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WORLDS GREATEST GAMBLING GROUP. Some Details of the Plan on Which Lloyds, of London, Work. Theyll bet -on -anything, wiU the Lloyds. Its tic biggest gambling house the world has everknown. The Lloyd headquarters are In London, but Lloyd agents, and brokers are in every part of the world. Every one has heard of the Lloyds. Some of their marvelous financial manipulations have startled the world time and again, for the Lloyds are adventurers in the world of finance and the world .at large has always . manifested a deep interest in adventure of ihy kind. . The Lloyds are 220 years old. That is. the first notice of the Lloyds was given that long ago when: an informal meeting was held In the coffee house of Edward Lloyd, a Welshman, in London. England. There were merchants, shippers. Insurance men ana others present at that -memorable meeting. They had been accustomed to gather at the coffee house of kthe society grew and waxed strong, doing what-taight be termed insuring. It didnt ..become an incorporated association, though, until 1S71. when parliament granted a charter to the organization. Ibis charter gave them the three-fold privilege of "writing marine Insurance." "protecting the interests .of members" and "the collection and diffusion of intelligence and Information with respect to shipping. Marine insurance is the only insurance which has the backing of the Lloyds. But they always par any wager thev make, providing they lose, and their business lias gone on for years and years on an unquestionable basis. However, should the Lloyds ever take a notion not to pay a bet. the: winner couldnt collect from them. They simply keep on doingbuslness on their reputation. .,, There are 2.500 members to the Lloyd organlza-6u. but only COO of these are underwriting. members. The initiation fee is between ;,000and .000. There are. also subscribers who pay 5 annually. This gives them the privilege Of betting on any offer sent in bv the Lloyds agents. The initiation fee of from between o;000 and S50.000 is to secure payment. in case of loss. The subscriber has no voice In the management of the institution. He pays 5 a year for the jirlvllege of -taking chances on insurance. The ,members are divided into two classes: Those who pay :0 each year and who do not underwrite and those who do take , part in the management and share in the profits pf the society. The underwriting members who pay 00 annually and also put up from 425;000 to 0,000 andU a guarantee fund." , . The offer to bet on an election in this country Ob: not imide by the society, but by Individual jnem-ptit.. Some members take insurance on ships, others I So houses; others on anything, everything, anywhere in the wide, wide world. The Advisory Committee .assumes no responsibility jo the insurer nor to the insured . beyond advice based on the reports of its agents. Whether. these reports are based onthe sentiment of Wall street or on that of the middle west, will tegulate their lose, or gain in the election of tbe contest between Tafl and Bryan. The members who underwrite .fire and marine lnsurnucu seldom underwrite stocks, -weather, racing or election risks. In either case the losses are guaranteed beforehand, not by the Lloyds, but by the deposits of the individual underwriters, Many Americans are "members of the Lloyds .society, .for in, the American the love for excitement is strong and betting furnishes it in ;great hig heaps. Its this same excitement which causes men to wager money with the Lloyds. The sums are generally. . large, for tho Lloyds wont take small bets. .Thev are. In for- big game and men with plenty of money play It. .With many of those wlio inako wagers with the Lloyds Its not the sum of money they may win from the British socierr. but tho excitement. that the: thing furnishes them that is worth the- money risked. At least so they argue., Its 4 the same scheme that marks attendance at a horse race or a sport event of any kind. A race Is five times more .interesting to a man when he has a few dollars or cigars on a contestant than when hes 6t betting on the Tesult. Every morning at Lloyds the different propositions are made public. The members hear what wagers are wanted from every part of the globe. Every member who is doing "insurance" has the privilege of accepting or refusing an offer. After all the offers have been accepted the Lloyds are prepared-for new ones. , A new factor in politics this year Is the "Lloyd system." , In New York they dont call It betting but use the more gentle term, of "Insuring." Those who want to wager on the outcome of the coming presidential election dont hunt up some willing gentleman and say: "Ill .bet you that Bryan will be elected." or "iat Taft will be elected." whichever the case might be. They dont make a- bet. shake hands or hunt .up a stakeholder, but the man who wants to lay a wager on the election goes to an Insurance broker and asks for a "P. P. I.." or, in other words, "a policy