Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-17
Declares Proposed Measure
Would LegaIize Interest
Rate of AZ Per Cent.
ORGANIZED LABOR URGES
APPROVAL BY COMMITTEE
New Yorker Says Consequence
Would Be to Leave Poor Debt
Ridden for Life.

Representative La Guardia, Repub-
lican, of New York, today attacked the
Bowman loan shark bill to regulate
the business of making small loans in
the District of Columbia at a continued
hearing before the judiciary subcom-
mittee of the House District committee.
He called the measure Outrageous"
and said that 1t is "camouflaged" legis-
lation because it would Immediately
legalize a a. per cent rate of interest
against poor people who cannot afford
to pay 1t and in consequence would
be debt-ridden for the rest OF their lives.
Representative La Guardia declared
that the bill would never pass the
House.
Representative Dyer of Missouri, a
member of the House judiciary COM
mitee, called attention to the present
loan shark bill enacted in 1918, which
he sponsored when he was a member
of the House District committee at
time when he said loan sharks were
gripping thousands of Government en-
ployes and a scandalous condition ex-
listed in the National Capital. The
existing law sets l per cent a month
rate, which he believes is not Sufficient
to encourage small loans to the really
needy people, and asked that he be
allowed to- advise with the House COM
mittee in any proposed amendment to
the existing law.
Favorable Report Urged.
Three representatives of organized
labor urged the committee to report
favorably the Bowman, bill because they
said some properly regulated business
for making small loans to working peo-
pie in neceSsitouS circumstances was
imperatively needed.
Leon Henderson, q director of the
remedial loans division of the Russell
Sage Foundation. defended the proposed
measure and said that the experience in
rs States which have similar regula-
tory laws has shown that BIZ per cent
a month is the best working rate. He
told the committee that the question
before them was what is the rate that
will get the loans.
The representatives of organized labor
who spoke in favor of the bill were
Frank J. Coleman, secretary of the Gen.
trail Labor Union, who said that there
are thousands of bootleg" lenders in
Washington, many of whom operate in
Government departments. He advocat-
ed graduated scale of rates and that
no license be granted to any concern ex-
cept one acceptable to the District COM
n1iSSioners after a rigid examination. w.
G. HuckinS, legislative representative.
and w. G. Roberts, chairman of the leg
islative committee of the American Fed
Grafton OF Labor, also Endorsed the bill.
Presents Veto Message.
Representative Lampert of Wisconsin
read into the record the veto message
of Senator Blaine of Wisconsin when
he was Governor, on this same meas
ure, in which he declared that it would
legalize usurious rates of interest to four
times the lawful rate.
At the close of the hearing Ralph
Gilbert, a former member Of the COM
mittee from kentucky, who has since
been working for the Russell Sage
Foundation to put through such small
loans legislation, suggested that the
committee compromise on graduated
rates of interest for various classes of
loans.
The hearing will be continued for OPP
ponents OF the measure on April %.
with Representative Lampert in charge
of the opposition.