The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-01
Attorney General Files Action
 for Rsadjusiment
RECIPES THE WRONGDOIAGS
The Society Itself Is Made Defendant as We'll as Each of the Direc- tors And Officer Before
 Shake Up.

New York. July s1.-An action was in- stituted by State Attorney General Julius Mayer in the supreme court of New York county in the name of the people of the state of New York against the Equita- ble Life Assurance society, it's officers, directors and members of the executive and finance committees. all of which are named in the complaint The defendants are the Equitable Life Assurance society of the United States and James W Alex
 ander Louis Fitzgerald, chauncey M. Depew, Henry c, Deming, Cornelius N. l Bliss, George II. Squire. Thomas D. Jor- dan Charles Smith. Valentine P Snyder. Alvin w. Krech. William Alexander, John J. McCook James B. Forgan. C. Ledyard, C. Blair, Brayton Ives, Melville D. In- gals James II, Hyde, Alex J. Cassatt. Jacob H. Schiff James T. Hill. T. Jeffer- son Coolidge Alfred c. Vanderbilt, John Jacob Astor, William c. Vanhorne, Gage E. Tarbell. Marvin Hugltt, Charles B. Alexander, Thomas Dewitt Cuyler, Mar celus Hartley Dodge Joseph F. Denevar- TO. Bradish Johnson, Joseph P. Low. John M. Stewart, Edward II. Hartman. Levi P. Morton, August Belmont. Darius o. | M1llS, HOpeTL I. l1lncoifl, 0tofBt d. oOhldB John Sloane, George T. Wilson, Thomas T. Eckert, William II. Mcintyre Henry M Alexander. Henry c. Prick. Samuel NJ. Inman Henry A. Harlstick. David H. Moffatt and Henry R. Winthrop.
 Hartman Accepts Service.
 A week ago before the papers were com pleted, Edward H. Hartman, on the eve of his departure for Japan, accepted ser | vice from the summons in the proposed actions, and today many of the other de- fendants. including James II. Hyde. were served through their private counsel. The defendants are allowed twenty days from the time of service to file their answers.
 The complaint contains twenty-one mo- tons and covers thirty three pages of type written matter refers to the Prick com mittee report. and the investigation made
 by State Superintendent of Insurance
 Hendricks. It Is based on information and belief and Attorney General Mayor | In his prayer to the courts says that the action was brought on behalf of the peo-
 pie of the state of New York in the public
 interests and pursuant to the provisions
 of law. He therefore asks
 Wants Account of Conduct.
 l. That the defendants either of them l other than the defendants, the Equitable | Life Assurance society of the United States, account for their official conduct | in the management and disposition or funds and property committed to their | charge.
 '.2 That the individual defendants and | each of them be compelled to pay the de-
 fendant the Equitable Life Assurance so-
 eiety of the United States any money ana | the value of any property which they or
 any of them have acquired to themselves | or transferred to others, or wasted by | violation of their duties.
 | '3. That any defendant or defendants. | now a director or directors, or officer in | the defendant society. upon proof of mis- | coduct be removed and that a new cleo ton be held by the board of the defend-
 ant society, purely authorized to hold the
 same in order to supply the vacancies created by the removal.
 ''4 That the net surplus of defendant
 society after deductng a sufficient
 amount to cover all outstanding risks and 1 obligations be paid or credited to, or ap- piled for the benefit of the present policy
 holders in equitable proportion in ac- | cordance with the charter and with law.
 '5 That the plaintiff have such other further relief as may be just equitable | and profitable"
 Illegal and Improper Acts.
 The complaint charges that the indi- vidual defendants disregardng their duty l to the society of which they were dlrec-
 tors 'negligently improperly and impro- 1 vidently performed such duties and have | habitually and continuously done or suf- | fered to be done wrongful. illegal and irn- | proper acts, whereof the defendant so- cety has suffered great loss and dam | age"
 The individual defendants are charged with having acquired to themselves, or caused to be permitted to be transferred fo OthQra in violation of their dnftas money and property belonging to the ds- fendant society,""
 Section 10 of the complaint deals with the lease of premises in New York to the Mercantile Safe Deposit company the rental of which Is declared to have been inadequate, and the terms of the lease greatly to the disadvantage of the Equit- abe society; furthermofe. that James H. Hyde. James w. Alexander. Gage E. Tarbell and other defendants were direc- tors in the Merchantile Safe Deposit com pany, and thereby derived a profit in violation of their duty to the Equitable society
 Referring to the purchase of the capi- tai stock of the Missouri Safe Deposit 1 company for which the Equitable paid s250 for each S1O0 par value share. the eleventh section of the complaint de- clares that the Equitable received but a nominal rent for the premises occupied by the safe deposit company: that at the time of the stock purchase, 1,410 shares | out of total of POO were owned by James 1 H. Hyde and the remainder by others of l the individual defendants. some of whom | were officers in the safe deposit company l and in the Equitable: furthermore that l at the time of ,he purchase the safe de- l posft company had no assets beyond the l lease and good will of the business by | virtue of the lease.
 Wrongly Assigned Balances. | The complaint charges that the indi- | vidual defendants "wastefully, improvi- dentiy and improperly permitted the de- | fendant society to make excessive and unwarranted loans to agents. which loans | the insurance department of this and | other states had decided could not be l considered assets of the society. and | that in order to avoid the effect of such decis'ons the individual defendants caused -