The sun., 1900-09-27
TRADERS ms. co. AFFAIRS.
"WORLD" REPORTER INDUCED
LEADING MEN TO SUBsCRIBE TO STOCK.

The Conduct Of the Business was Given over
TO q brokerage Firm and tho Executive
Committee Had Little Troubie-An Investi-
CATION BY Col. Gardiner Il Under Way.
At the request OF the State Superintendent
OF Insurance District Attorney Gardiner be-
gan an Investigation yesterday TO determine
whether William A. Halsey, President OF the
defunct Traders Fire Insurance Company,
and Theodore Sutro, Its Secretary. wilfully
falsihed the last annual statement OF the COM
pany, which was issued ON Dec 81. 1859, and to
determine. also, whether the impairment OF
the company's t200.oOo capital 70 the extent
of over si9S.00o was due wholly or
In part to embezzlement, and II so
who stole the money All the papers in the
State Insurance Department that could be of
any use TO the District Attorneys Onice were
delivered to Col. Gardiner about noon aud
he turned them over to Assistant District Attor-
ney Unger, chief OF the indictment bureau, After
making cursory examination of the papers.
Mr. Unger stated that 1t would take him sew
erd days TO examine them carefully and that
he must make such examination before he
would be ready TO examine anybody connected
in any way with the company.
Col. Gardiner supplemented what his assis-
tant had said with the following statement.
Il am determined to probe this matter TO the
bottom. no matter on whom the axe may fall.
! will subpoena every available witness. II
anybody has violated the law, financial OF
social standing will not save him from prose-
ctItion II Mr.. [ niger finds evidence sufficient
to warrant action being taken by this office.
the matter will be presented TO the October
Grand Jury"
just how much knowledge of the companys
financial condition Mr Halsey and Mr.. Sutro
had when they subscribed TO the statement
in question could not be learned here yester-
day since neither man was intown. MIR Sutro
is In Beanlord. Mass. and is not expected home
for several days. MIR llalSey lives and doe bus
iness in Newark, but IL was said at his factory
that he had gone to Greenwood Lake. Aside
from these two SsGr, rram aPPe&lSd
terday's developments, that few, II any,
of the prominent men in the coupanys drec-
torate knew much Of anything about the con
ditiOn of the company or the business II did.
1t was not a large concern and the men whose
names gave 1t standing were Interested ~ 1t
eacn These men had larger and more i'm
portant matters to occupy their attention,
and they left the management Of tn, company
TO men paid for doing that work. When they
became convinced that the concern had been
badly managed. they disposed Of their hold
so far as could be learned yeIcrda,zu, Senator
Depew, Levi p. Nor o., Gen. H.. +. Tracy. the
Could. Warner Miller. Col. John jacob Astor
ana v neT men bl Il'llNlN'l'' N'l' hl llihHN'h
10 take stock in the Company .through the i'm
portunties Of Charlie. W. McMurran. who
1he Il 9S AG% t an
to become stockholdcrs in an insurance con pany
known as Traders Fire Iloyds which he or
forced forced out OF business, owing 10 a decision
Of the courts declaring it, charter Illegal, Nc
Murran turned the, company into a joint
Insurance Company, and got the same men
To become Stockholders OF the new company
McMurrrn Informed The srN last night that
Traders Firo Lloyds, each stockholder sub
scribing for 81. 900 Of the stock. He also said
that during tho existence Of the company each
one OF the stockholders drew out 81 900 In div
Company wa; formed McMur,an said that
agreed ar to take the balance standing to their
credit on the old companys books, amount-
ing to stooo each In stock IN me ,nS,s new com
each stockholder paid $4,000 into the treasury
of the new company and received eighty shares
Of the new stock. the stock being taken at sl2S
The number Of stockholders IN the new COM
pany. he said. was fixed at thirty. and each
stock Of the new company was t2oooOO, divided
into 1000 shares "Rd Wboa bSS nSS com6S0v OF sS
officers, 1t made deal with a. firm Of Insurance
brokers, Adams. Lockwood h Forman, to he
come. the general managers Of the Tradders'
business There was an Executive Committee
of the Board Of Direct0rs the chairman OF
which was William A. HaI.ey, the President
and j. seayer Page Of the =.
Adams, Lockwood formGn organized the
companys outside and ONCE stan and ran
the business. They made out reports and
statements and submitted then, 10 the TX
ecutive Committee. which accented them as
correct and let II g at that ne r,- Urn , had
and got a certain percentage of the premiums
for attending TO the business
In taking over the business Of the old COM
many. ali the unox xpred business OF the Traders
Fire LILO, ds was assumed in one item. on
The face Of things the taking over 81 this bust
ness caused all the trouble In the new COM
pany. lleavy losses in Baltimore, 50 II Is said.
wiped out the s5OOO0 surplus six months after
the new company hegnn doing business. Last
spring william Adams. tho senior member Of
the firm of general managers, Withdrew.
NcNurran said last night that. AZ the regular
meeting Of the directors last April 1t beclme
known that the company,s clnital was impaired
TO the extent Of about s7s 900 McMurran said
that two DAYS after the meeting Of the board
on April 20 l.. d. Garrett of J.. -. Garrett
A CO., 20 Liberty street made an offer TO buy
as ner cent. of the COmpanys stock at s2j a
share The proposition was accepted, all but
two of the stockh olGs ccprding 10 McMtrran.
selling their stock, All "ho sold resigned as
Mr. Garrett said yesterday that he only
took the stock TO carry through the oompany's
liquidation and that persons whose stock he
company's condition. He brought suit against
one of the stockholders and - going TO sue
the rest. A., ~,
Howard Gould, Theodore X. Pembrook, VIII
liam T Baker and Edwin Gould resigned from
the directorate last January. and mat Gen
Tracy Warner Miller, Senator Depew and
the rest resigned in June