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_ * ■w ENGLISH MUTUEL COMPANY Starting Price Bookmakers Protective Answer to Betting by Cheque Decision. LONDON. F.ngland. February 25.— With the in-eoriHiratioii of the "Hig Four" Pari-Mutuel, Lt., as a stock company and the op.-ning of the sale of stock to the public, the development of the pari-mutuel in Knglaml has entered a new phase. The opening of the stock-selling drive was signalized by a gathering of about fifty men interested in the new venture at the Savoy Hotel today. The aims of the new organization were explained at length by several of the chief sponsors and chances of profitable opera t ion under the nmtuel system were declared most bright. The company is capitalized at 00,000 and 80.000 sliaies have been placed on the market at their par value. 88. The purchaser of the shares pays fifty cents a share on application, with the balance due ubject to call in installments. The share holder-; receiv • no advantage over other clients in betting operations. The purpose of the incorporation of the new company is not to raise money for the mutucl operations, it is explained, but rather to bring the venture before the public and secure a larger clientele. The "Big Four" pari-mutuel was started last July by four of the leading "starting price" bookmakers of England as a means for protecting the "belting by cheque" decision. Operations of the new venture while the racing season was in full swing were large, according to report. At least 5,000 a day was handled, of which 5 per cent went to the company as profit. Figuring on this basis, a clear profit of ,500 dally would not be unusual. The 5 per cent commission «m 0,000 would be S2.50O. and epenscs, it is said, would not average ,000 a day. With an increase in clientele, which is confidently expected by the backers of the project as a result of the incorporation, the possibilities of financial return on Hie venture appear to be great. Martin Henry Benson, better known as "Douglas Stuart" of starting price fame, is the chairman of the board of director and the moving spirit of the organization. Many of the prominent book-luakers who hold -hate- in the company are understood to oppose the pari niutuel. but the risk of losses from Hie "lieiting by cheque" decision and t lit- comparative -eciirity of the income from the mutuel system have played a considerable part in overcoming their hostility. The new compan.t guarantees that the mutuel return on a bet will be at least equal to the starting price, but the pvMjaetaa states that on the average the returns are 30 to 50 per cent greater than the starting price. Kfforts are being made to ar-i.-inge lor a daily examination by an accountant of the pari-mutuel operations for the purpose of preparing accurate mutuel odds for publication in the press.
