Evening star., 1905-10-06
McCURDY QUESTIONED
! Mutual Life Manager Wit
ness Again Today
TN INSURANCE INQUIRY
MORE DEVELOPMENTS ABOUT
COMMISSIONS AND CONTRACTS.
Different Systems Of Agency Business
Told in Detail-Some High Sala-
ries for Agent Services.

ries for Agent Services.
| Curdy. general manager of the Mutual Life
| Insurance Company was again a witness
| today In the insurance investigation. He
| went on the stand Immediately after Cor
nelius C. White. auditor of the New
! York Life Insurance Company, had left It
| after making q correction In his testimony
relative to the $75OOO0 payments to An
| drew Hamilton. the lawyer, in 1904 He
| said that the $141 OFT received by Hamilton
In 1904 included the $4,000 which was
| charged to state taxes.
| Mr.. McCurdy said that the proportion or
| his commission on the foreign business,
| paid. to c. H. Raymond after he left the
| firm of c. H. Raymond & Co., would be
| presented in a statement now being type
4 written.
| The salaries of the Mutual Life Insur-
| ance Company's officers, the witness said,
were fixed by the finance committee. He
| did not know the salary of the president,
| nor did he know that anybody did besides
| the president. He did not know that the
| finance committee ever fixed the president s
! salary
Made All Contracts With Agents.
| Witness said that he, as general man
| ager. made all contracts with agents. The
general agents on the same plane as Z. h.
| Raymond & Co. number seven In the United
| States two in Canada and one in Mexico
| All the foreign agents are general agents
| There are seventy-five salaried agents
| aside from those who besides salary re-
| ceive commissions on first-year premiums
| but no renewals The highest salary paid
to ia Maid the general
| agent at Chicago.
/ Witness then detailed the changing OF
| the agency system from that of general
| agencies with commissions like the Ray
| mond firm to that of salaried agents. The
| reason for these changes, he said, was that
| the new system was more economical to
| the company, productive Of more business,
| and easier to handle.
| When a general agency is changed 10 d
salaried agency the renewal commissions
| called for by the contracts under a gen
| eral agency are still paid to the salaried
| agent.
Salaried Agencies.
The Raymond firm was not changed to
| a salaried agency because the contract with
| c. H. Raymond & Co. which expired in
| 1904, was continued by the witness through
1905. So far as he knew, there was no rea-
son why this agency should not have peen
changed to a salaried agency in 1900.
He was not general manager then and
was not familiar with the affairs of the
| company at that time. Witness reason for
extending the contract through 1905 was
because for the five previous years the firm
| had been writing 100000 insurance
| year. The firm had six branch offices. and
| he wanted. In competition, with the New
| York Life and Equitable, to continue to es-
| tablish branch offices. -.
| He figured the cost would be 000O,
| and he could not very well ask the Ray
mond firm to put up that money when they
had but years contract. he therefore
| entered agreement to have the Mutual
Life pay this expense and guarantee the
Raymond firm $4,000 business. The firm
was then receiving 81 per cent of first-year
premiums.
Concessions Allowed.
Subsequently this was raised to 96 per
cent of frst-year premiums. In considera-
ton of the firm allowing certain conces-
sions to the company in developing the
agency business, and with the expectation
of converting this agency to a salaried one
at the end of 1895. he extended the con-
tract. Witness said there is constant ef-
fort to reduce expenses, but to reduce eX-
penses is usually to reduce business.
In making the contract with Raymond &
Co., witness said. he had not the faintest
idea what MIR. Thebaud was getting from
the business.
The general agency system, he said. has
built up the life insurance business. TT has
paid large rewards for large achievements, -
he said. Continuing, witness said that until
he saw a statement two months ago he did
not know what the division between Mr..
Thebaud and Mr.. Raymond was This
large reward for large achievements" said
Mr. McCurdy, has built up railroads and
all other businesses, and it justifes us In
adopting such a system
Witness did not know what general agen-
cies of the New York Life Insurance Com
pany of the Equitable Society received
a a II RavmOnd q, hy,tS
that the agents who write the business get
just as large premiums in other companies
as In the Mutual Life Company.
Witness said that last year the Mutual
Life Insurance Company wrote s26 900
worth of business more than in the previous
year, and the expenses were reduced at a
ratio of 2 per cent. The total receipts for
1904 were SS1,0o2, 9S4 and the total expenses
SIG, sos. .456. The usual ratio of expense was
estimated at about 25 per cent.
1t the impression of the witness that
the general agency in Texas received as
high compensation as c. H. Raymond & Co
Higher commissions were allowed In New
York and Texas than anywhere else, be-
cause 1t cost more to get the business.
A 100000 Man.
Don't you think you could get Mr. The
bauds services for s100C00?' Mr.. Hughes
asked.
II suppose so. If he didn't have con-
tract"
Don't you think you could get them for
$4,000, instead of s147. 900 that he received
from Raymond & Co last yearg' Mr..
Hughes continued
II am not so sure of that" witness re-
Piled
Asked to explain what conditions of COM
petition permitted the firm of Raymond Il
Co. to make $247 900 last year. of which Mr.
Thebaud received $4,000, witness said the
company did not know what the firm was
making out of the business, and that like
every merchant and business man, they
were in the business for what they could
get out OF II.
Mr.. Hughes asked Did you inquire or
| learn In any way what C. H. Raymond &
Co. had been makngT'
No
.Omght not eeneral rnanaoer q irni,ira