The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-09-21
State Probe at Work.

Tie New York Life Insurance Com
pany demanded an investigation as
soon as the wrongdoing of the Equita-
bic began to be aired. In compliance
with this request the legislative CON-
mittee begun to probe into its affairs.
What it has brought out is not bit
pleasing to its officers and is disquiet-
ing to those carrying policies with the
company. 1t is not as bad as the
Equitable, but it is serious enough.
When Prussia demanded that the
company should not carry as securities
stock in industrials or other fuctIating
properties as the price of writing poll
cies in that kingdom the company
agreed. Ostensibly it lived up to this
agreement; in reality it did not. To
h0odwink the Prussians the directors
took to speculative securities, turned
them over to George Marshall, a negro
porter who earned 81 a week, and to
two other clerks as poorly paid, and
had them deposited in their names
with trust company as collateral for
money running into the millions. On
this security the company borrowed
millions with which to purchase safe
properties, while it retained the OBJ
jectionable holdings in the names OF
its menials. But the Prussians were
won over by the trick.
Then the officers, defying the word
ing of the charter of the company,
sreculated with the money of the in
sured. In some cases they got the bet
ter of Wall street; in other instances
they were losers. They hold a big
block of international Mercantile Ma
rine Syndicate, which turned out bad
now held which turned out disastrous
". Yet the State Superintendent of
Insurance, so deftly were these ac-
counts juggled on the books, was I'M
able to unravel them and they remain
ed undetected unit, the law stepped
in and applied the probe.
Profit Against Safety.
The life insurance officials now un-
der fire in New York are trying to JUS
tify their bond=floating syndicates by
showing that if they did make money
for themselves they made more money
for the policyholders whose funds they
used. In many cases these bond-float-
ing operations were profitable to all
concerned. However, it is questionable
whether the same amount of money,
invested without syndicate aid, would
not have brought as large returns.
Furthermore, if there were profits,
how about the losses? Here are some
of the more conspicuous losses that
have come to light during the present
investigation:
The officials of one company took it
into partnership with them for $3,S75,-
600 in flotation of securities Of the
New Orleans street railway system
The street railways went into re-
ceivership, and the company charged
Off loss of $4,000 of it's policy
holders money. The officials of this
and another great company took them
into partnership for $4,000,000 and
81, 100000, respectively, in the dota-
ton of a trusts securities. The latter
company already has charged up a
loss of 100000. The other has sold
100000 of its holdings at a loss OF
$4,000, and the sale of the remainder
at present prices would result il a
further loss of $4,000. And the end
IS not yet
Why were these ventures under
taken? Partly, Of course. to make
money personally for the trustees OF
funds left with them for the widows
and orphans ct the policyholders.