The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-26
 REFORM OF THE MUTUAL Board of Directors Name Committee. SUGGESTION OF McCURDY Its Business Methods to Be Investigated. Actuary of the Concern Has Ideas of Finance at odd. with the Prac- tIce Which Ha. Been
 Followed.

tive committee investigating the meth
 ods of insurance companies today was
 the announcement by President Rich
 ard A. McCurdy of the Mutual Life In-
 surance Company that committee Of
 the board of trustees of his company had been appointed to investigate the company and its methods
 The members of the committee are William H. Truesdell. Efingham H. Morris and John w. Auchincloss, all prominent in the financial and business world. This action was taken at meeting of the board today and was the result of the insurance investiga- ton. The matter was brought before the board by President McCurdy and the committee will begin It's work at once.
 Still another Interesting develop ment in insurance matters was the statement issued today by President Morton of the Equitable Life showing that the receipts of that company for the nine months of this year exceeded the expenditures by $16.723.197, an in- crease of over $500.ooo compared with the same period last year. Receipts from premioums on policies Tor the third quarter this year were over S1.- 0o0,00 less than 1904. The expenses of the third quarter of this year were $S39.913 less than last year, but for the UTSt SIX months tneTe was LII lfi- crease over last year of $424,943.
 Adjournment to November <.
 After an entire day given over 10 the examination of Emory McClintock, actuary of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, and to the reading of col- umn after column of figures. the leg islative committee adjourned until Mo- vember s, the day after the munich pal elections. This extended adjourn uaa n aFAhlo Ia bers of the committee, who are can didates for reelection to the Assembly. to meet their constituencies and con duct their campaigns.
 The testimony of Mr. McClintock was of technical nature. A number of his explanations brought out the fact that his ideas were in many re- methods of insurance companies and that of his company in particular. This was especially apparent when the sub- ject of deferred dividend policies was being inquired Into. He said the word deferred" was ambiguous and mis- leading. as 1t implied that dividends were accommodating or were paid at the end of each year. The company, he said, reserved the right when 1t wrote a policy to say what amount should be apportioned at the end of each divi- dend period.
 MT. McClintock also said he was strongly in favor of limiting the amount of business company should write. He said an attempt had been made to come to an agreement with the New York Life and Equitable Life to limit the amount of business done by each company to one billion dollars. This was finally increased to $1,500,- 100000, but James H. Hyde of the Equitable declined to enter the agree ment and then George w. Perkins of the New York Life objected.
 Ambition of MT. Hyde.
 Mir. Hyde's reasois was his ambition to make the Equitable the largest in- surance company In the world. Mir. thought that a Jaw limit Ing the amount of business would be a good thing and felt sure the Mutual Life would lend Its support to such legislation. expressed by President McCurdy of the Mutual when he was on the stand. Mir did not think that any com pany's business should be limited even at the point when that business failed | to be profitable to the company.
 Mir. McCiintock also thought that | law compelling the declaration of div | ldends at stated periods would be un- wise.
 As to the method of computing the | dividends that should be paid on a | policy, he said the apportionment was | made up on his judgment It was not | a matter of accurate calculation but | was based on the experience of pre- vious years.
 The interest earned by the company or the increased valuation of the se- curities held by the company, MT. Mo | said, were not taken into con i sideration in apportioning these divi- dends. He said that In 1903 when the dividends were reduced, the market value of the company's securities had decreased. In 1904, however the secur- ities rose in value so that SS,0O0,0OO, lost by the decrease the year before, were regained and a million in addition. The dividends were not increased for 1904, however, yet they were not cut.
 He was still on the stand at adjourn ment.