The sun., 1905-08-11
HUGHES AND M'KEEN CHOSEN.
CHOATE MAY AID AS ADVISER
TO ARMSTRONG COMMITTEE.

Tho Ex.Amb assador First Asked to Serve
- Active Counsei-Dste for First
Hearing Not set-Hughes to He Away
Until Sept. l0-McKeen Accepts.
The Joint legislative committee appointed
to Investigate insurance conditions In this
State has chosen as its counsel Charles E.
Hughes and James MoKeen. These two
men will act jointly In conducting the in
vestigation, but there will probably be
other counsel who will serve in an advisory
capacity.
Efforts are being made to retain Joseph
II. Choate In this capacity. and It was an
nounced suthoritatively last night that the
committee felt encouraged In It's endeavors.
The announcement was made late last night
by Senator Armstrong. chairman Of the
committee. after the committee had held
three hours session at the Murray Hill
Hotel. Mr.. Mokeen was notified at onoe
Of his appointment. He was stopping at
the Hamilton Club in Brooklyn and hurried
over to meet the committee. A cable de-
spatch was sent to Mr.. Hughes, who is on o
bicycle tour In Austria. It was said that
there were one or two little things that had
to be arranged with Mr.. Hughes before he
would actually accept the retainer. but thAt
the committee felt certain that he would
serve.
.Mr. MoKeen,' said Senator Armstrong,
lis able, honest and has character for
independence. He has been identified
with various reform movements.'
Mr.. Hughes, Chairman Armstrong said,
kNn a1
through his success In the gas investigation
to need any comment. He believed that
the appointments were excellent and that
the inquiry would be pushed to suocessful
conclusion In fine shape. It would, he
said. probably be at least ten days or two
weeks before the actual taking Of the testi-
mony could begin, as the lawyers will have
to farniharize themselves thoroughly with
all the reports that have come out In the
Equitable scandal as we'll as with life nsur-
snce methods generally. The members
Of the Joint committee WILL however. con-
tinue their Efforts to arrange plans for the
investigation In detail. Mr.. Hughes 1t
was said last night, will probably not be
back In this country until Sept. 10. Upto
that time Mr.. McKeen will have charge
OF the committees affairs.
1t was learned last night that the COM
mittee had tried to get Mr.. Choate to be
active counsel. but that he refused to con-
slider this offer.
Mr.. McKeen s a practising lawyer of
Brooklyn. He is president Of the Brooklyn
League and was a member OF the recent
committee Of nine which investigated
police conditions In this city. He was
Assistant Corporation Counsel under Mayor
Low and ran on the Republican Fusion
ticket two years ago for the Supreme Court
bench, but was defeated.
Before its night session the committee's
time yesterday was largely taken UP by
I he six insurance commissioners from out.
side States who have come to make an In
OF several OF the New York
State companies The commissioners have
come to this State because they "fear'
that politics entered into the New York
State departments investigation OF the
Equitable. This statement was made by
one Of the commissioners
All his colleagues he declared. have the
highest regard for Supt. Hendricks per-
and while they do not ex press the
belief that politics has been played in the
Equitable investigation. still there is. this
man declared, fear that some such thing
has happened. 1t was not, he said, 30 much
t he choice Of the commissioners as it was
a demand on the part Of the policyholders
for flrst hand knowledge.
The outside ommissioners-Zeno NJ.
Ho,t Of Wisconsin, 7. D. O'Brien Of Mime
sofa, Henry r. Prewitt OF Kentucky, R. E.
Folk OF Tennessee. r. E. Forster Of Louis
II ,f To al %h>
local investigating committee that they
table, but the New York and Mutual Life
and several other companies. 1t was
pretty well understood between the oomz
missioners and the committee before the
conference was over that the two sets OF
would pull together in their
work.
The commissioners it was suggested,
would be Of great service to the legislative
in being able to indicate trails
that ought to be followed to subsidiary
oyer which the insurance COM
missoners would have no jurisdiction, but
which would be accessible 10 the State COM
mittee.
list Of questions prepared by Commits
sioners Folk and Prewitt and submitted
some time ago to all the insurance COM
panies doing business in Kentucky and
Tennessee was presented to the COM
mittee, with the answers which had been
received. These questions covered most
Of the general irregularities in life insur-
ance management and methods that had
been disclosed In the Equitable scandal.
The committee was very much Interested
ly, the anawera oi ven nv the of1cera NJ tho
New York companies, which were almost
invariably Of the right sort from the stand
point Of proper insurance methods.
The answers we're regarded by the COM
nittee of considerable value because they
,ut on record the officers Of the COM
oanies which they are to investigate.
The commissioners will visit tho Offices
II several Of the insurance companies to-
lay and will begin work at once on their