Evening star., 1926-05-03
.ATLANTANS PAYING
BIG SUM TOSHARKS
160 SaIary-Buying Firms Re-
ported Reaping Huge Har-
vest From Victims.
BY Consolidated Press.

ATLANTA, Ga, May 3.--The S1o
on which Uncle Burl Parrish, an old
time darkey. has been paying -
week for the last three years with
out "whittling down the principal
penny, has started the Atlanta Legal
Aid Society and the Chamber Of Com
merce or a finish fight against salary
buying loan sharks.
Uncle Burl needed money because
his "ehiIlun was hungry" so he sold
his salary to one of the sharks" and
agreed to pay 50 at the end OF the
week. After that he signed slip of
paper, not knowing much what 1t was
except that he was to pay another "
at the close of the second week. and
so he continued for three years. Al
the end of that time the loan sharks
had collected $312 from Uncle Burl
and he still owed the original $40.
Investigations by the Atlanta Legal
Aid Society and the Chamber OF Com
merce, show. according to j. l.. TX.
Boyd, general counsel for the society,
that so many others have fallen into
the same net. which enmeshed Uncle
Burl that the loan sharks are gath
ering in fully million dollars year
in Atlanta alone through usury.
Threatened 10 Tell Employers.
With similar conditions holding true
in other cities, the suffering wrought
among the poor by the salary-buyinE
loan sharks is appalling. he says.
You may wonder" continued Mr..
Boyd, why even an ignorant negro
would continue TO pay week after
week the way Uncle Burl did. The
loan sharks told him that If he didn't
keep paying they would tell his en-
ployer' that he had sold his salary.
and he would be fred
] A little stenegrapher who sold her
self into financial slavery to buy her
| trousseau; young man taking fier
| into society. hoping to marry a rich
wife; a middle aged man on small
salary trying to appease the clothes
| lust of pretty young spouse;
| woman trying TO meet her bridge
| loses-these are some of the plctur-
| esque victims revealed by investigation
of the salary buyers. But they are
merely high lights in the picture. The
| pathetically tragic victims of the sys-
! tenn is the married man with family.
| Mr.. Boyd explained:
There is sickness. the children
need clothes. little Rosey Is ashamed
| to go 10 school with holes in her
shoes. The head of the household
does what you or / would do-he gets
the money the best way he can. And
the loan sharks get him.
! 16O Concerns Working.
One hundred and sixty of these
concerns are operating in Atlanta and
they are reaping a harvest. ! knew
of one that will make 500 900 to
| 5000, 900 a year.
| "I secured a court injunction re-
| Gently restraining 100 Of these salary
buyers from coercing unfertunates ny
| threatening them with discharge.
Later, the grand jury indicted ii for
usury.
| In order that poor people may ee
| offered a legitimate means of berrow'
| ing money, Georgia, together with g
other States. has adopted the law
| urged by the Russell Sage Foundation.
| under which money lenders may
charge 3ia per cent interest month.
But this was not enough to satisfy the
men now getting rich by buying sal
aries. Legally you may sell your sal
ary for whatever you choose and. TAX
ing advantage of this fact, the salary
buyers get back MANIFOLD what they
pay out.
I'VE are trying to educate the poor
or five agencies through which he can
borrow money at a rate of interest
that will enable him through regular
payments to reduce the principal.
Second, we are trying to fight the sal
airy buyers in every legal way we can.
believe we are going to have them
whipped In a little while in Atlanta
and the same fight should go on in
every other city, for this salary buy
ing is one of the greatest menaces
we have to the welfare Of the poor"