Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-09
JOHN A. M'CALL.
The Story of a Busy Life and a Prominent
Young Mans Successful Career.

The Story of a Busy Life and a Prominent
Young Mans Successful Career.
No man in the state of New York takes
higher rank as safe and conscientious
expert in ife-insurance matters than the
Hon John A Mccall. His career has been
remarkable. He is still young man, and
has achieved success in life without ad
ventitious aids, and solely by his industry,
integrity. and by his intense application to
line of work for which he seemed 10 have
a special adaptation, l almost might say
genius.
He was born in the city of Albany, y. Y,
March ., 1S49. He had the benefits of an
education of the commercial college of that
city, from which he was graduated in 1865,
and accepted clerkship in the Albany as
sorting house Tor state currency. At this
point little incident changed his career
and started him in his successful life work.
He was in receipt OF salary of about nine
hundred dollars ! year, and a friend who
had been struck by his bright and winning
way, his industry and integrity, recon-
mended him to fill vacancy at a book
keepers desk of the Connecticut Mutual
Insurance company's agency at Albany, at
a trifling advance over the salary he had
been receiving.
This was his first association with the in
surance business, and from the outset he
was instinctively led to regard it as work
lOl Which, lC w dS SluS
quently he was associated with Levi Par
ker & Co in the insurance and real estate
business at Albany, remaining with them
until, at the request of Senator Blocker
Banks OF Albany, he was rendered clerk
ship in the state insurance department of
which the Hon. George w. Miller was then
the head He served in the actuarial branch
from the first of March, 1870, until Mr..
Mills resignation in May, 1872, and then
was placed in charge of the statistical work
of the department report by the acting
superintendent, the Hon. George B.
Church
Rapid promotion followed Mr.. McCall's
splendid work, and i'll the fall OF 1872 he
was appointed examiner of companies by
the Hon. O. w. Chapman, and on the resig
nation of the latter in 1876 when the deputy
superintendent, William Smyth of Owego
became acting superintendent, he at
once made Mr.. Mccall his deputy
and it is noticeable fact that this
responsible department remained i'll
his hands though he was known to be a
Democrat, through the administration of
two Republican experimentation +.
Smyth and Charles G. Fairman.
Mr.. McCall's prominent Identification
with the insurance department of the state
was cOntempOraneouS with the sensational
exposure of gross frauds and Irregularities
in both the life and fire insurance business,
and it was his marked success i'll unravei-
ing these frauds, and in Inercilessly expos
ing them to the scrutiny of the public that
attracted the attention of the greatest and
best insurance managers in the country.
Everywhere his reports exposing the short
ComingS of companies We're received with
highest praise, and 1t was as II new light
had dawned upon a darkened armament
Before his scrutiny every fraud was laid
bare and every iniquity brought to the bar
of public contempt.
Among the fire insurance companies
which were investigated by him in the
early days of his career were the following:
North Missouri of Macon, Mo-; Alemania
OF Cleveland: Atlantic and Pacific of Chi
cago; Franklin of Wheeling, Va. Hibernia
of Cleveland; Humboldt of Newark, \. j.;
National of Philadelphia; Penn of Phila-
delphia City of Providence: Globe of Chi
cago: Mississippi Valley of Memphis; Clay
of Newport, Ky; Citizens OF Newark, n.
j.. Peoples of Philadelphia and the Pater-
son of Paterson, n. j. These companies,
which had been successfully passing the
examinations of supervising officials of
other states by building up assets upon
bogus mortgages and raised" state stocks
and government securities, dropped into OBJ
livion under the scathing exposure Of their
methods by Mr. Mccall.
With the life insurance companies the
condition of affairs was even more startling.
From the time of his first examination of
life companies il 1873, eighteen such
companies in New York state and tif-
teen in other states We're closed by the
heavy hand of the law and prevented by
his reports and on his recommendation,
from continuing the issuance of policies. 1t
is unnecessary to speak of the efforts
made to stay the work of Mccall and to
prevent public knowledge of the condition
of some companies which had in their di-
rectorates men OF wealth and great politi-
cal influence. The pressure they brought
TO bear was tremendous. In every instance
it was firmly withstood. MIR. Mccall was
beyond the reach of friend or foe. He had
but one purpose, and that was to vindicate
the law, to uphold its majesty, to expose
the wrong-dOer. and to secure the right of
the policy holders.
His examinations of the American Popu-
lar, Security. Universal, Globe, and Knick-
erbOcller companies We're thorough and COM
plete. They resulted IN the utter demon
alization of the concerns. The disclosures
in the case of the Universal company were
made against the strongest pressure
brought to bear to stop them. But Mr..
McCall's firmEess and discretion, as well
as the facts he so strongly marShaled to
sustain his accusations. won for him a COM
plete victory. His report was published
complete in the state paper-a most I'M
evidence of public approval. The superin-
tendent of insurance paid an unusual COM
pliment to Mr.. Mccall by making the fol-
lowing statement in his annual report con-
corning the Universal expose:
An investigation such as that just CON-
pleted requires patience, assiduity. and en-
perience, combined with integrity without
a flaw, and these, the superintendent NAV,
not with any improperly, here state pub
licly. have been shown TO be possessed by
the gentleman, the deputy superintendent
of the insurance department, to whom he
has intrusted the responsible duty of car
rying out and executing this and other in
vestigations.'
But the end was not yet. Mr. Mccall
was not satisfied with an exposure of the
corruption of the life-insurance companies
that had fattened upon the credulity, the
confidence. and the ignorance of the public
He went TO the extreme of the New York
law and secured the indictment for perjury
of the officers of several companies, includ-
ing the American Popular, Continental
Life. Manhattan Fire, Security Life and
Annuity. AS the result DR.. T. 5. Lambert,
president of the American Popular; Presi-
dent r. NJ Case and Vice-PresiGent T K.
Wetmore OF the Security, were found
guilty The two former We're sentenced to
states prison for five years, and Mr.. Wet
more to years imprisonment in the peni-
tertiary. The effect of the extreme and
unusual action was most wholesome. 1t was
a strong and last warning to a host of
offending officials, and Mr.. Mccall deserv-
edly received the praises of the public and
the press for his prompt and fearless action
The legislature by resolution demanded
the publication of Mr.. McCall's reports on
the Knickerbocker and Globe Insurance
,5,aI haI tsNr., Ill l..