The San Francisco call., 1905-08-01

value of property belonging to the de-
fendant society,"
Section 10 of the complaint deals with
the lease of premises in New York to the
Mercantile Safe Deposit Company. the
rental of which is declared TO have been
inadequate and the terms of the lease
greatly to the disadvantage of the Equi-
table Society; furthermore, that James
H. Hyde, James W. Alexander. Gage E.
Tarbell and other defendants were di-
reetors in the Mercantile Safe Deposit
Company and thereby derived a profit in
violation of their duty to the Equitable
Society.
Referring to the purchase of the CAPT
tai stock of the Missouri Safe Deposit
Company. for which the Equitable paid
$3.50 for each 800 par value. the eleventh
section of the complaint declares that
the Equitable received but "a nominal
rent for the premises occupied by the
Safe Deposit Company; that at the time
of the stock purchase 1410 shares out Oh
total of 1000 were owned by James II.
Hyde and the remainder by others of
the individual defendants. some of whom
were officers in the Safe Deposit Com
pany and in the Equitable; furthermore,
that at the time of the purchase the Safe
Deposit Company had no assets beyond
the lease and good will of the business
by virtue of the lease.
RAKE-OFF FOR TRUST COMPANY.
The matter of loans TO agents, which
were assigned to the Commercial Trust
Company of Philadelphia, is set forth.
the charge being made that for the
money advanced on such assignments
per cent interest was paid. while the
trust company at the same time held
large sums of the societys money for
which 1t paid but per cent interest.
Referring to the merger in 1892 of the
Western National Bank of the City of
New York. in which the Equitable So
ciety was the owner of 1900 shares,
with the National Bank of the United
States of New York, the complaint says
the society received $40 in cash and $40
in stock of the Consolidated Bank in ex-
change for each 500 par value Of the
stock in the Western National Bank,
making the total amount received $40
for each share, the market value OF
which at the time was from $500 to $625
per share.
A schedule of the salaries paid dur
ing the last five years to the principal
officers of the society is appended TO
the complaint, which declares such sal
aries to have been largely in excess of
the value of the services of the persons
named and that the payment or such
salaries resulted in substantial loss to
the society. 1t is also charged that. in
addition to the salaries referred to, the
individual defendants. as officers, mem
bers of committees, trustees or agents.
permitted the defendant society 10 pay
to many of the above named officers
and directors and to others large and
unwarranted sums as expenses incurred
by such persons in the service or the.
society, and said sums were paid with
out sufficient vouchers, without proper
proof of their amounts and without IL
being properly shown that the said de-
fendant society in any way benefited
by such expenditures or was legally or
properly chargeable Herewith.
GRAFT IN GUISE OF SALARIES.
The complaint also charges:
THAT the defendants wrongfully
caused the defendant society and a
number of other societies and corpora
tions in which the defendant society
was largely a stockholder and in which
some of said individual defendants
were also stockholders, to pay large
sums of money to themselves, or to
some of their number and to other per-
sons under the guise of salaries and
fees for attending to their duties as Of
ficers and directors and members of
committee of defendant society, and
of several other societies and corpora
tions."
Especial mention is made of the re-
cefpt by Mr.. Hyde Of salaries aggre-
eating $4,000 annually from the Equi-
table, Mercantile and Commercial trust
companies, in all of which the EQui-
table Life is largely interested.
Allegation is also made of the pay
ment of illegal and excessive pensions
to various persons and of the payment
of Excessive, improper and unwarrant-
ed sums to various attorneys and coun
selors at law. the aggregate amount
of which far exceeded and was entirely
disproportionate to the services rem
dered."
OF the loan to the Depew Improve
ment Company the complaint charges:
THAT the defendants improperly, i'm
providently and wastefully procured
and permitted the defendant society to
loan the sum of s25e.0o0 to the Depew
Improvement Company, a corporation
doing business in the state of New
York, in which company the defend
ants, Chauncey NJ Depew and others
of the individual defendants. were