Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-11-09
BIG SCANDAL
IN INSURANCE
Former Officials of North
western National Life
Indicted.
BY MINNEAPOLIS GRAND JURY
Transcript Brought to Federal Court
in Des Moines, Where They Will
Be Used in Civil Suit Instituted
BY iowans.

Minneapolis, Mimi, Nov. 6.-The
officers of the Northwestern National
Life, who were indicted here on Sat
urday, are as follows:
William. f. Becntel. former presi-
dent of the Northwestern National
Life Insurance company; William A.
Keer, former attorney for the COM
pany and law partner of Judge F. V.
Brown of the district bench; A. ".
Sackett, the former secretary; Wal.
lace Campbell, former vice president
and DR.. Jacob f. Farce, former vice
president of the company and the
president of the Northwestern Ma
tional Life Insurance company, which
with several others were merged
with the Minneapolis company Sew
eral men also must face trial for de-
frauding the policy holders of the
company.
Elmer A. Dearth, former state in
surance commissioner of Minnesota,
is one of the indicted. Several
charges were brought against him.
William F. Bechtel, the former
president of the company, is thought
by the authorities to be the ring
leader of the crowd.
Des Moines, Nov. 6.-The biggest
scandal known in western insurance
circles and which may be the opening
of as nauseating mess of rotten
ness as the eastern insurance trou-
bles was the indictment on various
counts of the old officers of the
Northwestern National Life Insur-
ance company at Minneapolis on Sat
urday. The, civil features of the
case will be brought at once to Des
Moines and will be fought out in
the federal court in this city.
The indictment will be followed by
the bringing of the transcripts to
Des Moines and filing them in the
federal court here in an effort to
separate the old Northwestern Life
and Savings company from the Min
neapolis concern which absorbed it
just two years ago.
The indictment of these officials
of the company which engineered the
merging of the Iowa company with
the consolidation of several other
suit of an investigation started in
Des Moines and which has extended
into Minnesota The officials are all
charged with looting, with bribery,
with embezzlement and with the max
ing away with funds which belong
to the policy holders of the former
companies merged with the Mime
apolis concern.
For months the Hennepin county,
Mimi, grand jury has been at work
and with information. part OF which
has been furnished by Des Moines
people, probed into the secrets of the
ring control of this organization.
Charges of minor graft were taken
up and thoroughly investigated and
before the investigation had gone
far the matters were found to be of
serious nature. All kinds of graft
was found to have existed according
to the evidence which was brought
before the grand jury at Mime
apolis.
1t was learned through the testi-
mony offered the grand jury that
these officers, who were indicted Sat
urday, had been operating pool,
buying off officers, buying out inter-
ests and bribing officials relative to
the publishing of reports.
The transcripts of the grand jury
evidence will be brought to Des
Moines at once and filed with the
federal court for use in the case in
stituted here by eX-Congressman
Walter Fl. Butler and others, for
merly employees of the Northwestern
National Life Insurance. company
and policy holders in the Northwest
ern Life and Savings of Des Moines.