Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-29
PERKINS REFUSES
TO SHOW BOOKS
HUGHES DEMANDS RECORDS
OF MORGAN & co.
Insurance investigation DIscloses Re-
nnarkable System Of Bonuses OF
New York Life to Get the
other Companies Men
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Sept. 2S.-Several sem
sational incidents developed at the ses'
sion of the legislative committee on
life insurance investigation today. The
first was when George w. Perkins,
vice president Of the New York Life
Insurance company and member of the
firm of J. P. Morgan & Co., objected 10
producing the books of his firm show
ing a certain transaction of that firm
with the New York Life. Mr.. Perkins
offered to present a copy of the entry
in question from the books, but Mr.
Hughes demanded the books after sew
eral refusals on the part of Mr.. Per-
kins. The books will be produced later
In the course of his testimony Mr.
Perkins, when asked concerning the
difference in the statement of profits
from securities" in the Massachusetts
report of the committee and of no
profits from securities" in the New
York report, said:
''When we get national supervision
we won't have these conflicts between
the different states.
Mr.. Perkins testified to a number of
transactions in which he represented
Morgan & Co. as sellers and the New
York Life Insurance company as pur-
chaser.
Another sensation was sprung later
in the day when Vice President Thomas
A. Buckner of the New York Life In
surance company detailed the advances
made to agents, and which were carried
in the report to the state superintend-
ent of insurance as computing renewal
premiums" 1t was brought out as a
matter of fact that these advances
were loans, but were not carried as
such. Mr.. Buckner testified that ad-
vances were made to agents sometimes
as inducements to leave other COM
panies and enter the employ of the
New York Life.
inducements to Get Agents
A situation of conflict in Buffalo in
1901 between the Equitable and the New
York Life was brought out. In order
to get agents of the Equitable away
from that company liberal advances
and liberal contracts were made by
the New York Life. Mr.. Buckner tes-
titled that these advances to agents in
the Buffalo branch of the New York
Life in 1902 alone exceeded by $4SOOO
the amount really earned by these
agents. Later Mr.. Buckner acknowl-
h ,fc VT
and said that in 1903 the amount was
cut down by half and by half the re-
naming amount in 1904
A copy of a contract and confiden-
tial letter to David H. Desbecker of
Buffalo one of the agents in question,
showed the inducements held out for
him to enter the employ of the New
York Life. The confidential letter or
supplementary contract reads as fol-
lows:
Confidential. New York, Oct. IL,
1901. David H. Desbecker, Buffalo.
Dear Sir: Referring to your agreement
with this company of even date here
with, and subject to all it's terms and
conditions, it is agreed that if the busi-
ness closed and paid for by you be-
tween this date and December 81, 1903,
term insurance excepted, equals $4OO, 900,
you will be entitled to a bonus of $1,000
in cash; if you write and pay for the
100000 in that time you will be entitled
to an additional bonus of $1,000 in cash.
"If the amount equals $500, ,O0O.you will
identified to and be paid still further
sum of $1,000 in cash; and,if the amount
equals a million dollars you will be
entitled to an additional $1O00,s making
a total in that event of $4,000.
"Now, the New York Life Insurance
company is so sanguine that you will