The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-14
RESIGNATION
 OF PERKINS. Orr and Claflin His
 Successors. MIR. PEABoDY's NEW JOB President of Mutual at $5,,-
 900 a Year. s~.asor Dryden, Before the Investisat- ins Cenmittee, Advocates Fed eral supervision of Lite In
 surance Companies.

New York, Dec. 13.--Two incidents afyecting the life insurance situation In New York today overshadowed the ieg- islative committee investigation. While the committee was inquiring into the conduct of the Prudential Life lnsur- asice Company and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. George w. Perkins resigned as first vice. president and chairman of the Finance Commit tee of the New York Life Insurance Company. He was succeeded as vice president by Alexander E.. Orr, presi- dent of the New York City Rapid Tran sit Commission. and as chairman of the Finance Committee by John F. Clafiin, head of the H. F. Clafiin Com pany.
 Ahothe, move in the situation was the election by the trustees of the Mu- tuai Life Insurance Company today of Charles A. Peabody to shcceed Richard . McCurdy as president of that com- pany at $50.000 a year MT. McCurdy's salary was $t50.000. Mir. Peabody is lawyer. the American representative of. William Waldorf Astor. and direc- tor in several banks and other corpora tions of which one is the Illinois Gen. tral Railroad. Mir Peabody also was nominated as trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company to succeed Justice Rufus W. PeckhaIn, and Emery Mo CIintack was named to succeed Elihu Root. They cannot be elected as trus- tees until the next meeting of the board
 United s.stes Senator John F. Dry den of New Jersey. President of the Prudential Life Insurance Company, again testified before the Investigating committee today and made a statement to, the committee of his reasons for favoring Federal supervision of life insurance companies through a na- i tfoual insurance derartment which he said should have hiFh authority over them This, he said. would benefit both the companies and the insured. Ismpnes of Policies.
 The tendencvso the holders of in- d,,striaI rolieies iu the Prudential and Metropoiitan Life Assurance Compariy to lapse were examined in great detail by Charies F, Hwgbrs. counsel for the co.nnpfttee. who uuoted a statement of the, Prudential connnany that 72 per cent of It's industrial policies Iaused within five years from the date of is- sue.
 Senator Dryden declared that this is much to be rexretted from the stand point of the company, as we'll as from that of the insured. that the tendency now is toward a greater persistencv on the part of the industrial holders than formerly. The Senator assured the committee that industrial insurance, even with high rates and tendency to lapse. Is the greatest economic force now in oneration in this country
 Just before adjournment today Haley Fiske. Vice President of the Metropol- itau Company, told of an incident in which that company commanded Will liam A. Reed to buy 3.333 shares of railroad stock for the company. Mir. Fiske said that MT. Read the same day sold the stock to a company of brokers at S1O share less than the brokers sold it to the Metropolitan. Mir. Fiske said he had tried to get the money back, but MT. Read refused to surrender 1t. Senator Dryden took the stand and Mir. Hughes read letter from an agent who complained against the regulation of the Prudential Company, which re- quired an agent to provide another poll icyholder without commission when an old one lapses.
 The Senator said he could maintain the energy of the agents by no other plan and that otherwise in short time the company would have no business
 Must Have the Business.
 If agents were not held responsible for larses." the Senator said, "the addi- tional cost to the company would be SC great that it could not do business . The Senator said that Peter Egenolf, a New York agent of the Prudential. gets s531 a week. Out of that he has to pay cler.i hire and other expenses. Eight ar ten of the agents of the company I. the Senator stated. get more than $1O, 000 year.
 Assemblvman Cox again brought uI the percentage of lapses in industrial insurance and Senator Dryden pointed out the economical value of the system in teaching thrift and in giving insur. ance.
 But they get so little of it, replied Mir. Cox.
 MT. Hughes went over with the Senator the sale of $500,00O bonds of the New ark Consolidated Gas Company, iI which Mir. Hughes brought out that tho Fidelity Trust Company was member of the syndicate which underwrote tho bonds and got a quantity of stock oi that company as a bonus Subsequent ly the Senator said the Prudential Com pany bought both bonds and stocki from the Fidelity Company at the mar ket price. Senator Dryden declared that the Prudential does not go into underwriting syndicates. and that I will not deposit money with the Fidel ity Trust Company for the purpose O. enabling it to engage in syndicate un derwriting. The Fidelity Trust Com pany did not underwrite the stock O the Public Service Corporation.
 In'replv to questions. Senator Drudel said he is member of the committe of the Fidelity Trust Company whlcl sells securities to the Prudential Com fial's committee which buys them Some other men, he said. are member Said Otb that tfs when the FIdeiitV " Trust Com panv bought stocks or bonds 1t di not know whether the Prudential conh take them or not, The Prudential hold itself so independent that if Is unbias {. ed, the senator added.
 FederaI Supervision.
 Mir Hughes asked the senator of hi views on the question of federal su pervfsion Of insurance corporations.
 "T have felt it would be great ad vantage to polIcv-holders and compa uies to have federal supervision.
 advocated this in t'peecb in BnSto, | think those for and agaInst fedora control are divided hv the constitution al mart of the question. assume tn power of Congress under the. Thoma clause to re@uiafe insurance Is debat able | know the Sunreme Courts de cisions are than insursnce is not in teretate commerce. AM such decision have been on state laws.
 1aSo federal law has raised tha point If sending q teleerarn froI one State t0 another is interstate com rnereA 1t la dif1cult for a lavman { understand why insurance Is not tn q