Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-11-21

ccivcd Is at once embodied for refer.
cscc I'm the Index. a gigantic com
pil3tion comprised I'm twelve fOllOs aud
kept FOR consultation I'm the reading
room. Thanks 10 the Index. an under
writer can learn 10y search which IS
only a matter Of moments where and
i'm what condition Is every vessel IN
the British mercantile marine and a
great number OF foreign ships. Indeed.
the movements Of some 100000 craft
are ChrOniclcd In these volumes from
hour 10 hour by large stan. Side by
side with the Index IS Iloyd's Cap
tainS' Register. a biographical die
tionary OF all certificatcd masters OF
the merchant service. containing every
detail Of their careers since The time
they received their certificates. BY or
der Of the government. all information
that reaches the state registrar gen
eral OF shipping and scamcn is nj once
furnished 20 LlOyd's. 50 that the die
tionary. I'm which over 10000 pages
are posted up i'm the course Of the year.
is as complete and as perfect as I'M
ccasing revision can make il. l may
add that there are about 10000 certif-
Gated masters Of the British mercan-
tile marine.
In classifying and registering ships
LlOyd'S uses various marks and signs.
Thus ships i'm the first class are noted
by the distinctive marks u L." But if
tire ship is set down rs a at Iloyd's''
il means that the vessel is not I'm good
80 .g.mH-
Therefore the addition Of the words sat
Iloyd's" is a stigma OF infcriority and
may be taken rs an indication that
further information OF a detrimental
character will be furnished regarding
the ship in question at LlOyd's." II
would require too much space TO give
i'm detail here the meaning Of the vari-
Gus letters and authorizations used by
Lloyd'S to designate the rating OF the
ship without exposing themselves 20
legal action by the owners. but l may
merely mention that the addition Of a
Maltese cross signifies that the vcSse!
has been built under special survey
and is therefore n particularly safe
risk.
on the ground floor in a special room
is installed an inquiry Office. at which
the friends and relatives Of those that
go down TO the sea in ships can learn
without charge whatever is known at
Lloyd's Of the Whereabouts and safety
Of the vessels which carry their hus-
bands. their brothers. their sons or
their lovers. Close by Is the chamber
Of horrors" where the kilograms Civ
ing details Of all disasters are posted
Up. whence the name Of the room.
Although primarily organized with n
view TO marine insurance, Lloyd's ex-
tends its operations to all sorts Of other
risks. Indeed il will underwrite al
most anything 1t will insure against
burglary, against its raining on n GER
tain day. In fact, 4 mere enumera-
ton Of the most curious risks would
be a wearying task. When insurance is
effected at Lloyd'S the procedure is diff
ferent from that Of an ordinary insur-
ance company, for Lloyd's does not
insure as a body, the business being
done 10y individual members. These
members split up the risk. Each takes
n small portion only. thus insuring sta
bility by the extension and consequent
curtailment Of the risk as far as each
Individual is concerned. The names OF
these members are indOrsed on the
policy, together with the amount OF
risk undertaken. They are written on
the policy one under the other-hence
the term of 'underwriter."-Ne York
Tribune.