The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-05-27

of the policies was wrong.
They are certainly correct, even If the
" efficient and popular young officer" had
received the money himself.
The next charge they find proven is " the
illegal purchase at u higher rate than its
surrender value, of policy upon the life
of u trustee its subsequent restoration
when he was actually moribund [dyingl
and its payment as death claim" For
this, the committee say, " the whole res
possibility appears TO rest upon President
Winston"
The next charge proved was a. the distri-
button of bonus of over $1S9,000 among
the officers of the company in addition to
their ample salaries, and its concealmcnt
from the policy holders by charging far the
greater portion of il to dividend account. ="
This operation the committee regard as
corruption.
There were some policies with whose
handling the committee was not pleased !;
a disbursement of $4,000 iregularly to
agents funds apparently used in the
legislature, and particularly $1,000 to the
late Superintendent Miller in connection
with bill of his in the legislature.
They sharply criticise the acts of Prcsi-
dent Winston and Vice President McCurdy
in collecting through their agents and by
their instructions proxies empowering those
two officers to vote for trustees. and en-
mailing them to assume the position OF
masters instead of servants. The stock
holders did not foresec the use that would
| be made of their proxies, but the practice
of giving such proxies is injudicious, and
| they should maintain their right to elect
trustees without reference to the wishes of
the officers.
The committee conclude that jury
would not be likely to award
Winston near as much damages as he
claims. and that therefore the bail demand
ed of English is excessive and oppressive
and he ought to be relieved. And further
chat while President Winston is nominal
ly the plaintiff in the suit, the proceeding
are in fact conducted by and at the ex
pcnse of the Mutual Life Insurance com
pany." The committee then append ;
moral that personal liberty may b'
abridged and unjust and illegal punishment
inflicted through forms of laws by
powerful corporation arrayed against al
individual" All of which is well enough
for the general public but how does i
strike the stakeholder z Stephen Eng1sl
has been in jail four months for telling TIN
stockholders in the Mutual Life Insuranc
company that Winston was sluicing som
of their dividends into his pocket tn
committee find ''that there is much founda
ton in truth forth allegations" of English
and now the stockholders are INFORMED
that they have been contributing from thei
dividends to protect Winston from eX
posture to themselves the only partie
directly interested
The GLOBE cares nothing about the Mt
tual Life or any other insurance company
but it sees in these transactions anOthe
| VI S'h VI vi
times the hardness and willingness wit
which men having in their hands the de.
tinies Of large public interests treat them
an illegal extent as sources of private prof
There is another lesson to be learne
from it. The same set of men must not /
kept too long in the same set of office
Human nature will not bear the strait
Average honesty will begin to get leak
after about two years. Winston has bee
in half dozen years. His temptations al
uncommon, because the revenues are in
mense, the company being among the ricl
est in the United States or the world. !
the midst of this inllowing stream of none
President Winston stands invulnerabl
shielded against responsibility by his acr'
of proxies-an he is not an angel.