The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-17
HENDRICKS DENIES
 REPORT WAS EDITEI
NOT ALTERED IN THEINTERESH OF CERTAIN INDI-
 YIDUALS.

Only Persons Who Saw It While i
 Preparation Outside of Those Actual
 Iy Engaged in the Inyestigation are
 Governor Higgins and His Counsel
 Attorney POund-Hendrlclxs Instruc.
 tions to His Deputy to Turn Ovea
 Copy of Testimony to District Attor.
 ney Jerome.
 Albany. N. r., July 16-The answa of Supt. Francis Hendricks of the stats insurance department to the published criticisms of his official acts in conneo$ tion with the testimony taken by him in the investigation of the Fqultabll Life Assurance society and his prelInE mary report thereon, is made in al extended statement issued from the inc surance department tonight. Ineidens tally the superintendent publishes q letter, addressed by him to his deputy :. Robert H. Hunter. at New Yose&Ss ss structing him to deliver his copy Of ths Equitable testimony to District Attor ney Jerome.
 The statement includes an afi1davH by wn1. A. Comstock, supt. Hendriok5 confidential stenographer, certifying that he alone did the stenographic wora and transcribing of notese in connecs tion with the taking of testimony and the preparatio of supt. Hendricks pre- liminary report. and that he personally knows that no change or omission was made ill the testimony or the report. that outside of the persons Officially employed in the conduct of the invests igation no person heard, read or saw the report or the testimony or report excepting Governor Higgins and his counsel, Cuthbert ". Pound The statement is as follows:
 "The statement made in certain news~ papers that my report and the tes4i-
 rony taken was edited and altered in the interests or at the suggestion of certain individuals is unqualifiediy Ifalse. No person except those ems ployed by mee in the conduct of the ifl- vestigstion aread or had access to ths report prior to the time 1t was deaivs cred to the printer. except Coy Higga2s4 and his counsel, Hon. Cuthbert M. Pound. No suggestion was made by either of them as to any modification of the report and no change was made in the report as prepared by me The report as printed is in thel exact form ! in which it was finally drafted by ma and by my counsel.
 At the interview with the governor and his counsel I was asked by tfle governor whether had been success- full in securing the facts relative to alp matters under Investigation stated to him that had not; that the inves.- igation was necessarily still iiicona plete; that among other matters which had not been fully covered was one which I deemed of immediate irnpor- tance, but concerning which had bee1r unable to procure the facts, by reason of not having learned of it until the preliminary investigation was about completed I then stated to him thai, had been informed that the Eduitabie society was carrying a loan In the Mer- cantile Trust company of S6S5 5,o00, of which no record appeared on its books as a liability.
 + The governor stated to me that he believed that a further effort should be made to thoroughly investigate that l subject. In accordance with that si1g- gestion l then directed my counsel ta make further investigation and ex- animation relative to that item, and by reason of such action my report was delayed until the conclusion of his l efforts.
 ! our efforts in that particular WerB l unsuccessful. At that time we were unable to secure the facts relating to I the matter and consequently my report remained unchanged.
 With reference to the criticism that my report does not fully cover all of the facts, brought out in the testimony ] never intended that 1t should specific cally refer to everything that was de- veloped by the testimony. On the con- trary, stated at the outset that 1t did not; that the report was preliminary in character and covered only such matters as deemed of immediate im- portance to the policyholders. I under took to comply with the promise that | I made to the insurance Commissioners of other states early in May to pre- sent report as early as the 18th of June, and it was impossible in the linn ited time had to refer in detail to all matters developed during the irl- vestigation. If I had undertaken in the report to cover all matters referred to in the testimony it would have de- layed issuing the report at least sixty days, and the report would comprise a volume of at, least two or three hun dred pages. %a
 (Continued on Fifth Pagel. |