The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-06-13
THE MOUNTAIN WAS IN LABOR
AND BROUGT FORTH A
MOUSE.


For several months the whole coun-
try has watched the struggle for the
control of the Equitable Life Assur-
ance Society. The four hundred mil
lion dollars of money in the keeping
of the society is a great prize and the
power it gives is almost beyond COM
putation The elder Hyde intended
the 100000 stock in the Equitable
to be used only to give central power
TO direct the work in continuous
and successful manner. 1t was pro-
yided that the owner of this stock
could never receive more than seven
per cent. dividend. or $1,000 year.
and that the policy should re-
ceive all the earnings except that
$1,000. The younger Hyde, as the
owner of the controlling stock, was
elected dummy directors" who paid
HIM a princely salary as vice-presi-
dent, and gave him a free hand at
spending the money of the corpora
ton. His extravaganza became a ma
tional scandal While Hyde was.
looping the loops in a prodigal man.
ner. a number of the directors were
getting rich selling stocks to the COM
pany, and others. were drawing sal
aries for doing. nothing President
Alexander. whose chief fault seems to
be that he participated in earnings
ioa ho
that he believed the evils for which
he was partly guilty could be remedled
by a sham naturalization. grew tired
of Hyde's extravaganza and demanded
a change. That precipitated the row
that has been the healthiest thing that
has happened in America in this de-
cade. 1t has taught the people the
methods of high finance" as prac.
ticed by some of the greatest insur-
ance companies. The Hyde-Alexander
row went on until the Frick report,
scoring both of them and demanding
their removal, and pointing out new
and radical remedies, was read. Then
the Hyde and Alexander interests
united to prevent the reforms urged
in that report and to save their scalps.
1t was a coalition that disguised he
whole country. and increased the sus-
picions of thoughtful men.
The next step was for the dummy
directors to try to. get a dummy
chairman" who would induce the pub
lie to think everything was all right
and still please Alexander and Hyde
and the great heads of "frenZied
finance" who use the surplus ana
other money of the Equitable to float
their enterprises. But the pubic
would not be appeasad as long as HYDE
retained ownership Of the majority or
the stock 1t took him long time to
realize that he atsrnust go'' as the ma
jority stakeholder. 1t is now an
nounced that Mr.. Hyde has sold the
control 20 Mr.. Ryan and his associ-
ates. 1t is reported that Mr.. Hyde re-
ceived one million dollars for the con-
trol-or say $4,000 of the total $780,
600 of stock Other reports intimate
that Mr.. Hyde got as much as four
million dollars. -. This is more prob
able, for some weeks ago George Gould
is reported to have offered Mr..
Hyde five million dollars for
his stock Inasmuch as, under
the charter the holder of this STOCK
cannot receive over seven per cent,
why should any man pay as
much as million dollars
for s51 900. or even $780,
900 of stock? Unless he is to get Il
big salary as Mr.. Hyde did, or is to
use the four hundred million dollars
of reserve and surplus TO help his
other operations, or is public bene-
factor, what could have induced him
to pay so much money upon which he
will get such little returns? That is a
question that will not down at any
mans bidding. 1t is ques-
ton moreover. that is even
more insfstent when it is
learned that Mr. Ryan is the head of
the syndicate and that Mr.. Morton is
the man he is to place in charge as
chairman of the board, and who is to
have "a free hand as to men and
methods" A few weeks ago Mr.
Morton resigned as Secretary of the
Navy to go to New York to take an
important position with the street car
interests of which MR.. Ryan is the
head 1t is said that the street rail-