get handguns they’d switch to morendeadly sawed-off rifles or shotguns.)nSo, as I said, Florida’s experiment isnworth a try. I do have one suggestion,nthough. It’s a mushy, liberal. Great Societynkind of proposal, probably just anreflex left over ftom the bad company Inkept in the 60’s, but I can’t help it.nLook here: the price of a good pistol,nplus $145 for a permit, plus two hours ofnlessons — that’s a lot to ask from poornfolks. They’re probably the ones whonneed protection the most, too. They’vengot no perimeter alarms, no chain-linknfences, no Dobermans between themnand the predators. Do we want themndriven to bootleg dealers, to back-alleynarmorers? To Saturday-night specialsnthat blow up in your hand? Of coursennot. I say if we can put a man on thenmoon, we can put a decent weapon innevery glove compartment. Come on,nFlorida — how about gun subsidies fornthe poor?nJohn Shelton Reed is armed, but notndangerous, in Chapel Hill, NorthnCarolina.nLetter From Albionnby Andrei NavrozovnAnatomy of a SwindlenI never thought I would be a sucker fornroyalty, but there is now a good reason tonadmire Prince Charles. He hates RichardnRogers.nIn August, the British press reportednon the dismay of the nation’s “architecturalnprofession, flinching at the prospectsnof another outburst along the linesnof ‘monstrous carbuncle’ (the Prince’sndismissal of an extension at the NationalnGallery), ‘glass stump’ (his view of a plannfor Mansion House Square), and ‘Victoriannprison’ (his description of a newnPlessey factory in Plymouth).” Apparently,nPrince Charles has intervened innplans for a multimillion dollar project tonredevelop the “area” around St. Paul’snCathedral. The “area” in question happensnto be London’s oldest and mostnbeautiful, and the Prince’s concern wasnclear to all, including those who hadnwatched his wedding at St. Paul’s sixnyears earlier. Except, of course, for thennation’s architectural profession: “Architectsnare getting fed up with the Prince’sninterference,” said Michael Manser, anpast president of the Royal Institute ofnBritish Architects (RIBA), adding: “Thentrouble is, he has tremendous influencenamong people generally.” One proposal,nfavored by the judges, called for a ring ofnofEce blocks around the cathedral. Anothernfavorite, still undisclosed at thisnwriting, was an entry by Richard Rogersnand Partners.nRichard Rogers is the subject of thisncolumn because of a coincidence. A fewnweeks ago, I happened to review thenpress clippings and public relations departmentnmemoranda of Lloyd’s of London,nwhose new city headquarters Rogersndesigned, over the period of 10 years:nfrom the inception of the project to itsncompletion. What is true of Rogers, itnseems, is true of much of today’s architecture,nart, and literature.nBy 1977, when our story begins,nLloyd’s of London had been an internationallynfamous insurance market and anfinancial power second only to the Banknof England for nearly a century. Itnstarted, 300 years ago this year, as anriverside coffeehouse, where merchantnseamen could exchange shipping gossipn-..’••i^n• ‘•••••• •/•• .. • ::^^,t’; ^Si^-.SrJiV.^’i^-.’.•••n•. “*’ y- -^f-McmiiU;nr-it:.^u^5^Eij§.i;-:.:-n•’ !^3^^”?nii^^yr.n^Tmr’n•^ -“- tti-Bnand later obtain insurance cover for theirnvessels and cargo. Despite the passing ofncenturies, Lloyd’s (incorporated as “ansociety of underwriters” by an Act ofnParliament in 1871) had brought itsnunique tradition into the 20th century,nrefusing to become a limited-liabilityncompany and remaining, essentially, anplace—where its members, liable to thenfull extent of their personal fortunes,ncould gather and do business. Since thenmembership continued to grow, it wasnnot surprising that between 1928 andn1977 the bustling marketplace had outgrownnits physical surroundings fourntimes. This time, it all began with anlunch.nThe idea was to seek “professionalnadvice,” and a deputy chairman ofnLloyd’s found himself sharing the intellectualnequivalent of celery soup withnGordon Graham, then president of thenaugust RIBA. His “professional advice”nwas simple enough: a list of six architecturalnpractices. From these, Richard Rogersnand Partners was eventually chosen.nThe six participants received, under thenconditions of the competition the wisenMr. Graham devised, 10,000 poundsnLloyd’s historic low profile gives way to architect Richard Roger’s imposingninside-out design.nnnir*n”#^11 *’- i?r*nJANUARY 19881 43n