Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-08
ITS COLOSSAL CAPITAL
MILLIONS FOR DIVISION IN THE
EQUITABLE LIFE TREASURY.
What Would Ensue if Threat to Wind
UP Big Company is Car
ried Out.

surance Society war in New York Monday
the astounding threat made by one OF
the Hyde party that rather than surrender
control of the society the affairs of the
Equitable would be wound up so that the
huge assets of the corporation could be dis
| tributed among the stockholders.
| The method proposed was follows:
To provide for the reinsurance of the co.,,
| Geo policy holders of the Equitable in other
companies. notably the New York Life and
the Mutual Life. arrangement that
| would transfer to the companies taking the
reinsurance sums from the assets of the
Equitable sufficient to profit them in taking
such tremendous amount of business in
one lump, and much of 1t old business that
is soon to mature.
The first step in this monumental move
ment would be refusal to accept any new
business and the complete disintegration of
the magnificent organization built up dur
ing the past forty-five years and maintained
in every city, town and village of the coun-
try for the acquisition of new business.
Plan Declared Legal.
The legality of such a movement, 1t is as
serted, could not be successfully attacked.
there being several presidents in existence
where life insurance companies have gone
out of business by. transferring to other
companies all of their outstanding policies,
together with proportion of the premium
money paid in on each. These companies
so wound up were all comparatively small
affairs which could not cope with the Big
Three" the Equitable. the New York and
the Mutual.
In every case in the past the companies
which took over the insurance were stronger
| than the ones which originally issued it,
and on this account the policyholders raised
no objections.
If the affairs of the Equitable were wound
l fund Of
Sab 600 600 were used to pay into the treas
uries of the companies which take over its
81, 500, 600, 600 of outstanding policies, there
would still remain the surplus of sSl 100000.
Distribution of Assets.
The policyholders all being disposed of
and without any right to claim any inter-
est in the Equitable 1t is claimed that it
would then be eminenuy proper to wind up
its affairs by distributing its assets pro
rata among the surviving owners-the
stockholders.
Were such a plan carried out the $780,
600 capital stock of the society would have
at the least a value equivalent to the sur
plus of $S1 100000. This would make each
one of the thousand shares worth ISL 600:
1t would make the SO shares of the
HYDE estate worth SAL 10000, or more
than eight times the amount offered young
Mr.. Hyde for his controlling interest by
the Hartman Prick syndicate.
however greatly in excess of so shares.
Since the fight began young Mr.. Hyde,
on the advice of his lawyers. has bought
every share of Equitable stock that could
be bought. Enormous prices have been paid
for some of the shares
Hyde's Share $72, 10000
Mr.. Hyde, having access to the stock
holders book of the society, knows the
ownership of every one of its shares. Sew
boil arS N sided
President Alexander have, 1t is said, been
unable to resist the tremendous prices Of
| fered by Mr.. Hyde's agents for their hold
| ingS.
II was estimated yesterday that hyde's
| stockholdings in the Equitable are now
very close to 90 per cent of the total capital
stock.
On a basis of 90 per cent, were the COM
pany wound up in the way described above.
the share of the Hyde family would De IN
excess of So, 100000.
Until it was learned that Mr.. Hyde was
buying up every share of Equitable stock
that he or his agents could bring to the
surface by offers of fabulous sums not
much attention was paid by the adherents
of President Alexander to the threat to
wind up the company.
These stock purchases, together with
other happenings, have led some of the
Alexander men into the belief that the
proposition may have been more than an
empty threat; but even these men, though
they are keenly cognzant of the extreme
bitterness of the fight, cannot convince
themselves that such wonderful property
as the Equitable could actually be wiped
out and destroyed.
Forty Dummy Directors.
They admit, though. that as matters now
stand it would be possible for the stock
holders, majority Of them, to resolve to
wind up the company
Because of Mr.. Hydes recent purchase OF
rl..r
that there are now forty dummy directors
out of the fifty-one in the directorate OF
the society. Not one of these, 1t is alleged.
is actually the proprietor of the five shares
Of stock necessary under the charter OF ICE
society to qualify a man to act as a direct
or Nearly every one of the forty dummy
directors is a multi-milfionaire, the list in
Guiding such men as E. H. Hartman, ia
cob H. Schiff George Jay Could A. ].
CasSatt, Cornelius N. Bliss, Alfred G.. VAN
derbilt and Senator Chauncey NJ Depew.
The Equitable company sent formal re-
fusal yesterday to the Crimmins committee
of policy holders in response to a request
for a complete list of the 100000 policy
holders of the company.
Colossal Capital
Up to 6 o'clock last night the malls had
brought them letters from over 10000 pol
icy holders in New York alone all pledging
their support to the movement to have the
Equitable mutualfzed.
Every mail brings to the committee an
increase in the letters from policy holders.
By the end OF the week it is expected that
at least $1,000 policy holders, representing
an aggregate insurance of $250,Oo0,0 viii
be lined up under the committees banner.
The bill which has been drawn up oy
BOardman, Plat & Solely of counsel to the
committee is practically completed, ana
will be introduced at Albany within a few
days.
To Combat Legislative Action.
1t has been learned that the present
plan of the Hyde faction is to combat the
right of the legislature to compel the mu-
tualzation of the Equitable on lines unsat-
isfactory to a majority of it's stockholders
and directors.
Should the bill which the Crimmns COM
mittee has prepared become law IT is the
present purpose of the Hyde party to con-
test its constitutionality in the courts all
the way up to the United States Supreme
Court In this event the ultimate fate OF
the Equitable would be in doubt for prob
ably two years more.
ASSemDlyman Otto G.. FOelker reDubli-