The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-03-26
WORDY COMBAT GROWS.
President Greene Writes a Bitter Let
ter to Supt. McNalL

webb McNall, superintendent of in
sufance, received from Jacob L.
Greene. president of the Connecticut
mutual Life insurance company one
letter which has not yet been publish
ed 1t was Mr.. Greene's response to
MT McNalPS request for information
concerning the buying up of jurors"
and the banquets to both witnesses and
jurors The letter has been made
public by attorneys representing the in
surance companies, and is as follows:
You ask that, as evidence of good
faith on your (our) part we furnish
you, for the Inspection of your ONCE
certified copies of all vouchers for, or
in their absence, an itemized statement
of, all expenditures of every nature
made by US in the Hillmon case from
the 9th day of March, 1879, down to
the present time, including payments
to physicians, attorneys, witnesses,
newspapers, banquets to jurors, etc;
saying that your office would like TO
know what these expenditures amount
to and for what purpose they We're ex-
pended
As you assume to regard the fur
nishing this information as an evidence
of good faith we presume you have
also called for the like information
from Mrs. Smith and the parties in in
terest in the Hillmon claim. We beg
to ask if you have yet received it. and
whether the information if received, is
to be open to US? Meantime permit
me to say we cannot see what evidence
OF good faith there can be in the fur
nlShing of such information. The ques-
ton is; Did John Hillmon die in time.
place and manner, as alleged, or did
ne not? We have repeatedly produced
IN court, in your very state, before
JurieS of your citizens so much and so
convincing evidence that he did not so
die, but, on the contrary, killed one Wal
ters and had his corpse used to uerson-
ate himself as a dead man, that at the
end of nineteen years no recovery has
been That haan nd iG 10
one question. 1t has cost US more than
we could wish to teach that kind of
SPECTATORS that they would better try
their games on some other company
than the Connecticut mutual: but that
is the lesson we shall go on teaching to
the end of the chapter, and cost what
1t may, it will be cheaper in the end
to our policy holders, as we'll as better
for public morals and the safety of
human life in general, to teach such
people that when they undertake
fraud of that sort they need to be pre-
pared to fight to the bitter end. The
items and the amount of our expendi-
ture in this matter have nothing to do
with the merits of the question.
OF course, your question insinuates
and is meant to imply that We have
expended undue amounts and for i'm
proper purposes; and it is put in that
way in the hope that. rather than rest
under the 1mputatIon' we will satisfy
your curiosity You seem to forget
that there are some things that
reputable men do not have to
deny; that mere slander does
not cease to to be nothing but slander
because an official, acting outside his
official power, chooses to adopt it by
innuendo. If we have suborned Wit
nesses and corrupted jurors and bought
up the Kansas press, would any state
ment we choose to make about it. in
response to any questions you might
ask, be worth anybody's belief? If we
have done any such thing, or procured
it to be done, your law provides pen
altieS and your courts are open. If
your question is intended for anything
but pure insult or prying. and there is
any evidence of our guilt, you know
where it is and can use it.
You are entirely right in saying
That this office should not be charge
able for what you fail to know We
do not mean to throw the burden of
our ignorance upon your office, nor
seek its enlightenment. In saying that
we We're not aware that your depart
cature, acting concurrently with but
outside of the regular courts, we simply
meant to put in the form of usual cour-
tesy the bald fact that your department
is not a court at all and that your
jurisdiction over the Hillmon case is
pure and unlawful assumption, and is
an attempt to force US out of The courts.
where we lawfully are, and to prejudice
the whole judicial machinery against
us in case We refuse to buy our peace
by submitting to your unlawful ac-
tion.''
Don't miss the big dance at Metro
politan hall Saturday evening March
q. Union orchestra, 20 men. Admis-