The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-11-23
FARRELL IS FRANK EquitabIe's Second Vice President Admits Wrong doing by Insurance
 Officials.
HAS NO APOLOGY FOR THEM
HOPES THAT THEY WILL BE
 PUNISHED.

Admits Taking Commissions for Insur- ing Himself and Members of His FamiIy-Carries s4OO,OOO on His Own LiRe-Bears Out in Measure the State nent of James Hazen Hyde DenOunc- ing the Prick Report Which He Says Was Made Without Any Investiga-
 tiOn-Recommends Complete Public
 ity as One of the Remedies for Ex-
 istIng Evils.
 New York, Nov 22.-After being on the witness stand before the Armstrong legislative committee on insurance in- vestigaticn for the greater part of three days, Gage E. Tarbell, second vice pres ident of the Equitable Life Assurance society, finished his testimony to-day and just before adjournment submit ted list of suggestions for the remedy of existing abuses in the management of insurance companies and for legisla- tion designed to give the state proper control over the companies and to in- sure the confidence of the policyholders. Prominent among these suggestions was absolute publicity. While admit ting that wrong has been done by life insurance officials, MT. Tarbell said he had no apology to make for any of them and that he hoped they would be punished.
 MT. TaTbell was on the stand the en- tire day and was questioned as to the system of agencies and the commits sions and other compensations allowed them for getting business. Just before the recess the fact was brought out that Mir. Tarbell had taken out insur- ance on his own life and on members of his family, and had received the agents commission on the premiums as well as renewal commissions, He said that since he became an officer he had taken out $2Oo,0OO on his ~ ..s~'life in the Equitable. Besi' ,Spolicies in the Equitable b. taken insur- ance in the New .42 Life, the ar- rangement being made by George w. Perkins, and on this, too, he received the commission on the premiums. He had also policy in the Aetna and the Travellers on all of which he collected the commissions. He said he carried $400,00O on his own life and $100,O0O on members of his family.
 Mir. Tarbell was strenuous in de- nouncing the system of relating by agents, and stated that any agent of the Equitable who gave rebates to get business was dismissed. When he told of getting the commissioners Assembly, man Cox asked if that was not relating and MT. Tarbell said it was not, that he thought he was entitled to it.
 Later when MT. Hughes took up this same subject with the witness the latter justified the taking of commits sions as being similar to the case of a merchant who purchased goods of fel low merchant in the same line, per- haps to fill an order, and got those goods at cost, or of professional man treating another and charging less than the regular fee.
 He said the commissions were paid to get the business and that when the bus mess was done without soliciting there was no expense and that therefore he was entitled to these commissions. MT. Tarbell said this was the custom of insurance companies and their officers adding that if he had done wrong he was sorry, but that he had acted in good faith.
 Mir. Tarbell bore out in a measure the statement of James Hagen Hyde when on the stand relative to the fair ness of the Prick report The sub ject of advances to agents was under investigation, and MT. Hughes read some figures of the amount of advances to one agent in this city. Mir. Hughes asked where the Prick committee got the figures, and MT. Tarbell replied with marked asperity that he did not know "They did not get them from my department or the auditors; they made their report without ever making an Investigation of the department he said
 When MT. Tarbell was excused he was followed by Gerald Brown, who is at the head of the bond and mortgage department of the Equitable. He was examined about the real estate of the society and was on the stand when the committee adjourned
 Mir Tarbells testimony in further de- tail follows:
 Toward the close of his testimony Mr Tarbell took occasion to make a statement in which he said:
 q cannot believe that anything that has occurred in the life insurance bus fness can be traced to 8 large surplus of a life insurance company, because if man is going to be dishonest he can be dishonest with the reserve dol lar or any other dollar. as easily as with a surplus dollar
 q am inclined to believe that the things they have done, or that the things that have taken place, occurred because great many people have been afflicted during the last few years with what I might be permitted to term money madness, a desire to get
 (Continued on Eightb Page.)