The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-17
DISCUSSES HIS
 FAMOUS REPORT Superintendent Hendricks Says
 Stories Are False USED EVERY SAFEGUARD And Then instructed Hunter to De- liver Equitable Document to MT.
 Jerome When He Re-
 quested It.

Albany. N. Y. July 16-The answer oi Superintendent Francis Hendricks of the state insurance department to the pub lished criticisms of hls official acts in connection with the testimony taken by him in the investigation of the Equit- able Life Assurance society and his pre- liminary report thereon. Is made in an extended statement issued from the in- surance department tonight. Incidentally, the superintendent publishes a letter ad- dressed by him to his deputy, Robert H. Hunter at New York instructing him to deliver his copy of the Equitable testi- mony to District Attorney Jerome.
 The statement includes an affidavit by William A. Comotoek, Superintendent Hendricks confidential stenographer, cer- tifying that he alone did the stenographic work and the transerlbing of notes, in connection with the taking of testimony and the preparation of Superintendent Hendricks preliminary report. and that he personally knows that no change or omissions were made in the testimony or the report; that outside of the persons of- ficially employed in the conduct of the in- vestigation, no person heard, read, or saw the report of the testimony, except Gov ernor Higgins and his counsel, Cuthbert w. Pound. The statement is as follows:
 Denounoes Report as False.
 '"The statement made in certain papers that my report anu the testimony taken was edited and altered in the interests or at the suggestion of csrtain individuals is unqualifedly fae person except those employed by conduct of the report prior to be i5weas de- livered to the prinfV eRt Governor Higgins and his cod w114t w. Pound. ,Na.s1 zioq her report and no fhads<zh the report as prepare6 -Sy m1fhe report as printed is in the exact form in which f. was finally drafted by me and my counsel.
 At the interview with the governor and his counsel. I was asked by the gov ernor whether I had been successful in securing the facts relative to all mat ters under investigation. I stated to him that had not; that the investigation was still necessarily incomplete; that among other matters which had not been full ly covered was one which I deemed of immediate importance but concerning which I had been unable to procure the facts by reason of not having learned of 1t until the preliminary investigation was about completed. 1 then stated to him that I had been informed that the Equit- able society was carrying a loan in the Mercantile Trust company of $6S5,0O0, os which no record appeared on Its books as a liability. The governor stated to me that he believed that further eff fort should be made to thoroughly in- vestigate that subject. In accordance with that suggestion, then directed my coun- sel to make further investigation and examination relative to that item, and by reason of such action my report was delayed until the conclusion of his ef- fort.
 Effort Was Unsuccessful.
 "our effort in that particular was un- successful At that time we were unable to secure the facts relating to the mat ter and consequently my report remained unchanged.
 With reference to the criticism that my report does not fully cover all of the facts brought out in the testimony, l never intended that 1t should specifically refer to everything that was developed by the testimony. On the contrary I stated at the outset that 1t did not that the report WAS preliminary in character, covered only such matters as I deemed of imme- diate importance to the poIfcyholders. undertook to comply with the promise that I made to the insurance commission CTS of other states early in May, to pre- sent a report as early as the 15th or June, and 1t was impossible in the limited time had to refer In detail to all matters de- veloned during the investigation. If had undertaken In the report to cover all mat ters referred to In the testimony 1t would have delayed issuing the report at least sixty days, and the report would com nrise volume of at least two or three hundred pages.
 ..The further charge made that some of the testimony taken was suppressed, or edited In the interests of certain indi- viduals. is likewise unqalifiedly false Every word of the testimony given and taken was transcribed by the stenographer in t1be transcripts of the testimony abso- luteIy without change. No person. except those employed by me in conducting the inyestigation, saw the transcript of tes- timony. or asked to see 1t. or make any suggestions with reference 70 1t. directly or indirectly. Only three copies of the testimony were transcribed and they were delivered to me personally by the steno- grapher who transcribed them. and each copy was separately wrapped np. marked and placed in the private compartment of the department at Albany"
 Sent Away Two Copies.
 Mir Hendricks goes on to say that on July 6 he sent a copy of his report to Attorney General Julius M Mayer at All bany and one to Robert IT. Hunter, his deputy in New York City. transcripts oi his letters to these officials appearing ir his statement. The other copy, he de- clares, since completion. nas remained al all times in the department vault.
 In his letter to Mir. Hunter Superinten- dent Hendricks says:
 Should the district attorney desire ac. cess to this evidence you are at liberty tc deliver 1t to him, or allow him to ex. anime it''
 The statement continues:
 ''The charge that copy of the testi mony was procured by any other persor from this department, is absolutely false and without foundation. At the time o the publication in the newspapers of 2 part of the testimony. the copy in th, New York office was intact. and tn, seal upon the same had not been broken The other copy had not been removed