The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-15
SOME INTERESTING FACTS
Metropolitan Now Under
 Glaring Searchlight.
Company Has Nh Treasurer, Cashier Acting in That Capacity
 More Concerning Those
 Syndicate Operations.

assurance companies metnOuS duJOuih~ ed today, Chief Counsel Hughes had finished for the present the exanina- lion into the Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Metropolitan Life In- firance Company was started on, when Eilas B. Butcher, a director and mem Der of the Finance Committee, was call td to the stand.
 Mir. Butcher was questioned regard Ing the securities held by the Metropol- tan and as to the syndicate operations If his company. He was asked the talaries of the company's officers, but }ould not remember them. He will pres tent the list of officers salaries to the Sommittee tomorrow. MT. Butcher was 4till on the stand when the committee Adjourned.
 Earlier in the day Treasurer Crom- Tail had taken the stand to continue kis explanations of the Mutual Life tyndicate operations In explaining the relations of the Mutual with trust hompanies. Mir. Cromwell stated the in- keresting fact that on the purchase Of l,i20,000 shares of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, the Mutual had re- seived In dividends $1,220,0o0. making these shares cost nothing and realizing pFofit. Mir. Cromwell stated these shares were now selling at over 500.
 On the advantage of dealing through sSndicates in preference to buying rail- rhad bonds direct. Mr. Cromwell said he had actually tried to buy bonds direct from a railroad company. He went to his friend stuyvesant Fish, President of the illinois Central.
 MT. Fish told me that he could not afford to sell bonds to the Mutual" he aaid
 sSThen the truth is that the railroads must stand in with the bankers, in orr der to sell their securities and the in- suraHce companies must stand in with the bankers in order to buy at low prices7'' Mir. Hughes asked.
 Exactly
 t,.The bankers control the situation?'' I No doubt about that"
 sharekeidesa Obdaratss
 Tn his testimony after the recess, ex- planning d matter of purchase of Bank ofeCalifornia stock, Mir. Cromwell said the issue price of the new stock was $50. Mir Cromwell hoped to get the shares at this figure, but in the end the shareholders, to whom under the Cali fornia law the rights to the new issue belonged, held out, and the Mutual ob- tained its 5000 shares at an average price of SS0 S-10. The sale was entire- ly By individuals, and there was no syndicate. The transaction was left entirely to William Babcock with ab- solute confidence that he was dealing fairly with the Mutual
 MT. Hughes asked how the increases or decreases of bank balances were controlled.
 T control them," said Mir Cromwell. |. He recalled that in one instance he added $1 1000. 900 to the deposits In the Guaranty Trust Company, because, the trust company needed the money for a special purpose. He could not remem- Der what was the special contingency, but he promised to look up the records and disclose 1t. This case, he said,' was in no wise unusual.
 Mir Hughes asked If anybody else had a word to say about increasing a de- posit.
 NO; I do it." was the answer. T take the responsibility.
 Mir Cromwell said the company's bus mess could not be conducted effectively unless some one had the power to reg ulate the deposits. But. finally. he added, the Finance Committee must ap- prove his actions. for all the bank bal ances were scrutinized by the commit tee every week. His own power of regulation, therefore. was temporary and anything he might do could be re- voked within week.
 Debenture Holdings.
 Mir. Cromwell was asked whether he increased or decreased his holdings in the debentures of the United States Mortgage and Trust Company to assist the trust company. He replied.
 Not entirely so; 1t is partly to help our whole western cliertiel to know that through one of our companies they can get money on bonds and mort gages'
 "The advertising. printing. statione- " and postage accounts of the Mutual is Si.1s4,s34: of the New York Life ss5l,25s; of the Equitable s772,645. Can you explain these very large amounts?'
 'T know nothing about 1t. Current expenses of the Mutual are under a special committee"
 "Is the same true of the legal ex- penses to the sum of $3s4.254?"
 q have nothing to do with it. It would be under the law department
 DO you, as subsidiary companies. make advances to agents?'
 NO sir
 How are advances made to agents by the Mutual?"
 .It is done through the general agents of the departments, but un- derstand the amounts are not large"
 "Does the Guaranty Trust Company or the United States Mortgage and Trust Company make loans on mort "Sot to my knowledge; would not like to swear to it."
 "You have an account with the American Exchange Bank?"
 we have had 1t for nearly genera tion."
 "None whatever It's president is one of our trustees. He tells us frankly | If we want interest we must go else r,here hut we have not thought it ~ractous to close our account?'
 . Has Nc Treasurer. ', u,a. at thls point that Mfr. Butcher was called While his testimony de- vsioned nothing of startling or sen setInnal nature. several statements neade bv the witness were of passing i,,terast One of these was that the nnu,nanv had no treasurer, the cashier oo oot,p@ in that capacity. The list of atonE and securities held by the Motronoiitan on January I. 1905, was nes sInd Tor identification; also the lists ns t,,ar n,rcbases r and sales of securities and o1ra,cste oI pTcs psrticipations in the last ten Ss years were produced and put in as evi-
 of Of s75,ooo.ooo of the securities s,i held sId bv the Metropolitan about se5'ooo.ooo