The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-03-31
Our New York Letter.
Oakley HaIl-LAife Insurance
PO1iticaI-CIub Amusements-
The Peuitent Tramp-Busi-
ness.
NEW YoRK, March "a, 1877.

The sensation of the week is the
disappearance of Oakley Hall, which
sc far, is unexplained. He was missed
Friday, and it was ascertained that
he had not been either at home or his
office for some days. Search was
made for him, in vain. Hall is, or was,
the most singular man in America. A
| splendid lawyer, ne preferred the
plaudits of dinner table of roysterers
to any triumph that could be achieved
at the bar. An astute politician, he
might have had any thing in the gift
of his party, and was elected Mayor
of the city, after filing other less i'm
portant places, but his love of good
fellowship came in and wrecked him
there. Either from good nature or
because he needed money, he al
lowed the Tweed gang to get control
of him, and he shared the odium of
the ring. He was tried for completely
in the great steal but acquitted it
killed him as politician and he re-
sumed the practice of the law. His
Bohemianism overcame him again,
and he got a craze for the stage. He
believed he had in him the elements
of ii great actor, and in spite of the
advice of friends, wrote play and
took himself the principal character
in it. 1t was fiat failure, and at the
end of three weeks he was forced to
go back to the law. And now he has
disappeared and no one knows where
he is. Some say that the return of
Peter b. Sweeny would put him in an
awkward position Others say that
an English actress has control of him;
Others that he is a defaulter, and dare
not abide an investigation others
that he has gone crazy and is wander
ing. Oakley Hall will probably turn
up in Europe, and will make himself
the centre of a circle there as he was
here. He has not committed suicide,
for he enjoyed life too much. His life
has been failure here, and instead
of attempting to amend it, he has
thrown off all restraints, and will live
as he pleases somewhere else. This
will be the true sequel to the Hall
mystery.
The life insurance companies are
disturbed, for the Legislature is in
vestigating them. 1t is shown that
some of the companies pay their pres
idents such salaries rs $37 800 per
year, medical examiners from $40, ZOO
to 1000, and the legal advisers of
the companies have an equally soft
thing of it. The public is excited,
naturally, but don't care so much
about the salaries as they do about
the other work some of the officers
have done. For instance, one presi
dent was paid $4,000 for wrecking
another company. The investigation
shows that it has been aregular thing
for two companies to combine, and
send out men to weaken confidence
in one of them, that majority of it's
policies might be bought up for little
or nothing, those who refused to be
so swindled being re-insured in the
company. 1t was a very
neat speculation if a company could
be so discredited that its policies
could be bought up at ten cents on
the dollar of their value. The search
ing inquiry now being made is a good
thing. The shysters in the business
will be made known, the weak com
panies will be weeded out, and those
entitled to confidence will be made all
the stronger and better.
Leaving out the disappointed De-
mocracy who expected places under
Tilden, and the almost as objection
able Republicans who make politics
a business, there is but one party in
New York, and that isa Hayes party.
Never was there a President so uni
versally popular. That portion of
the Democracy who are not place
hunters, believe that Hayes intends
to settle affairs, and that's what they
want. The Republicans believe that
he means to do it, and yet maintain
the principles of the Republican party,
aud they are enthusiastic in approval.
President Hayes has the city in his
hands. His stern adherence to his |
eon - fnrn.