Evening star., 1905-10-01
A Question to Be Asked
About Insurance Companies.
LINES MARKED OUT
OF COUNSEL CHASE OF IN
vEsTIGATINa COMMITTEE.
Will Want to Know About Payments
for Legislative Purposes and
for Real Estate.

y
NEW YORK. September 3o-Two lines of
| Inquiry are now marked out for the insur-
| ance investigation committee when It be-
| gins it's sessions again Wednesday for the
fourth week of the inquiry. One concerns
| the payments for legislative and kindred
purposes and the second has to do with the
real estate operations of the New York
Life which were touched upon ait the hear
Ing Friday with some surprising results
bearing upon the cost Of the Paris Office
building of that company
1t Is said that the investigators look for
revelations concerning the real estate oper-
attons Of the New York Life that will sur
pass even the disclosure of the last week
or ten days. As starter 1t is pointed out
that the Paris Office building of the COM
pany, purchased at an original cost of
Si,1oo.o00, has had spent on It to the pres
ent time sums bringing the total cost up
sworn report OF the company made last De-
cember at sl.W0.000. The building earned
something like M per cent on its actual
value that year.
Cqunsel Charles Hughes of the investi-
eating committee had made hardly more
| than start on the New York LIES real
estate operations Friday when the COM
=. J. peylin. the company's superintendent
OF real estate In the United States and
Canada, for his witness at one or more of
the sessions next week. Mr.. Devlin will
be asked, among other things, about the
rents from buildings of the New York Life
| IN this city, which are occupied wholly or
| IN large part by relatives of officers or
high officials of the company
Payments to Hamilton.
Linked with the real estate operations
will be further inquiry concerning payments
by the New York Life to Judge Andrew
Hamilton President Mccall and other off,
GERS Of the company have insisted that the
Hamilton payments, of which S235,00O is
stu unaccounted for, have been invariably
tiop with the home Office annex. behind the
main building at $40 Broadway. Mr..
Hughes has ELECTED SOME interesting infor-
nation by approaching the Hamilton pay
ments through the Equitable LHe finding
on Friday that the Equitable, at least. had
paid the Judge for legal services connected
with matters of 1egisla ton west of the
Ohio and in this had been Joined by the
Mutual and the New York Life. 1t is ex-
pected that Mr.. Hughes will go at the mat
| ter from the other end and find out just
what the real estate transactions Of the
New York Life have been, and whether
any of them could have been carried on
through Judge Hamilton and his bank. ac-
count in the State National Bank of AL
bany. >. ,rs-ss-. ez---=zs ~
Counsel for the committee. 1t Is said are
by no means done with the Equitablfs
payment for Legislative purposes. as 1t Is
not understood how the appearance of
counsel before committees of legislators
in states west of Ohio could possibly have
consumed any such sums as the Equitable
was paying to Judge Hamilton in the
years from 1895 to 1903 1t is predicted
that before the committee is done links
will be found to complete the chain that
will explain how the Legislative funds
We're handled in New York state and In
other states not involved in the testimony
thus far. va
CT l-afx {Iot
| tenn that included division of expenses
between the three great companies. and
the apportioning of the territory not spe-
officially covered between Judge Hamil-
ton of the New York Life and Solicitor
Thummen Of the Mutual should have
omitted provision for affairs at Albany,
particularly in view of the fact that
many of the checks to Judge Hamilton
were banked through the institutions
| there In which ne had accounts. and Of
| the common knowledge that an insurance
lobby has been maintained in the state
capital for years.
That Mr. Hughes is determined to get to
the bottom of this particular phase of the
| insurance situation is indicated by his de-
mand upon the Equitable Life for a tram
script of all payments to Judge Hamilton,
| former Solicitor Short OF the Mutual or w.
L. Thummell, the present solicitor for the
company in any legislative matters. 1t is
also certain that officials Of the Mutual
will be put OF the stand to explain how
| that company happened to go into the
triple alliance.
Seeking High-Grade Investments.
! President Paul Morton of the Equitable
Life issped statement today concerning
the society's need of opportunities for a
| high grade OF investment. He said:
"First-cIass securities are difficult to get
| The society is not receiving applications for
| loans on high-class New York real estate
as rapidly as 1t would like to get them
It has money to invest and is anxious to
take 1t out of the banks and put 1t In
mortgages. The policy of the society here
after will be to make 1t easy for good peo-
pie to borrow money on high-class securi-
ties"
Insurance Commissioners Folk Of Ten
nessee; Prewett of Kentucky. Host of Wis
consin Clay of Texas and O'Brien Of Min
nesota arrived here today to talk about
investigating the New York Life and some
OF the other companies. 1t was announced
after they had held session that their
actuaries were going to work on the books
of the New York Life at once. The last
time the commissioners from the other
states were here similar announcement
was made. but after they had had talk
with President Mccall they went back
home, pleased. apparently, with the condi-
ton of the company. They left one actu-
airy behind to investigate the condition of
the New York Life.