The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-06

at about $450, 900. The company's efforts
 before the insurance superintendent, he
 added, were devoted to having the state
 ment struck out. Mr. Eldredge said that Examiner Vanderpool's report also did not
 include among the assets of the company
 s200000 it had on deposit with the super
 intendent of insurance. To make such
 deposit was custom of the assessment
 company in part for it's advertising the
 witness said. There was no legal re-
 quirement for 1t, he added.
 Mir. Hughes asked MT. Eldridge if any
 moneys were paid by his company In
 1899 to any one connected with the New
 York state insurance department except
 5000 Or s6000 which was the cost of the
 examination then made. The witness said
 there were no other payments to the de-
 partment. but that James D. Wells, for merly vice president of the Mutual Re-
 serve Life Insurance company has tes- tifed in Canadian investigation of the company that President Frederick A. [ Burnham of the company had said he had to raise S40,000 tc pay the New York state department.
 Witness said he was certain there' was no truth in that statement. In reply to question, witness said MT. Burnham had
 s200 a week in 1899 as contingent fund.-
 and that he spent 1t in travelling ana for many expenses which an officer In . his position has to meet. Witness thought none of 1t went for political contribn- tlons.
 Where we have been held up by the in-
 surance departments, we have paid them
 directly" said MT. Eldredge. Mir. Edredge said the Mutual Reserve Life Insurance company was held up by the Iowa Insurance department in 1890 by Max Behler. an examiner for that de- partment who came to New York with his son to make an examination of the Mutual Reserve company. After he made weeks examination, witness said, Behler put in a bill to the company for S4S9 The company refused to pay the bill and with drew from Iowa. Later in the same year, when the company wanted to do business
 in Iowa, the company not only paid that
 bill. but another bill of s346 by the same , examiner for another examination. MT. Eldredge said the Behler incidents became notorious in Iowa.
 Similar Case In Missouri.
 Mir Eldredge said there was an incident of similar nature in Missouri in 1893. ! ]. H. Childers and II. !. ORear, examin- CTS for Missouri, first examined the Mutual
 Reserve company in 1898 and then the
 Missouri superintendent of insurance, Ed | ward T. O'Rear raised the question I whether the company had any right to do
 business in that state under the Missouri assessment law. MT. Eldredge went 10 | Missouri and engaged attorney MT.
  | mandamus proceedings to compel the is- | suance of license to the company. MT O'Rear heard that we were in con
 sultation with MT Clarby," said MT. Eld- ! redge, 'and notified us that he could not 1 Issue the license"
 Witness then went to Jefferson City and saw Mir. ORear, who told him he had referred the case to the attorney general, The witness then went to see the attorney general.
 "I had been beating back and forth from the attorney general to the insurance de- partment until I concluded that there
 was no intention of dealing with the sub ject,' said Mir. Eldredge, "and l finally
 made up my mind to leave Jefferson City.
 An employe of the department there told me that in the person of MT. Clarby we were employing man who was bitterly hostile to the attorney general and the superintendent of insurance and suggest ed the name of a man who if employed
 would be able to secure the license declined to employ the and came | back to New York, but after considera- ton the attorney was employed and he procured our license in about three days" l Mir. Edredge presented the bill of this | attorney which called for payment of | S3500 for legal service to w. H. Phelps. The company paid the bill.
 | MT Eldredge said that one of the great
 est evils of the insurance business is the l incomes, one purpose of which he said | is to build up great companies. It would | have been better if they remained smaller
 and paid less commissions. The witness i stated that he had in one instance only ] received a commission of the insurance on 1 his own life. This was early this year
 when a New York agent named Manches- | ter who had written many policies on wit
 ness life offered to write one of $17.000
 In the Connecticut General and allowed
 the witness slo0 of the first semi-annual l premium of S550.
 1 How did you justify this in view of | the law against it?' asked MT Hughes
 T don't think Justified 1t, simply took l it, replied the witness
 The committee adjourned until tomor-