The news & observer., 1905-12-28
THE INSURANCE
SECRET SERVICE
Mr.. Hamilton S Statement
Sheds Some Light.
HE KEPT NO BOOKS
Declines to Account for $235,QQG
With Which He Was IntrusteSAe
Says Absolute Secrecy Was
Necessary in the Service He
and Others Rendered.
(By the Associated Press.)

(By the Associated Press.)
New York, Dec. 27.-Andrew Ham
ilton, the Legislative agent for the
New York Life Insurance Company
who, according to testimony, has been
entrusted with hundreds of thousands
of dollars by the company and has
not accounted for $235, 900, has been
heard from by the Legislative In
surance Investigation Committee, but
has declined to make an accounting
A statement by Mr.. Hamilton was
read for the record today. 1t was
presented by Secretary John c. Nc
Call of the New York Life, who went
to Paris to secure an accounting from
Hamilton. In his statement Mr..
Hamilton says that he is unable to
produce any books or accounts. be-
cause he undertook the legislative
matters for the life insurance COM
panies with the express understanding
that he was to make no accounting.
Absolute secrecy was necessary in re-
taining assistants, therefore no checks
were used in making payments. Mr..
Hamilton went into an exhaustive eX-
planation of the reasons for organiz-
ing this confidential service, as he
characterized it. covering his methods
of work and citing number of Leg
islativc bills III which he had been
Interested A list of exnGnses from
1889 to 1904 was appended to the
statement. The sum of $235,000 un-
accounted for, he says, would be
greatly reduced by his running ac-
count still unsettled and open. ana,
as q matter of faith pending q settle
ment, he offers to deposit 100000
with the company.
Mr.. Hamilton, in his statement, says
that at the time Of his employment
BY the New York Life. the life in
surance companies feared that unless
concerted action be taken they might
be ally~icgislated and taxed out
of existence.
How il Was Reasoned Out.
"The usual practice of depending
alone uDon counsel to attend and pre-
sent arguments was determined to be
insuficiency," says Mr.. Hamilton.
"The very fact that the great life
| insurance interests of New York ia
vored or opposed pending legislative
propositions, would itself often con-
centrate the opposition against their
view; SO likewise did the knowledge
| that we were represented at the capi-
| tails of various States lead to demands
| that political favorites should be en-
| ployed in the role of counsel which.
| if acceded to, placed our affairs at the
! mercy of those who did not possess
our confidence. These and other con-
siderations led the three companies to
| but one conclusion. We felt that if
| a secret service was a permissible
governmental agency, a confidential
service would be the only effective
! and at the same time proper plan to
I guard the welfare of the most eX-
! tcnsive commercial interests in the
world-the life insurance business OF
| the State of New York. This con-
| fidential secret service was decided
! upon as the only feasible plan of pro-
| tectiOn.
Mr. Hamilton gives a long sum-
mary OF the various styles of bills
| hostile TO insurance companies, many
/ of them taxation measures, bills to
| compel the companies reports to be
repeatedly and unnecessarily publish
| ed in newspapers are advocated" says
Mr.. Hamilton, "to gain favor with
| the press for increasing their reve-
nues. Outrageous propositions. such
! as the 10 per cent tax proposed IN
Arkansas or the absurd propositions
| like the Michigan bill, where doc
| tors certificate of ill-health would
excuse the payment of the insurance
| premium and keep a policy in force;
| or tho Virginia BILL making it ac-
| tionablc for life Insurance agent to
| enter the Office of a man where the
! sign no agents allowed is displayed
find the legislative favor. However
ridiculous those bills may seem, they
| demand attention.
A Sub Rosa Business.
"At the canital of every State we
! have retained representatives for the
| companies. or IN combination with
| some one have retained representa-
| tives duly influential. 1t has been
! found sdyisable as the result of ex-
! perience to avoid as far as possible
any exact public information as to
| who represents us. The known pres
| ence of a corporation represented at
| tho legislative halls is the signal for
/ renewed vigor in the attacks of black
mailers and cranks. and unfortunately
members of the legislative body are
| frequently deaf to reasoning where
| non-yoting or corporate interest Is at
stake. Where it becomes necessary,
we have often occasion to employ the
! colurnns of the papers of the pubic
press for a discreet advocacy of our
views. this method has been found to
be yerv efficient,3 but it has also been
] found very expensive. l have found
| that j., my work in every Legislative
, BODY IN the United States there was
as large o proportion of honest men
as there is any body of men in any
walk Of life. Permit me also to state
! that i, my work I have not found it
so dificuJt to defeat blackmailers. A
man who is out to blackmail corpor-