New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-22
PURCHASES FROM MORGAN.
His Profits Turned Back By Insur+
ance President.

Insurance routine rather than sensation
marked Yesterdays session Of the Armstrong
committee George ". Perkins who resumed
the stand, spent the whole day in explaining a
number of transactions. all Of which have been
discussed before His testimony ranged from
an explanation of the "jont account methods
"a. the organization or the insurance agencies
Mr. Perkins was notably milder and less forceful
than at his previous appearance. and Mr.
Hughes checked his few attempts TO take the
lead with a certain severity. In fact Mr. Per-
kins's quiet demeanor was in such contrast 10
the stump speeches Of his previous appearance
as to cause general comment
From the point Of view OF the COMMITTEES.
which is engaged in probing methods as wen as
scandals. the testimony of Mr. Perkins regarding
the "ioint account was regarded as the most
important feature Of the day Mr. Perkins tes-
tilted on this point and maintained through a
long series of transactions that in joint account
affairs the New-York Life usually put up sum
Of money covering the amount Of bonds pur-
chased to the account Of both the company and
the broker sharing in the transaction shared
the responsibility with him for any loss and
divided the profits with him. usually equally IN
return for his supplying, first, the tip OF ths
chance to make money on such proceeding
and second his facility for making a markes
and disposing OF the securities. Mr.. Perkins
showed that these transactions Iletu DSSll R-N--
liable for the New-YorN Life
Under the head of what Mr.. Perkins described
&C unfinished business" he testified that J. p
MORGAN &, Co had charged the New-York Life
Soee e7 interest for that famous SS00OOO "Navi-
cotton syndicate deal" in which Mr.. Perkins
bought bonds for J. P. Morgan from himself
nc representative Of the New-York Life and Fa-
1.arsod the proceedings two days later after
the repnrt to the State Superintendent OF In
s,,rance had been made. A whole series OF
similar year end" transactions. subsequently,
reversed. was developed. One such was loan
Of $50 600 10 John H. Hegeman president OF
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The
money was loaned, repaid and reIoaned and Is.
still outstanding. No adequate reason for this
apparent juggling was produced.
TRANSACTIONS NOT CLEARED UP.
The Hartman S5OOOOO loan was touched on
but not cleared up The mystery attending the
unloading of the New-Orleans Terminal dad
horse account upon the Newly ork Life by tho
New-Yorl Security and Trust Company was
dealt with only far enough to show that here
also there had been a remarkable shifting OF
possession to a broker and employment OS
his cash. covered by a subsequent loanp at the
time of the annual report
At the outset of the hearing Mr.. Hughes put
John F. Mccullough on the stand to testify re-
garding the Hamilton affair. Mr.. Mccullough,
who represented himself as a stenographer OK
twenty years experience in Judge Hamiltons
employ, failed TO recall any check transactions,
deposits anything of any impOrtanoe. He
admitted that he might have deposited checks
Of 100000 10 Mr.. Hamilton's account but, al
though he said his own salary was only $40 q
week, these sums had not made any impress
sion on his mind About the only importans
fact gathered from his testimony was that Mr.
Hamilton also had an account with the Albany
Trust Company. and that this account was now
below 5000. showing that little OF the S235Ooo
remained In Albany
There were only two incidents IN the day
OF more than passing interest. one. when Mr..
Perkins calmly announced that Mr.. Hughes had
been a party to the joint account transactions.
When the surprise at this announcement sub
sided Mr. Perkins blandly explained this away
BY saying that Mr.. Hughess interest lay as a
poIicyholder in the New-York Life. The other
was when Mr.. Perkins involved In long
question by Senator Armstrong. The Senator
was anxious to know about a certain system.