Arizona republican., 1905-12-13
RYAN TELLS ON HARTMAN
He Threatened Him With
 the Legislature
Unless He Should Divide Half of the Hyde Stock and the Control of the Equitable.

WHdC E. Il. ftarrlnlan Olu ana threat | ened to do when ne demanded that MT. | Ryan concede him share in the con- trol of the Equitable Life Assurance society last June. MT. Ryan assured the committee that he meant no dis respect by his former refusal to dis close their conversations, and said that he had determined to answer the ques- tions to which he mad refused replies on Friday last, because District Attor- ney Jerome said he ought to do so
 MT Ryan's version of what Mir. liar riman demanded and what he threat ened to do upon the refusal of his de- mands was in substance as follows: That Hartman demanded one-balf of the 502 shares of the stock of the Equi-I table Life Assurance society which MT. Ryan had purchased from James II. Hyde and which gave MT. Ryan con- trol of the property.
 That Hartman threatened unless he was conceded this share in the con- trol of the society to exert his political and all other influences against Mir. Ryan and his project. That Harri- man declared there probably would be legislative action and that in that event his influence would be impor- tant. Hartman demanded the right to name two of the five trustees and to vote the controlling stock in the election of the directors of the so- ciety.
 In reply to repeated questions by Charles H. Hughes, counsel for the committee, MT. Ryan stated that MT.
 Hartman did not threaten that therC should be legislative action unless he
 was given a snare in Equitable con- | trol, but he said there probably would be such action. Neither did Mir. liar riman threaten any action by an of- ficer of the government.
 It was a strenuous interview, MT. Ryan said, and was held in the pres ence of Elihu Root, then MT. Ryan s
 counsel, now secretary of state, and Paul D. Cravath, also MT. Ryan's counsel.
 l MT. Ryan told the committee that he drew the inference from it that Mir.
 Hartman did not want anybody to
 control the Equitable society unless ne
 had a share {. in it. Mir. Ryan also stated that he paid no attention to
 MT. Harriman's statement that his in fluence would be important in the
 event of legislative action and inform
 ed him that he wanted no partners in
 the enterprise. MT. Hartman did not
 get the coveted shares of stock. MT.
 Ryan declared that this interview took
 place within a few days after ne got
 control of the stock.
 United States Senator John F. Dry
 den, of New Jersey, president of the
 Prudential Life Insurance company of | America, was on the witness stand all the remainder of the day. He testi-
 fled that his company paid $26,000 to
 the republican national campaign fund
 in 1896, 1900 and 1904 It also paid
 S5,OO0 to Andrew Hamilton, formerly
 the New York Life Insurance com
 pany's legislative agent at Albany. Earlier in his testimony MT. Dryden
 said that dividends of ten per cent are paid on the stock of the Prudential
 company He said his son, Forest F. Dry den, had been connected with the
 Prudential for twenty-five years. He began work as boy and worked up through the various grades until at present he is the first vice president.
 Witness said he had a nephew in the
 employ of the company at a salary of | s2O week. One of Senator Dryden's
 relations is a director of the company. l Witness was asked about a move to | sell the stock of the Fidelity Trust
 company. He said he became appre- | hensive of the distribution of the stock as the old holders were dying off and | the stock was going into their estates. He suggested giving the policy holders | a franchise, but was told he would need the consent of all the stockhold- CTS, so he abandoned it. The plan of
 selling a majority of the stock of the Fidelity was adopted.
 | The Fidelity was to issue new stock to make the purchase. A majority of the directors agreed to sell and the witness had arranged for the Pruden- tial to buy them of the Fidelity. He Iadvertised the plan as widely as he could. It was advised to sell Pruden- ltial stock to the Fidelity at S10D a share below the market price and some Stockholders refused to do so.
 we had to carry out the contract and sell more than we wanted to-" the witness said, "to keep the Prudential out of the hands of designing men who
 had no sentimental interest in it, and | determined against any further in-
 crease in its capital stock"
 The Fidelity got majority of stock,
 but parted with it and does not now ] hold a majority. MT. Dryden said the
 price paid by the Fidelity Trust con-
 pany was $6,0O0OO0 for the majority of the Prudential stock. Little more | than one-third of the directors of the | Fidelity were then and are now off
 ccrs or directors of the Prudential. The witness is director of both the insur- | ance company and trust company.
 The Prudential holds s4SO,00O of the
 stock of the Fidelity company
 | MT. Dryden continued his testimony
 after recess. He and some of the
 minor officers of his company re-
 ceived commissions on policies on their
 own lives, he said, but none of the ex-
 ecutive officers had done SO. The
 senator said he got twenty-five per
 cent commission on some of the in-
 surance in the Prudential on his own l life and 45 and 50 per cent on his pre- | 1-