Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1905-11-22
SCHOOL BOARD WANTS
TWO NEW BUILDINGS.
PLATT SAYS
HE GOT HIS.
New York Senator Before Insur-
anCe Investigators Admits
Receiving Thousands.

NEW YORK, Nov. 22.-Tottering and
feeble, Senator Thomas G. Platt went
on the witness stand before the legis-
lative insurance committee here and
confessed to having received from the
Equitable, the Mutual and possibly
from the New York Life Insurance
company hundreds of thousands of dol
lars for Republican state campaigns.
He admitted that the money was paid
to influence legislation at Albany.
Mr.. Platt said these donations were
always sent by special messenger in
packages of currency and that he turn
ed them over Immediately either to the
chairman, secretary or treasurer of the
Republican state committee. He as
serted that he knew nothing of the de
tails of the distribution of the money.
He gave the lie direct to Richard A.
McCurdy, president of the Mutual Life,
who swore when he Was witness be
fore the committee that he had never
contributed cent for political pur-
poses outside of the Republican ma
tiQnal committees strong box.
Leading up 10 the confession of
Thomas G. Platt the day brought an
unfolding of the mystery of Senator
Chauncey VI. Depew's friend up the
river"
Lawyer John A. Nichols, who wrote
letters to Senator Depew about the
''cantankerous friend up the river"
,-ho o,,non nraJ oun,,aIl,. ae an applipa N +
to the Equitable and grew impatient
when not attended TO promptly. went
on the stand and revealed this friend
as one W. S. Manning. Il former actu-
AIRY, who had entered into some sort of
agreement with the Equitable and the
other big companies through him by
which Manning was paid money every
year to refrain from writing matter
nimical to the insurance interests, as
he had been doing previous TO the ar
rangement." The Equitable's payment
to Manning. he said, was, as Il rule,
$50 a year
Shades of the Tweed ring came back
with Thomas f.. Conan, whose bust
ness was taking care of the Equitable
Life in departments of the city govern
ment and having the personal tax as
sessment of the company's officers re-
duced.
Second Vice President George H.
Tarbell of the Equitable Life followed
Thomas Conan, and he was asked why
he had had CONAN interest himself in
the Tarbell tax assessments.
".All he did in my case said Tar
bell. was to make an appointment ut
the tax Office for me. | knew he was
acquainted with the city departments
and that was why | asked him to do
what he did for me"
From this point Mr. Hughes carried
Tarbell through the history of the re-
1ations between life insurance agents
and life insurance companies.
platt's haZiness of mind, so far as
Mccall and the New York Life was
concerned, applied not only to the gen
eralities of Il state campaign, but also
us to any campaign of a judicial of
ticer in this city or elsewhere.
'Yes,' agreed the old man just as he
tottered down off the witness stand,
''it must have been that the insurance
companies expected a quid pro quo for
their contributions. They never asked
me to do anything for them, but
think it must have been that they ex
pected that they would he paid back
in protection for legislation