Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-03-04
ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE FAMOUS
HILLMOS CASE. 3
WEBB M'NALL TAKES A HAND.
REFUSES TO LICENSE INTERESTED
INSURANCE COMPANIES. .
says They Have Not Dealt Fairly With
Mrs. Hiumon-McsaIrs Right to
Set Himself Up Jas Judge
I'm the Case-Is All
Questioned.

Insurance Commissioner Webb McNail
to-day refused 10 issue licenses TO the
New York Life Insurance Company, MI
tuaI Life Insurance Company of New
York and the Connecticut Mutual Life In
surance Company because of the Hillmon
litigation. The letters are all alike, and
read: 80
-Gentlemen:-Your annual statement for
fhc year ending December 81. 1896 with
draft in the sum of 500, was received sew
eraJ days ago / now return to you my
ofder of your company. and will say that,
on evidence satisfactory TO TINS depart-
mont, ! am satisfied that your C3nipaeey nippsie
Mrs. Sally Z. Hillmon, in refusing TO pay
the death loss, and in the litigation OF the
ssme. pertaining 10 her deceased husnaht; s,,a a.
herce this department refuses 10 issue 10
the New York Life Insurance Company d
license TO do business in this state-for the
ensuing year. very Teseer,apinyc esnnatintecndent.
The effect of this refusal to grant u
censes 10 do business effectually bars the
companies from the state, Unless the COURT
claimed that the superintendent has alb,
soI,Ite authority in the matter, ana
there is no appeal. frcm his, nils lees lees
ion There is a supreme court ruling pear
ing directly on this question in case that
came up when d. w. Wilder was insurance
commissioner: The OPINION IN onG ,ns ss s to The
authority Of the insuranseI commission II y
held tkat the commissioner IS tne sSsofi
Judge OF the solvsncf OF - INSURANCE ran .son,i @
be SATISFIED before a license issgrarle led.s on
evidence satisfactory to hin lisefse M may NAY
stems in granting, refusing or erevokifg the
authority of insurers invokes the exercise
Of discretion and 5aasns1i a1one wnis No Z appeal
from his determination Is given, nor any
power of review in any other onicer OF
he s5fs 4 fyd the determination fsi Eearhed
calling for the exertises Of. pftieia lsedg.
Inet the srotiyss which aSt9a,e priape ,an
not open to fnquify q the ne ac.'oh u So
oamut ON the osfser hand. II is ccntended chat
while the eeflmissloner may fss RAJ ,s;al .soiy
ercy and his decision is flnal: sthl outside
the opposition of financial standing the com,
missioner Is not supreme ana d,as, may oe caiieu
This view Of the law has BEEN sustalned
by Two trial courts if-sthis county, These
very companfes obtained from JudgesJ ohn-
son. son. Of Tie old Shawnee circuit court. a
temporary injunction agamst snlns-, IN
sIirance commissioner under Lewellins, 10
prevent Snider from taking any action on
This Hilinon case, and Judge Hazen after
ward made the Injunction perpetual, ana It
is stili in force, unappealed- from:
The Hilln1cn case is. one OF the most
famous in life insurance history. John w.
HiilmoH Of a1 LaTEsnss aha sappeaTed neaspd
simultaneously in Southwestern Kansas IN
March, 1873 One of them-Mrs- Hillmon
SAYS HiIlrnon and the insurance companies
say Waltels1wass slllea eo,nfv m cdmP HIImon 9h
shortly Lefore going TO the Southwest, had
insured bis life IN three companies for an
aggregate OF f25000. The insurance COM
panies' theory is that Hillrnon and his
PARTNER Jnhn H. Brown, murdered Walters
and that Brown palmed OFF the body as
that of ff.llmon in ofder tolcollect the IN
sTifsrce Mrs Hiliuion alleges that her
husband accidentally shot himself IN pull
ing a gun out OF a wagon, ana tnat
Onn n r1n
Size sued on the I.ulic,es and the case has
been tried 1--WE times each trial consuming
several weeks On the first two trials the
Jury hung; on the third trial Judgment for
the fun amount was awarded to Mrs. Hill
mon, but the case was appealed to the
United States supreme. court on writ OF
error and returned for retrial On the fourth
trial the Jury stood eleven TO one for
verdict for Mrs. Hillrnoh, and on the fifth
trial last year. the jury stood seven to
fiVe in her favor. The sixth trial of the
case IL set for the 'June-tern of the federal
court at Leavenworth. =
tity of the person killed IN Barber county.
concerning which there Is the most con-
Trajectory testimony. Some years ago, an
alleged confession was made by John H
Brown Hiiimon's partner, to the effect
that he and Hillmon entered into con-
spiracy 10 collect the insurance on Hill
mons life through the murder. of Walters
On the strength of this confession. Mrs.
HflImon was induced to surrender her pol
icies to the COMPANIES i AND to ssgn g alde a for
that the release was obtained through
fraud.
Mrs Hillmon has remarked and is now
the wife of a Leavenworth, Kas., barber
named Smith, Her interest in any settle
ment that may now be made viii be very
rneager, agreements having been entered
into whereby her attorneys and others who
have advanced money TO fight the case
= are TO pocket all but a small portion of
whatever cash may be forced out of the
companies. The amount sued for now
amounts, with interest, to nearly 5000
Horace X. Lyon, resident manager of
the New York Life, was seen last night at
his home, 620 Tracy avenue. He said re-
Earding the order of State Superintendent
of Insurance McNali:
Unless the order is rescinded. the three
companies affected VIII be compelled 10
cease doing business in. Kansas I'VE can
not do business without license, and the
SUPERINTENDENT OF insurance simply refuses
us a license. expect to receive instruc-
fions from headquarters tomorrow. 1t is
probable that the three companies will
unite in legally resisting the order. based
on decision which we do not believe will
hold
The New York Life writes about s. 100 00l
annually in Kansas. the Mutual about $780,
600 and the Connecticut Mutual about $780,
900. All the local agents are waiting tc
hear from headquarters before 1t will be
decided whether policies now in force In
Kansas will be cancelled. sG
The New York Life has no state agent
I'm Kansas but there are agents in all the