The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-03
HERE'S THE
fRIcK REPORT.
c Committee Called for a
Radical Reorganization Of
the Society.
HOT SHOT FOR OFFICERS.
Demands That Alexander, Hyde
and TarbeII Withdraw.

and TarbeII Withdraw.
Details OF the Syndicate Transac ttons Are
Laid Bare-An Participants Csnsured
and Called Upon TO Refund Fronts
Hyde Is Accused OF Gross Irregulari.
ties and Alexander II Scored for Par.
tfcipating in Underwriting Schemes
and for Remaining Silent So Long
About Hyde's tcominEs-R COON.
mendation That Def erred Dividend
Policies He Done Away With Outside
EntanglinE Alliances strongly Criticized
The report Of the Frick committee. which
covers thirty-eight printed pages and il
signed by the five remaining members. IL q
most soathing arraignment of the manage
ment Of the Equitable Life Assurance Society.
1t condemns unreservedly all the trans
actions Of the syndicate known as james
H. Hyde and Associates" calls on all other
directors besides him who participated in
the profits to make restitution and recon-.
mends that President Alexander, First
vice-President Hyde and Second Vice.
President Tarbe should be removed
Nothing could be palmer than the language
In which the report is couohed, and perleal
of it seems to justify the remark Of M. z.
Ingalls,. one OF the committee, that he would
be lucky II he got out Of town alive when
it was published.
OFFICERS RELUCTANT TO GIVE INFORMATION.
After reoiting the history Of the conn
pany and the manner in which 1t is governed
the report tells OF the evident reluctance
of the officers to come forward with the
necessary information to make The investi-
cation successful. On April q LITTER
was addressed to President Alexander
asking for specific dataembodied in eleven
different requests On April IS tho com.
mittee viewed with surprise and regret
that to this date none Of tho information
asked for had been received.
Mr.. Hyde finally sent a communication
H. Hyde and Associates" by which he and
several other directors made large profits
out of securities which were aftsrward
purchased by the company. At the same
time Mr.. Alexander addressed letter to
the committee in which he accused Mr.
Hyde of grave irregularities in his official
capacity of first vice-president. The letter
read in part:
ALEXANDER COMPLAINS OF H-pE's BOND
PURCHASES.
4. Speaking Of Mr.. Hyde. proceeded
in my statement to the committee Of twelve
to say that he has committed the society,",
to transactions, positions. relations and
agreements without prior consultation with
the president or other officers or with the
commit ees, calling the matter to their
attention only after the society had been
placed in positions from which Il was
difficult, If not impossible. to recede.
For example, I mention the purchase
OF some $7Oo,Ooo par value OF bonds Of tho
Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad Conn
pd1ly, 'uS puIGudsC VI i,uoo ehd1cC ~ Ntc
stock of the Hibernia Bank and Trust Com
pany of New Orleans and the purchase OF
some $4,000 Of the preferred stock Of
the Union Pacific Railroad. None Of these
transactions was submitted beforehand
to the executive committee.
"Your committee should note, In con-
nection with these particular transactions.
first, a. to the Coney Island and Brooklyn
Railroad bonds, that Mr.. Hyde IL ono Of
the vioe-presidents Of that company and
heavily interested in IL; second, as to the
Union Pacific preferred stock, that at the
direction Of Mr.. Hyde 1t was entered In the
books and statement Of the society for
Jan. 1, 1904, as a syndicate holding, These
purchases were made without prior con-
sideration by the executive committee
and without my knowledge. ! am in
formed that Mr.. Hyde personally waea
member Of the syndicate.
-Upon inquiry since made am satished
that this stock held by the Equitable Il tho
proportionate amount Of stock subscribed
for under the syndicate agreement by Mr..
Hyde individually. that ono Of tho condi-
tons OF the agreement was that the stock
shall not be sold by the individual sub
scribers for period Of years or some pro-
vision to that effect. This particular
transaction evidences two things-ths
improper assumption Of authority to COM
NIT the Equitable to large transactions
without proper consultation and super
vision and the making Of the Equitable
to all practical purposes a party to an
agreement such as, in my opinion, it b not
justified in becoming party to by reason
of the fact that the agreement ia speculative
and binds the society to its conditions
which may not only become onerous, but
damaging to its interests, and which lies
entirely outside OF the pale OF permissible
transactions for an insurance company.
SAYS HYDE TRIED TO UsuRP POWER or TIN
PRESIDENT.
.. Not only does he [Mr. Hydel thus
disregard the established checks upon
Commencing June 18th. the through traiD. New
York 70 Bar HarboY. connecting At Portland Tor