The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-10-19
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
 CALLED INTO INQUIRY
FEATURE OF INSURANCE HEAR ING THAT MAY RESULT IN ARREST.

Name of Eighteen-Year-0Id Telephone
 Operator Signed to Voucher of the
 Mutual Life--Made Out for s9O1 and - Charged to Legal Expenses-Lad De-
 eIares He Knows Nothing of the Mat
 ter-Neyer Received Any Money from
 the Company and Never Rendered
 Any Service-WOrks for Stationery
 Firm from Which the Mutual Bought
 Great Deal of Supplies.
 New York, oct. IS. The district at torney's office was called upon today by the legislative insurance investigat- ing committee because of the testi- rnony of one witness, and the question of an arrest is now being considered by Assistant District Attorney Rand. The witness in question is George J. Plunketet, an eighteen year old tele- phone operator in the employ of the stationery firm of l.. w. Lawrence & Go, from whom the Mutual Life In- surance company purchased a great deal of supplies.
 It was brought out in yesterdays testimony that among the vouchers for money charged to legal expenses was one for $901 signed by George F. Plunkett. His identity was not dis closed until to-day, when Plunkett was called to the stand. He testified as to his employment, and when shown ths voucher denied that he had ever sign ed 1t. He further denied that he had ever received that amount of money from the Mutual Life Insurance com pany, or that he had rendered the company any service.
 MT. Hughes asked Plunkett to write his name in ink on piece of paper, which he did. This and the voucher was then offered in evidence, and the similarity of the signatures was call- ed to the attention of the committee. l Shortly after this incident the ser l geant-at-arms was sent to communi- cate with the district attorneys office, and soon Mir. Rand appeared. He was escorted to a seat beside Chairman Armstrong, and for time he critical | ly examined the signatures. All that MT. Rand would say was that he had been summoned by Chairman Arm strong, and when the chairman was I questioned he said the matter was now out of the handles of the committee, and was up to the district attorneys office.'' # Another feature of the day's hesaralSss1z ! was the passage at arms between i Chairman Armstrong, Counsel Hughes and James M. Beck, counsel for Pres- ident R. A. McCurdy, of the Mutual Life Insurance company. Mir. Beck accused Mir. Hughes of misleading tho public by not following out his lines of interrogation to the end, and as- serted he dropped a subject before a witness was allowed to explain. Chair man Armstrong then said that the work of the committee must not be obstructed. The committee, he said, I wanted all the information it could get that would be helpful, and the witt lness had placed himself in the position in which he found himself by his con- tinual evasive answers MT Arqn- strong said further that every witness i will be treated with all possible court esy. MT. Hughes then said if he had erred it was by showing courtesies Il when circumstances justified an en-. tirely different course, adding that evasion would be held up to the con- tempt it has always received Thera was a spontaneous outburst of ap-. plause when MT. Hughes had conclude ed, which was only stopped by threat to clear the room.
 William M. Carpenter, a clerk in the supply department of the Mutual Life Insurance company, made an excellent witness for the committee by his frank manner and apparent desire to give
 whatever information he could. MT.
 (Continued on Eighth Page.l