after
hearing. to revoke every license here
tofore granted under the provisions of
| this law, SO that the way is perfectly
omen not only for criminal prosecu
fiona for any violation of law, but the
revocation of any license by the Com
missioners upon proper complaint
There is not the slightest disposition
on the part Of the corporation counsel's
ONCE to do anything except enforce
the law with strictness in every yio-
| la tton which Is known
The loan shark" case of Annie" as
IL appears upon investigation, is as
follows:
Transaction In Case Of "Annie.v
annie" borrowed $50 juno IL. 1919
and agreed to pay back ten payments
=, 81. TO. total OF SIT. She paid mart
.nd in the intervening time the .Ioan
.hark law" was enacted and a general
c.mpaign to clean up the situation
a,.rted. The agreement between ~.
nistrict and the loan companies va
,ade and Annie" found that on ba1
at loan she would not have to nav
a. much as she had signed for. Sbs
"a. credited with S23.10. Several
months later she went to borrow an
other $50 but they told her there was
little matter of $23.10 still unpaid
and she signed an agreement. in which
~ ~ hssi r far paid $3.50 and l .sr..