with proof of interest." The merchant who deals In busts and lithographs of William Howard Taft or the publisher who has a consignment Of state, documents by the" Republican candidate to unload on the public, could well Insure himself against financial losses by Bryans election by taking a few risks .with the Lloyds, who are . on the other end of the cable in London and always willing to oblige any inquirer with whatever long chances he wishes. Those who want to insure against the election of Bryan dont have to show that he has been damaged. The possessor of a policv is sufficient proof, but under the English laws they cant be legally collected. They have exactly the same standing as betting under the laws of Michigan or an I. O. U. check after a night session of poker. Those who dont care to lose, bet with the Lloyds. Supposing a man who has enormous business interests felt that with the election of Taft he would lose several thousand dollars. So to guard himself against this loss he goes to the Lloyds, and takes out an insurance on Taft. He insures Taft for election. He will probably pay sixty per cent, or something like that. If Taft is elected, and If he has insured him for enough, he will be able to come out even, for he will have in his purse the money which he will lose as a result of Tafts election. On the other hand, if Taft is defeated he will lose the premium on the insurance, but he will have coming to him what he would have lost .if Taft had been elected. So the man gets enough financial condolence. Edward Lloyd insured nothing but that Java should be good and a few minor things. The original members of the society were sedate persons, who talked of pledging their fortunes against the perils of the sea insuring vessels - against the elements, and they were themselves interested in many ships. The Lloyds grew rich on the ship Insurance business. There was a great, wide field ahead, so they seized opportunity -by the horns and engaged in other insurance ventures. Today they cover , almost every line over which fate rules. The Lloydii draw the line at the roulette wheel and horse racing. They wont gamble on a horse winning or . losing a race, but the.v!ll insure any horse entered in a race against breaking its leg or being overcome by some physical misfortune. The owner of a great thoroughbred may feel confident that his horse will win a race: in fact, he may know that nothing except sudden lameness or a like misfortune can prevent his horse from winning. So he goes to the Lloyds, insures his horse against misfortune, and if it does happen to prevent the horse from winning the Tace, the owner will win anyway. He simply cant lose. The Lloyds are a canny lot of Britishers. They know the uncertainty -of the great American public and they get a fortune out of this knowledge. , They are aware that even a twice defeated candidate stands a good chance of election in America, and they are a little shy about taking a big amount of money Insuring Taft against defeat. One of the earliest examples of political insurance known on the American side of the Atlantic occurred during tho presidential election of 1904.. During the campaign that year one man had bet ,000 that Roosevelt would be elected. He considered the bet as safe .as though he had the money In his own pocket till It occurred to him that if Roosevelt should drop dead hed lose the ,000. A friend suggested to Mm that he go to the Lloyds and Insure the life of Roosevelt. This he did. It didnt take much money. The Llovds were willing to risk .000 on the life of Roosevelt, at a small premium. So If Roosevelt had died the bettor wouldnt have lost his ,000. as the Lloyds would have paid him that much in insurance. The same policies might be applied in the present campaign. Policies could be written against Bryans voice giving out or against Mr. Taft perishing of Inanition. One of the bets that set the world talking about the ILloyds occurred1 during the first trial of Harry K. Thaw, when the British society wrote a policy against the conviction of the slayer of Stanford White. The premium charged was thlrtyKrae and one-balf per cent., the agreement calling for a payment on the face of the . policy if the prisoner was executed. Who made this bet with the Lloyds Is still a mystery. But the shrewdness of the Lloyds was here again shown. They had full knowledge of the possibilities of jury trials in New York City, and they knew well enough what chances Thaw stood. The premium, which was a high one. was the same as offered in the "New York betting rings some time later. One of the frequent bets made by the Llovds Is In regard to the elements. If any one in Europe wishes to pull off a big event and stands a chance of losing money should it rain he goes to the Lloyds and insures .himself against the elements. The Lloyds will bet that it wont rain, the man will bet that it will. If it rains the Lloyds lose and he is partly recompensed for the loss through lack of attendance caused by the rain.
