The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-05-24

Judge Hungerford asked the witness if he had gone to MT. Betts and asked him as to the truth of the stories going around before publishing Chose stories in his paper. Witness replied that he had not, but had gone to Governor Bulkeley and asked him about the story and that Governor Bulkeley told him that 1t was a d-n lie"
 Judge Hungerford-Mr. O'Sulllivan it amounts to this then. that you had the resolution introduced on the strength of what MT. Murphy had said?"
 "On that and stories which I heard from other quarters
 Clarence Deming was next called ana made statement concerning w. Y. Clark, a witness at the previous hear ing.
 Secretary Joel T. English of the Aetna Life Insurance company was next called and sworn. Witness test- fled that he was familiar with the DOCKS of the company and that no item or payment to MT. Alloway or MT. Dehllls appeared on the books Of the company and that no item of money pald to apy person on account of the settlement ol the suit appeared except $lb'ooo' court fees and fees paid for the company own attorneys. He stated that ne couio say nositively that no money had peel' maid that no such payment could po made without being disclosed on Vne books. o,No,,
 On cross examination by MT. ONen n,,tnoes said that he would bring the companys check stub book at ths heA. hearing showing the stubs or cnechs maid out within two months of the llihe when the $50 O00 is alleged to have peen naid Witness stated that amounts as iorea as s5000O were frequently sent !" New York. He was requested to prlns the book of check stubs immeolately' and retired to get the books. Whlie he was gone MT. Betts made statement after reading letter which ne hao re- ceived from Rosten l.. Ranson or New York who was president of the Connec- tic,1t Indemnity company in 1897, stat- ing that the secretary of the company was alone responsible for the report or the company for 1897, and that during his term as president of the company he was impressed with the fact that MT. Betts was performing the outles of his office with great fairness toward The company and with determination to do his whole duty to the public. MT. Retts' statement is published in full be- low.
 MT. Alling followed with brief state ment to the effect that the suit was finally settled along the lines on which
 if was commenced and said that the air was so reeking full of suspicion that 1t was difficult to make people believe that the suit was honestly prosecuted. MT, filings statement was as follows;
 Before it was decided to take any action against the Aetna Life lnsur- ance company, Mir. Betts requested me to see Governor Coffin, and l did so. stated the case to him. The governor was very desirous that no result should he reached which would shock the financial credit of he Aetna Life lnsur- ance company, pointing out what wide snread disaster would follow any seri- ous questions arising about the solVen- cy of an institution so large as thls company.
 remember that I told the governor that questions like this had alreaoy hean carefully considered by the insur- ance commissioner and his counsel. sa;d that we should try the ease upon inc theory that the Aetna Life Insur- ance company was entirely solvent and should so state on every occasion, and if it should ever be established that the practice of the Aetna Life ln- surance company in transferring paid- up polcies from the mutual to the sock department was wrong. the Aetna Lfa Insurance company would find us will ing to SO adjust matters as not to bring about the insolvency of either it's stock or mutual department.
 I mention this to show that from the outset of the proceedings in the case the insurance commissioner had had re- gard to all the interests that were ln- yoIved. In truth, we were dealing, not so much with the practical rights or the policy holders as we were with sound methods of carrying on the life insurance business. The transferring of assets from the mutual to the stock department would be only an addition to the surplus of the mutual depart ment. It WOulu llut HeSSSS'iiiS ii'Ni Ne'SN the rebate of dividend to the mutual policy holders; 1t would be for the di- rectors to determine how large the sur plus reserve of the mutual department should be, and a large surplus reserve is indispensable in the prosecution of life insurance so large as was that of the Aetna Life Insurance company.
 Moreover, there were several millions of dollars of life insurance policies in the stock department itself, all of which, presume bly,, had been taken out on the credit of the assurance that the stock department itself had large sur plus reserve. and it did not seem equit- able to press the doctrine of restitution from the stock department to the mu- tual department to such an end the re- suit of which would be disastrous to the policy holders of the stock depart ment.
 No individual policy holder in the mutual department could show that he had been distinctly injured from a pe- cuniary point of view, by this objec- tionable practice of the Aetna Life In- surance company. The policy at ma turity had always been paid, his rebate or dividend had always been respecta- ble in amount, the Aetna Life Insurance company standing in this respect, wei up among the first class life insurance companies of the country.
 These views were shared by the in- l<,rl, l,f