| Show LOAN SHARK SHIRK HAD TO PAY DAMAGES Punish Punished d I for Hounding and anI Harassing Victim How Other Cities Cities' Handle This Great Evil The only reason S so many poor men and women allow salary loan agents to extort outrageous rates of interest from them and hound and pester them from year to year is their l lack k of understanding under under- standing of t their rights They can not note be e forced to pay usurious interest The loan shark dreads the Ule law worse than his victims dread 1 him m if it they thoy only knew it i Wo We aro are indebted to the Utah Survey for tor the tho following discussion of this tills evil Perhaps wo we may take heart by hearing hearing hear hear- ing what has been don done in other c com m. m In 1912 the app appellate lato division o of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York ruled that usurious loans are arc void oi both as an to principal and and- interest an anif and if usury has been be on actu actually lly paid tho the borrower bor bor bor- rower ma recover twice too the excess paid H in all transactions transactions' within a period r of two years Tho rho decision revolved re about tho the following facts One Ono borrowed burrowed bur bor rowed 4 from the Royal noyal company and ad paid paul por per month interest t on tho the money monet for twenty months and then Wow grow tired and refused further lurther pay pay- ments Tho Royal company sued Duns Duns- cone cono counter claimed to th recover the amount i of r usury usury and the above c decision was the tho result Not Note that this tins interest was at the tho rate rIto of 53 per cent per month as compared with tb the rates of 10 an and 20 per ver cent per mouth exacted exacted ex ex- acted by bv the tho loan sharks in in this cit city Mr Arthur Ham nam writing in in the tho Survey Survoy Sur Sur- vey voy of November 30 10 0 1912 says H The Tho courts of New York recently havo bavo ruled that the laws ot or of the state render i. i any person person who exacts more mora than the tho legal rate of interest on salary pr chattel chat ebat chattel t tel l loans liable to fino and imprisonment imprison monte mont that such fluch laws are are unconstitutional unconstitutional that a greater charge than thau the legal rate rato of interest may not be covered by exacting attorneys attorney's fees fecs commissions commis commis- clone or by ly any other device or pretext that judgment obtained by y confession on ona ona ona a usurious loan may be reopened and reversed re reo versed with costs imposed on ou the tho lender that usurious loans Joans are aro void as t to both principal and interest and if f usury has actually been paid tho borrower may recover twice the tho amount paid in all transactions within a period of two years Bureau for Complaints The district attorney has established a usury bureau under the charge chargo of Franklin Brooks who as a result of complaints received has raided many offices and carried off to court properties safes books and papers in a common patrol patrol wagon wagon wagon-it it utie used to be tho the custom diatom for the loan shark to ride to court in his limousine accompanied by his bis secretary secretary secre secre- tary aud and counsel Sixteen of tho thu elect have been held by tho the magistrates for trial by the court of special sessions durin during this month and although thoy are represented by able attorneys some of whom aro are influential members of the Ic legislature and hi high h in party part councils it is thought that they cannot be saved from real punishment for th thou their ir ble blo greed and unlawful practices In HJ 1912 District Attorney Zahel Zabel of Milwaukee following the tho conviction con and in imprisonment lri of ot ota a a. Milwaukee loan shark snark and ai aided ed by ly tho the leading heading newspapers ers of th the tho city carried on a against theBo vultures which resulted in a series of convictions of those violating the law of f Wisconsin In Chicago Chicag I recently a vigorous campaign cam cam- pai was carried on which we arc aro informed in in- formed ormed though rather rathor indirectly resulted re reo re- re suited in creation of a J legal nl maximum maxi interest rate rato of 3 S mum per pei cent per month for salary nu and pawn loans In Washington ton the tIle loan lonn sharks sharks' were wore driven across across the tho Potomac In Do Do- troit a II campaign of enforcement was yas carried on with most salutary results Heres Here's a Horrible Example Tho The Kansas case caso of or Stalker vs Drake Driko reported in Pacific Reporter page should hould be of more moro than passing in interest jn terest because it affects our friend D. D D. D Drake whose office we wo have O men in in this article Drake Drako it appears lives Jives in Pennsylvania and operates a achain achain chain of loan offices throughout the tho country Stalker whilo while in the tho empl employ of the St. St Lou Loui San Francisco railroad rail ml road in 1903 1003 applied to Drakes Drake's fI office in Kansas City for a loan of 25 He signed two papers wit without out reading either One Ono was a note and tho the other othAr an assignment a nt of his wages Tho The note for month and anel Stalker ran rau one ono as was to pay for the use uso of the money I He renewed th the tha noto note the tho following month on payment payment- of ot an additional A day or two after it became du due it was renewed with 10 J Q 0 attorneys attorney's attar nays ney's fee fcc added and paid as interest in in- terest At tho the time it again became duo due his pD pay chock check had not been beer r re received and Stalker w was informed that it would cost another 10 to pe ge the matter out of of the tho hands of another at at- torney torMY By this time timo the note had bad grown to 45 45 Next month being r unavoidably un avoidably detained so 60 that he could not make payment on time Stalker was told that 00 60 O would have o to he be paid to cover a additional attorneys attorney's foes fees and andrt court rt costs The office however rex re re- x Continued on n page 2 2 |
