New-York tribune., 1905-10-25
. 'TRIPE AND TERRApIN."
STORIES MUTUAL SENT.
Doctored Reports of Investigation
Have Cost P0LcghoIders 81 900.

Have Cost P0iicgholders 1000.
The true story of ''Tripe and Terrapin.' that
Is. OF the doctored news items sent out by the
Mutual Life Insurance press agent Ito counter
act the effect" Of the accurate and unvarnished
accounts of the insurance Investigation sent out
by the regular press associations told to
the Armstrong committee yesterday This story
revealed the fact that more than $1,000 of the
policyholders' money had been spent in hiring
hundreds of newspapers throughout the country
TO print highly coIored accounts OF the insurance
Investigation. One sample declaration was that
President McCurdy's testimony made a dis
tinctiy favorable impression"
The audience recalling that on the day on
which this 'terrapin" dispatch was sent to a st.
Louis paper there had been some talk Of ap-
pealing to District Attorney Jerome to take
cognizance Of Mr.. McCurdy's refusal 20 answer
Mr.. Hughes's questions. greeted this absurd re
port, printed in many newspapers at 81 a line,
with loud shouts of laughter. but the unabashed
5000 press agent. Charles A Smith. calmly ex-
1lained that his employers testimony had made
e favorable impression on him
The method employed by the Mutual in dis
seminating its press notices was simple IN the
extreme. Whenever the company had extra
bad day ON the stand full supply Of terrapin,
containing inconseQuental or favOrably colored
sn its dispatches" as the witness described
them such, for example. as the references to the
suppression made by Mr.. McCurdy, was sent
through the country and printed in scores Of
newspapers Such matter as the press agent
decided ought TO appeal to the policyholderS was
thus disseminated Sixty such dispatches reas-
surfng them cost the policyholders to date Sill
600 The total bill for them will approximate
$1,000.
= A sample of these dispatches was shown IN
She Mutual account Of the proceedings which re-
-vealed the fact that President Richard A Nc
xyurdys son-in-law had netted over S1.5ooVoo IN
commissions in the firm Of c. H. Raymond q
On and his son a similar sum in foreign coih-
missions This dispatch opened as follows
The statement of large commissions paid to
she managers Of the Mutual Lifes aseiSlsS 1, ~
The foreign department and IN It's cry III
does not surprise persons who are . IalIlila0t .s
i1a ,r1y11ense amount of the total business uaH0
acted by the great life companies
rr contained no reference to the family plum
sree. 49,.
1obn r Hegeman president Of the Metro-
~,olitan Life took the stand just before the SeS
60 sn6ed and supplied an interesting preface
20 the story OF the Metropolitan affairs. "heh
ne sought TO explain the reciprocal loans OF
-o.es,aen+ Jobn A Mccall Of the New-York
life and himself. His company had loaned NC
Gail $4,000 and in return he had borrower
100000 of the New-York Life. Both loans mao
T4,n for some years at rate OF interest pelo"
shat of the market. Mr.. Hegeman tesuneo tiia'
tae had made this loan in return for many
favors of President Mccall and would nave
been glad to have charged nothing. He had
similar explanation for large loans 10 oilaS D.
Y1utcber one Of the Metropolitan directors
ut she most interesting fact turned up was
.bat while he had consented To loans by the
Metropolitan to Mr butcher at rate OF ~
,,er cent, Mr Hegeman had personally borrowed
Metropolitan money at a rate Of l15 per cent
For this particular transaction Mr.. Hegernah
volunteered no explanation. John o. Mllourh
snneared as counsel for Mr.. Hegeman. and ow-
.ng to his inability to be present to-day MI
Fegeman's examination will be deferred
Not less interesting was the development that
che Netropolitan was accustomed at the end of
each year. Just before making its report to the
s+a+a Insurance Commissioner. to sell all its
collateral loans to it's officers, its friends and
others to Vermilye & Co. thus removing them
from the books. The first business day Of each
new year these loans were speedily repur-
chased AIr. Hegemans EXPLANATION for this
was that If he did not follow this custom Wall
Street brokers bothered him by calling up on
.he telephone and trying ito borrow million
or so" Mr. Hughes failed to get the witness to
testify as TO why such loans would not have
been better than the ~ per cent loans to Off
GERS and friends. These year end transactions
strongly recalled the famous performances of
the New-Yorl1 Life through George w. Perkins
In the morning Emory McClntock, actuary of
the Mutual, testified at some length of various
technical details of insurance and gave an ex-
tended history Of the development of the great
companies and the failure Of the smaller COM
panies in past years. Mr.. McClintock severely
criticised existing insurance laws and declared
that existing insurance companies would have
been driven TO the wall at the start had such
Jaws been strictly enforced at the outset. His
Testimony on this point differed strikingly from
that Of President Mccall Of the New York Life
THE reason for the decline in the dividends paid
by the Mutual 20 its policyholders was declared
by Mr.. McClntOck to be the decline in the re-
turns received for money. Mr.. McClntocl did
mot complete his testimony in the morning, but
an acute attack of vertigo prevented his return
and he will be unable TO testify to-day.
BUYING THE PAPERS.