New-York tribune., 1905-06-03
TIE EQUITABLE SITUATION

The committee of directors appointed 10 III
yestigate the condition and management VI lie
Equitable society gave assurances III advance III
announcing the scope of It's inquiry anu JUNO
wise that the exploration would be thorough.
| The report submitted on Wednesday cohhrms
| the expectation so created, and though lts auop
ton was defeated yesterday by compinatloi
of antagonistic elements its signihcahce was ho'
| misunderstood by any one present at the meet
ing while its effects are visible III the co'iiuSe"
proceedings which followed
| The committees conclusions are OF a grave
character Ii is found that the society S man
agement has been in some ways exceedingly eA-
| trayagant 1t has produced an enormous amount
of business but that business has cost 1ar lou
much. and the policyholders in the END nave
borne the burden. There can be no doubt I'D any
| reasonable mind that some of the salaries pau
Gro out of all proportion to the services rendered
If would be absurd, for example, to pretend that
Mr.. HYDE has fairly earned the great sums
which he has drawn from the society and its
affiliated institutions, or that the ownership OF
q majority of the stock should be regarded by
himself or anybody else as warrant Ior appro-
priating to him such a revenue. Inc EqultaDle
has produced receipts so immense ana heipeu
nm a treasure so enormous, that it probably
seemed as natural as it easy to indulge III
n swift pace of expenditure. But that shoulo
not have been the prevailing conception OF what
was due to the vast body of men and women
whose savings constituted its resources, held IN
trust for their benefit. There has apparently
been clearer sense of opportunity than OF oon-
cation and it is necessary to bring the manage
ment back to original principles-to those prln-
ciples which the elder Hyde employed In Great
ing the society and making 1t great, Whatever
departure from them there may have been De-
fore his death. The committee reports that no
loss resulted from the syndicate operations OF
men officially connected with the society. ana
no criminal performance or intention Is auegeu
against them But the fact remains that their
participation in those personal enterprises was
improper, and it may be safely assumed that
they now perceive the truth to which they TOO
long remained insensibe.
Abuses may almost imperceptibly arise IN the
management of any great business ana allalh
large proportions before those really responsible
for them come to realize how they have accumu-
lated. So it seems to have been with the Equlta-
ble Its president through his counsel mas
claimed credit for at last taking the necessary
course which led to the resounding controversy
and painful exposures of the last three months
But Mr. Alexander's action was belated- Ii
wears ago he had not merely demonstrated, as
he is said 10 have DONE against methods ana
transactions which he finally pronounced ao-
horrent and disastrous, but had appealed to the
directors for a thorough housecleanlnS, Ills
scandal might have been averted without any
need of taking the public behind the scenes.
That it has been either possible or desirable to
avoid publicity in setting the Equitable house
in order we have not believed at any recent
stage of the controversy. 1t certainly has not
of late been even conceivable that the public
| would be left unacquainted with the main feat
| ures of the contest with two hostile factions
! pouring information into the newspaper offices.
1t Is obvious that reorganization In some
form is indispensable. What its form shall be
IS at present debatable, and may remain 80, at
| least until the Superintendent Of Insurance has
completed his investigation and announced his
conclusions The situation is extremely COM
plicated for various reasons, not the least OF
which is the recent decision Of Justice Maddox,
which is sure to be resolutely and resourcefully
contested. An extra session of the legislature is
| approaching, consideration Of the affairs Of the
society may possibly be transferred to Albany,
| and if an application for a new charter should
| be seriously submitted it could not well be
! ignored. The re-establishment Of the society
| on different foundation, in the full confidence
| of its policyholders and of the public from whom
! its future business must be derived, may not be
! either quickly or easily accomplished; but what
| ever effort the achievement of that object may
require will have to be exerted.