Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-31
MARINE LOSS HUGE
British Underwriters Hardest
Hit Last Year.
LOSSES MANY MILLIONS
Romance Associated With the Lutine
Bell in London, Which Records
Arrivals of Overdue Ships.
Special Correspondence " The Star.

| Special Correspondence of The Star.
LONDON, January is. 1913.
To the uninitiated who happened to be
visiting or passing the staid precincts OF
Lloyd's when two strokes of ships bel
| reverberated through the building re-
Gently the conduct of the habitues OF
the temple Of shipping must have seemed
little short of amazing. Respectable
underwriters and brokers jumped up and
cheered like schoolboys. and then ran
to learn what they were cheering for.
For they. the regulars" recognized the
sound of the Lutine bell which always
means intelligence Of the safety of YES
sci. hopes of which have been practically
abandoned.
Few old ships bells have attached to
them even a spice Of the romance which
clusters about the clumsy and somewhat
Clipped and damaged relic whose tongue
brings such welcome news. The romance
Of the Lutine bell goes back to the lat
ter end Of the eighteenth century, for
somewhere in France the bell was then
shaped prior to use on the thirty-two-gun
frigate La Lutine. 1t is very ordinary
bell of the period, with just a wreath
of laurel on one side and a cross on the
came into the possession of the English.
and on the morning u October ., 1899.
the Lutine set sail from Yarmouth roads
with large amount of specie OH board,
estimated at nearly million sterling.
the property of the London merchants
trading with Germany.
She was wrecked the same night off
Vlieland at the entrance to the Zuyder
Zee, and. with one exception. all hands
were lost. Efforts to salve her precious
burden IN
this day. and considerable sums have
been realized, but the sands of the Zee
still hold the bulk of the treasure. In
1853 an expedition recovered the bell and
part OF the rudder. together with some
coins. and the bell found it's way to the
committee room at Lloyd's.
Placed Many Years Ago.
Precisely how long it so remained there
would seem to be no assured record, but
many years ago 1t was placed In it's pres
ent position on the screen at the entry
to the underwriters room. Enshrned in
heavy metal framework of classic de-
sign. 1t is a companion to the enscrOlled
clock Oh the opposite part Of the screen.
Immediately behind the bell is the rOs-
trum. AS soon definite news reaches
Lloyd's of the safety and position of a
steamer or sailing vessel long overdue
the bell is twice solemnly sounded, and
the caller Immediately announces the
facts concerned, giving all available par
ticulars.
The bells last voice heralded the state
ment that the Snowdon Range. which
had been fifty-twO days out of Philadel-
phla on q. voyage to Leith, had been
towed to Queenstown. Ship and cargo
are valued at somewhere near G1OOOOO
and for weeks past as much as 50 and
NO per cent for reinsurance had been re-
fused. The bright little cherub who
sits up alOft" who piloted the Snowdon
Range safely home after an extraordinary
voyage must have spared a thought for
the underwriters, who have had a par
ticularly bad time lately.
Never since the business of covering
ships against loss or damage began i'm a
Tower street coffee house, nearly two
centuries and half ago, have the losses
of Lloyd's and the marine insurance com
panieS been so heavy as they were last
year. The loss of the Titanic. which
cost the underwriters G2OOO, 600, alone
would have been bad enough to spoil the
records OF any year. but had it not been
Tor some remarkably fine salvage opera
t1ons-notably the recovery of the bullion
from the p. & o. liners Delhi and
Oceana, and the relocating Of the Ca
madam Northern liner Royal George-as
well as several sensational arrivals Of
overdue vessels. the liabilities Of under
writer's would have been much more Sc
riOus.
According to an official estimate, the
loss Occasioned by the more important
casualties during the past twelve months
was 86,6S4, 500
Losses May Exceed Estimate.
There is reason to fear, however that
the amount will be largely increased. as
the result of losses that are still unde-
termined. 1t is believed, in fact. that 1t
he n
instance. the Clan liner Clan Mackenzie.
which is stranded on the coast of Spain,
and which is valued with cargo at nearly
12UUo. has been withdrawn from the
market as uninsurable. Then the Har-
rlson liner Workman, ashore near Rio de
Janeiro. and worth at least G15O,OOO, will,
1t is thought, have to be abandoned,
while the cargo steamer Nottingham,
insured for G13OOOO, has, it is now be-
neved foundered in the north Atlantic.
And there are other ships whose fate is
uncertain.
Altogether there We're 6,O31 casualties to
vessels of 500 tons gross and upward,
collision being responsible for 1915
strand1ng for 1,747, weather damage for
]. 1863, damage to machinery for 56S, and
fire and explosion for 800. No fewer than
~ ships-S2 British and LAG foreign-of
4S', loS tons, We're totally lost. AS many
as 80. OF 4232 tons net. WERE in fact.
posted missing" by the committee of
LlOyds.
notwithstanding their trying expert
ences. scarcely day passing without one
misfortune or another, it may be added.
to the honor Of the underwriters. that
every claim was promptly met and in
full. Premiums have. however, been ad-
vanced both on liners and on tramp
steamers. while the value of tonnage for
insurance purposes has also been in
creased. AS matter of fact, the White
Star line has just had to pay 29s per cent
Tor the renewal of it's policies for the
ensuing twelve months. which compares
with los, the rate accepted before the
loss of the Titanic. only vessels of over
92O.OOO value. however. being insured.
AGAINST LOAN SHARK BILL.