The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-07-24

We take from a New York Weehly
Journal of June l4th the 1ollowins
statement giving some interesting
figures on the so-called Lloyds whlch
seem to be doing some business
among the unwary. Figures are hara
facts to get over; the statement re-
mains unanswered and so far no suits
for libel have made their appearance
AN OPINION AND SOME REASON FOR
IT.
1t is our opinion that any one ac-
cepting a policy of so-called insurance,
in either the Bankers and Merchants
Lloyds, the South and North Amerl,,
can Lloyds, or the New York and
Chicago Lloyds, and paying for the
same rate of premium more than one
third of that required to purchase real
insurance in sound company, is a
fool for doing so.
These three concerns are all opera
ted by Whipple X Co., as attorneys ior
the individual underwriters composing
them. These individual underwriters
are distributed rather widely as to resi-
dence. Some of them live in this
State. and others are scattered ABOUT
in Illinois, Colorado, Alabama, Mime
sofa, Montana and Nicaragua. One,
we notice, whose place OF residence IS
given as this city, is described as
managing railroad down in Hondur-
as. This would seem to US strange; !;
but given a Lloyds, nothing about II
is strange.
Right here we recall decision of
the Supreme Court of Texas. The
case involved the validity of an award
of the stakes in free-for.all pie-eating
match. The former, but now defeated
champion challenged the award on
ground of foul play, in that in one lay
er of the pies operated upon by him
his teeth encountered q brass dog-col-
lar, whereby, although at that tine ne
was far ahead and deemed to be sure
winner, he was disabled and so lost
the match. 1t appeared in evidence
that the pies used in the contest were
of mince. The Supreme Court sus-
tanned the award of the judges, hold
ing that in tackling a mince pie the
bitter must be prepared for everything:
a brass dog.collar could not be deemed
foreign ingredient.
The analogy is plain in Lloyds
thereare no foreign ingredients; every
thing goes.
The firm ofiWhipple & Co., appears
to consist of three partners, namely:
F. R. Wipple, David r Casey and
Joseph L. Parrage. In all Of the
three Lloyds there are, together, nine
ty underwriters, and in each of the
three Lloyds each of the three part
ners figures as an underwater. This
is to say that these three gentlemen,
being IMPLICATED, constitute one
tenth of the financial strength of the
three Lloyds. They are one-tenth OF
it's "capitap'-for that is what lndivi-
dual liability is called in the bright
new lexicon of Lloyds.
In insurance, capital must nave
been actually paid in it must exist IN
tangible form ; it must be such that 1t
can be converted into cash and be US
ed to pay losses with ; it must not only
have been paid in, but it must be kept
unimpaired. Butin Lloyds things
are quite different. In u Lloyds the
fact is not essential, promise answers
every purpose; capital is what may be,
and of course what may not be. There
fore, it is quite in accordance with the
System" that Whipple & Co should be
not only attorneys and managers OF
these Lloyds, but also should be the
full tithe of their ability to insure.
In speaking of these matters we do
not call in question the excellence of
the gentlemen composing the firm OF
Whiprle & Co. All that we desire to
suggest is that, considering these
Lloyds all together as possessing, say,
a million dollars of capital" the ex-
cellence of Whipple & GO. is not quite
the same thing as one hundred thou
sand dollars in government bonds.
In conspicuously placed advertise
ment of these three Lloyds, which ap-
pears in the J. Of G. and G. b. OF
Monday last, and to which we are in
debted for much of our information
regarding them, it is stated that the
New South and North American has
leash assets for protection of policy
holders, $685., ,57O," and that the New
York and Chicago has the like to the
amount of "S2O1, 1862" With re.
spect to the Bankers and Merchants
leash assets" no definite information
is given, other than what is contained
in this paragraph:
1.-The above Underwriters subscribe
Five Thousand Dollars each as a
maximum liability ready to issue
policies of insurance on First-Class
Mercantile and Manufacturing Risks /;
also Cargoes and Hulls. Liberal lines.
Underwriters will shortly be increased
to thirty, making total Capital $780,
OOO.n
This paragraph is worth reading
over two or tt rec times and ponderlng,
because it contains the real soul and
substance of the Lloyds "system."
They (there are twenty two Of them,
including the three of Whipple d Co..
are all "ready to issue polices" as soon
as they have subscribed maximum
liability ~ They are fit to brave the
perils of either element, fire or water.
And they will write ''liberal lines"
too. Just as soon as they get eight
more subscribers their total capitaW
will be Sl5O,OO0. How easy to make
capital Why should there be COM
plaint of the scarcity of money, of the
expressions of capital? All that is
necessary is to get lot of fellows to-
gether and have them subscribe and
the thing is done; all requisite capital
is created. Let everybody do the
same, and poverty is abolished. This
is much simpler than Henry Georges
prescription.
And if insurance is to be made in
this way, then the Evening Sun was
entirely right the other day when it
declared that "the business of IN
surance is one of the simplest things