The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-22

Under the heading, "The Missouri Safe Deposit Company" the report says:
 ''The late Henry B. Hyde, who by this time had become firm believer, and an expert, in safe deposit business. concluded he could improve on the Bos- ton lease by s4,000 a year in favor Of himself anl his friends. and to the loss of the society,""
 The stock of the Missouri Safe De- posit company of St. Louis consisted of 2,0OO shares, par value, S100 each. Of these 1.745 were in the name of Louis Fitzgerald, and Mir. Hendricks says at this point: We have sent for Mir. Fitzgerald to tell us who the real own CT of this stock was, but he has not appeared. It may be assumed that most of it was owned by Henry B. Hyde himself, for while he favored his intimate friends on the inside at the expense of the society, he kept the lions share himself"
 In 1902, when it was desired to sell the St. Louis building. the purchaser objected to this lease and the safe de posit stock was bought by the Equita- ble Life at $250 per share, James H. Hyde, the owner of the 1,4OO shares, re- ceiving s352,000 in cash for his share.
 Of James W. Alexanders share in these leases MT. Hendricks makes the following statement:
 James w. Alexander says he signed these leases under the direction of Henry B. Hyde. believe that to be the fact, and it is the most charitable Ieonstruetion which can be placed upon his acts" x..
 The Commercial Trust company, of Philadelphia, is next taken up. In 1893 the New York state insurance depart ment refused to admit as an asset the Isociety's advances to agents. The Com imercial Trust company, of Philadel- lphia, was then made the assignee of large advances to agents, and the trust company then credited the society with these advances as cash deposits. On December F, 1904, the Equitable Life so lassigned to the Commercial Trust com Epany agents balances to the amount of l $4 427S, ,249, On the same day another assignment of agents balances was made to the Equitable Trust company, of New York, in the sum of $1,539, ,930. These sums were then entered on the books of both trust companies as loans to the Equitable Life, and interest was charged at the rate of 5 per cent. It is only fair, the report says, to say that ithe Equitable Life is a shareholder in both these trust companies, and shares I in their profits; but it is pointed out that James H. Hyde also is stock holder in them and has "a strong in- terest in seeing to it that these trust companies run no risk and reap good profits l The organization of the Equitable
 Trust company, of New York, original ly. the American Deposit and Loan company, was gone into thoroughly by MT. Hendricks, and he calls attention to the fact that the Equitable Life paid $500 share for 1O,563 shares of Equita- fble Trust stock. and that this stock now has a book value of $3SS.33 per tshare, a loss to the Life society of E$116.66. a share. MT. Hyde, however, and certain other shareholders secured holdings at $50 a share and have a
 book profit of $233.33 per share. This transaction shows, MT. Hendricks de- Iclares, that the officers and executive lcommittee of the Equitable Life were fnot solicitous for the soeiety's welfare, but were active in promoting their own private interests. -t ,s.
 A loss to the Equitable Life resulted from the consolidation of the Western National bank, of New York, with the I National Bank of Commerce in New York, according to the report The
 Equitable Life owned about 12,000
 shares. or a controlling interest, in the ] Western National, and Valentine P. Snyder, who was it's president, testified that he could have sold the controlling interest at $700 a share. In the merger, however, the Equitable Life accepted
 $7O in cash and $40 in stock of the Consolidated bank. Of this MT. Hen- ldricks says: -
 ''Mr. Snyder was asked what the Equitable society really gained by the Emerger, and he answered nothing but promises and prospects, ; which, con-
 clude, did not materialize, as he after
 wards stated that the present book Ivalue of the National Bank of Com- Imerce stock was between 145 and 15o. !"
 The syndicate transactions of James
 H. Hyde and associates are referred Ito as notorious. James W. Alexan- lders name is given in the list of par lticipants and it is shown that in yari- ous bond issues by Kuhn, Loeb & Co.,,
 Speyer & Co, J. F. Morgan & Co. and
 Brown Brothers the syndicate was rep resented in the underwriting. The to- ttal profits of the syndicate are placed lat $1S6,107, of which $63,731 each went to
 James H. Hyde and James W. Alexan- Ider. Another participant was William
 H. Mcintyre, fourth vice-president ot
 the Equitable, whose share was $14, APO
 All of those who took part in these |, dealings, the report says, should be compelled to pay back the sums receiv.
 ed by them 'This is only very mild punishment" says the report.
 MT. Mcintyre, ir1 testifying before the lstate Investigators, held that he was mot a member of the Equitable execu- ltive or finance committee, and, there- fore, was blameless. On this MT. Hen. , dricks comments as follows:
 His. comprehension as to the duties of director toward his trust estate is not surprising, for he was reared in tn, society since the age of fourteen anG Iun0ar tha ipnn1pdiota t,,+a1arn 70 4lx