DEBITS AND CREDITS 257 



20% Exchange on Cash $28.38 5.68 



25% Int. & Ins. Charged at Prime Cost per 



Agreement on $53.50 is 13-37 



As this list of typical entries indicates, the average whaleman 

 was called upon to pay a charge of about 25% on all cash ad- 

 vances made to him. 



It should be noted, however, that this was the rate per voy- 

 age, not per annum, and that the same rate applied uniformly 

 to all advances, whether made at the beginning or near the 

 end of a cruise. No attempt was made to proportion the 

 charges to the length of time during which the respective sums 

 remained unpaid. Thus if a foremast hand secured an ad- 

 vance of $10 soon after sailing, so that the debit remained ac- 

 tive for as long as forty months, his account would be charged 

 with an additional $2.50 (assuming the rate to be 25%); 

 while if he contracted another $10 debt three years later, and 

 only four months before the final settlement, he would like- 

 wise be given a debit of $2.50. Witness the typical case of 

 John Rodney, steward of the ship Canton during the years 

 1 852-1 855. From April 27 to May 8, 1853, inclusive, Rod- 

 ney obtained four advances of cash, aggregating $16,503 be- 

 tween April 27 and May 10, 1854, he drew $14,503 on No- 

 vember 28, 1854, the captain allowed him to have $24,503 and 

 on March 24, 1855, he was given a final $20.50. But on each 

 of these entries, scattered over a period of almost two years, he 

 paid interest at the uniform rate of 25%. 



Criticism of the heavy interest charges seems justified in 

 large part by this practice of levying uniform rates per voyage. 

 A charge of 25% to cover interest and insurance for a period 

 of three years was certainly not unreasonable. But the same 

 reasoning which justified a rate of 25% for three years neces- 

 sarily condemned it when exacted for a period of only one 

 year. When calculated on an annual basis, a percentage which 

 was moderate for a long period became extortionate and usuri- 

 ous for a short period. A whaleman who paid a charge of 

 25% for an advance extending over three full years was 

 paying interest at the rate of 8H% per year. But if he ob- 



