The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-08-26
MANY ILLEGAL
ACTS admitted.
Directors .|-,':l ; Of Equitable e
Reply {: to the Charges G a
Made by State.
ASK. THAT THOROUGH.
INQUIRY BE MADE
Blame for Misconduct Declared to
Rest On Individual L. Officers,
and Not On Directors AS
BodyLeave the Mat
ter Of Surplus 70
Courts.
(By Associated Pres.s. 4

(By Associated Press.)
NEW YORK, Aug. 25.--'rhe Equitable
Assurance Society to- day Joined with the
State OF New York In asking for a full
investigation in court Of 3sits directors
and officers and their alleged wrong
dolngs III managing the moneys OF the
Society. tt II III
z The document which announced this
determination was the answer Of the
forty mine Equitable directors to charges
made against them IN connection with
suit brought against the Equitable
Life Assurance Society by the stnte.
This answer was filed with Attorney
General Julius NJ. Mayer. VI
Admissions Made.
Admission is ma that. some ofticials
\ OF the Equitable have been guilty Of Inn
proper and illegal acts. In all eleven
/ charges are answered by directors. They
admit the $3.50, 900 loan to the Depew Inl-i
provement Company and the $685. 900 loan
OF the Mercantile y Trust sGonipan., but
waive responsibility in this loan SO far
as the board of directors is concerned
and Indicate Messrs. AleSander, Jordan
and Deming as the persons having the.
most Intimate knowle dgeS OF these $trano-a NO.
actions. 3S s$ sa I5 Il f saE2
The charge that excessive salaries were
paid to officers OF the Equitable Is not
directly answered. but admission is made
that, g under guise of salaries, excessive
fees were given to certain Equitable OIL
clals who were also directors In other;
companies. In defense the answer states
that these practices were not known to 70,
the whole board Of directors. 3
1t,,Jr ho11af tnat%t0 tha35 OeSt
policy to pursue in fixing the blame for
the Equitable scandals. the directors say
first that the blame for alleged cases OF
misconduct will be found to rest on indi-3
vidual officers and not upon the directors
rs n body, Having made this gexpliana-
ttion,s the answer then admits In. gem
eral way the wrong -dongs charged.
Other Transactions.
The first charge specifically answered
Is that premises on Broadway were lot
ut Inadequate rental to the Mercantile
Safe Deposit Company. This is admitted.
hut itS5ls denied that at the time this
lease was made James II. Hyde, James
w, Alexander, Gage f. Taroell. Valen-.
tine p. Snyder and others were stock
holders and directors In the Mercantile
Safe Deposit Company. I'll
With certain reservations, admission Is
then made that the capital stock OF the
iqured BY the Equitable Society, which
paid $3.50 per share for shares of o par
value OF sl00
AS to excessive an unwarranted loans
to agents, the reply admits that they
were made. II,
The consolidation OF the Western Ma
tional Bank. of New York city, with tho
National Bank Of the United States, OF
New York, by which money loss ro-
suited to tho Equitable Society, and a
profit to some OF It's directors, Is also.
. \. tt I; &. ssts
Admission is made that some Of the
paid were excessive and I'M
proper,
Charges Of the existence of excess
s!ve deposits In the National Bank Of
Commerce Of New York and other banks
arc admitted, but this admission Is re-
stroted to those directors and officers
who actually had charge Of or knowl-
edge OF these transactions
The Surplus.
Precisely tho same restricted admIs-
Continued on Second Page.)