New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-06-11
NOW CONTROL EQUITABLE.
HYDE STOCK PAID FOR.
Rgan Policyholders Thought to Haze
GiUen about S5 900, 900.

.-.nsaction by which Mr.. Ryan and group OF
..oc;stes aiI policyholders in the society. OBJ
,e,ned from Mr.. Hyde Sol shares were COM
,asted at a conference at the Morton Trust Com
,snv al which were Mr.. Hyde. Mr.. Ryan, W. C.
cplliver OF Mr.. Hyde's legal staff. and w. H
Mcintyre, fourth vice-president Of the society
end one Of the trustees OF the Hyde stock. Paul
Merton the new chairman OF the Equitable
hoard arrived Just before the assemblage
broke up
rov much was paid for the stock is a secret
,ase,v guarded. It was not SO much had
heen offered by some OF the interests which
hsve been trying to buy out the control. some
os Mr. Hydes close friends admit. The figure
4. placed by Wall Street generally at between
ss 800 600 and S5,0OOoo0 The 501 shares nomf-
nauv are worth $50. 100. Control of this stock
viii be passed to the trustees named by MI
Ryap as soon as the transfer books Of the So
c;s-v can be opened for the entries and this
sock viii be voted by the trustees in the reor-
xanization of the board
That Mr.. Hyde had made, as TO money, fine
nrott from the sale OF his stock a opinion
freely expressed yesterday, but his friends de-
care6 that. aside from regularly recognized
u1onev value and sentimental value to Mr.
HYDE personally. the control OF the stock had
another distinct value. Men often pay large
gums which they recognize far in excess
of the intrinsic value OF the articles purchased
because by the Of these things they can win
fame or honor, they argued The purchase Of
this stock enables a man to go In as the head
OF great society and gives him the opportunity
TO make q reputation great executive, said
Mr.. Eydes friends.
Much speculation existed among Wall Street
men yesterday S to whether Mr. Ryan had OBJ
tanned a practical control of the Equitable,
which he would use by borrowing its funds to
carry on his great transit enterprises. Such
condition. Mr.. Hyde's friends said could not
exist Mr. Ryan would not be able to vote the
stock acquired by the policyholders, they said.
and any transactions by which the Equitable
leaned money or bought securities would be far
more closely inspected under the reorganized
management than at present.
report that the transfer of the stock to the
policyholders' association was not bona fde
sale, but an agreement by which at the end
OF some ten years Mr.. Hyde would resume
troll of the stock. brought forth explicit de-
NAL from Samuel Untermyer, Mr.. Hyde's chief
counsel. There was absolutely no truth in IT,
he said. Mr.. hyde had In mind no temporary
expeeient and the associated with Mr.
Ryan would have been parties to no such trans
action. Mr.. Ryan had consented TO act as the
representative of the poiicyholders only on his
own urgent request, said Mr.. Uutermyer, and
then only because of a strong sense OF public
dur r.
Friends of Mr.. Ryan took exception to the
pointed statements that syndicate" had
bought the majority Of Mr.. Hyde's stock.
There is no syndicate about IT, said one Of
these. "It is simply associated policyholders.
Probably every one who has policy OF $1,000
will be entitled to vote for twenty-eght
Of the directors"
Things have moved rapidly in the nomna-
ton OF Mr. Morton and his acceptance of the
oh. Ffr -l,orS ~ foo
stitute for Mr.. Morton in the building of new
subways has yet been even talked Of.
Who the members of the group of policyhold-
ers represented by Mr.. Ryan could not be
ascertained. Mr. Ryan would not discuss it, and
Mr.. Hyde refused TO talk about the sale Of his
stock
John D. Crimrnins said last night that the pol
tcyholders' committee of which he head
not at present represented in the Ryan syndi-
cate. Mr.. Crimmins not willing to say
whether not any of the committee would be-
come interested in the syndicate. He said the
plan Of naturalization proposed was that which
Mr. Hyde had insisted on being carried out from
the beginning He declined to express any opin-
Ion on the Equitable situation In general
Ex-President Cleveland sent word yesterday
TO Thomas F. Ryan that he would take the place
as trustee Of the stock which Mr.. Ryan had
offered to him. George Westinghouse also ac-
have consented to serve.
Il have indicated my acceptance and have
done SO because it appears to IN the light OF
an important public duty.
E1-President Grover Cleveland in this terse
statement yesterday told q Tribune reporter his
decision to becoming of the three trustees
Of the majority stock holdings. The last three
important public duty"-express his
only motive.
1t did not take Mr.. Cleveland long to make
up his mind He has watched the developments
OF the Equitable tangle from the beginning.
His mind was already made up to what
Necessary to replace the company in the conf
denee Of the public. Yesterday morning, Francis
Lynde Stetson representing Mr. Ryan. visited
Mr.. Cleveland at his home jn Princeton and went
away with the formal acceptance The exact
terms in which the acceptance was couched
were not given out.
Then with Mrs. Cleveland and party of
friends, he drove to Princeton Field and saw
The baseball game in which his Tigers went
down to defeat
A Princeton man who is close to the ex-Presi-
dent declared that Mr. Cleveland would put his
best efforts into solving the Equitable problem
When Mr.. Ryan received Mr.. Clevelands
promise to serve he sent to him the following
telegram:
Please accept my hearty thanks for your ac-
ceptance of the trusteeship OF the STOCK OF lhe
reorganized Equitable Life Assurance society
and for your effective cooperation in the I'M
portant work to be done by shareholders,
trustees and directors in protecting and pro,
noting the interests of the policyholoers ana all
concerned in life insurance.
George Westinghouse. at his office in the
Trinity Building. said: