Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-07-07

| making a total of $S,440 from the Soci-
| ETY. and its affiliated companies. The
ordinary policy holder. 1 imagine,
would consider this a pretty fair in
come.
MIR. Hyde is a director in about If
| ~ corporations. and if he attends TO
| his duties his fees would amount to
| many thousands of dollars per annum.
MIR. Hyde prepared verified state
ment of his directorships in different
corporations, with the dates of his cleo
| lions. 1t appears from this paper that
he is Il member of the boards of Il
| number of the great railroad corpora
| tons of the country. in the most of
which he states he is not a Stockhold-
er. Mr.. Hyde is not an expert in rail-
road matters. having had no training
In that direction. has had no wide ex-
perience and has never demonstrated
his ability as business man, and con-
Sequently l conclude that the great
railroad managers did not put him on
| the directorate of their companies for
either of these reasons, and the infer
ence is that he has been put on these
boards for the reason that he was the
financial head of a great insurance
and whose ready money was always
available for the purchase OF securi-
ties which these great corporations are
largely in the market TO sell.
Expenses of Officers.
"Mr. Hyde's expense account ap-
pears as follows: Nineteen hundred,
$7.176.S2; 1901, $6,9T1.S9; 1902, S2.5SS.-
%; 1908, $2O.517.O9; 1904, $15.2S5.7O.
These are several times larger than
those of any other officer. He did not
submit any itenized statements. These
lump sums were paid on his vouchers.
That seems TO have been his practice,
for when he gave the celebrated Cam
bon dinner lie drew from the society's
treasury $12.S0O TO pay the bill, with
no other authority than his own.
IAN examination of the sOciety's pen
sion list discloses the fact that Mrs.
Hyde. mother of the vice president.
has been drawing n pension of $25,0 900
u year since 1900.
Alexander Blamed.
president Alexander has been con-
nected with this society for almost
a lifetime He has heretofore had
the respect and confidence of all who
knew him. In his testimony he stated
that he was not conscious of any
wrongdoing, and that he was led to
participate in the syndicate transac-
tons of James II. Hyde and associates
by Mr.. Hyde without giving the mat
ter such serious consideration that it
deserved. The uncontrOverted testi-
mony was that he was a participant
S,. Il
profits. He executed the leases that
proved to be SO detrimental to the
soclety's interests. He was cogniZant
of and approved the various subsidiary
undertakings which we have criticised,
and by reason thereof has failed to
meet the obligations imposed upon him
as chief officer of the society, and 1t Is
an open question whether he is not
disqualified under section Sc of the in
suranca law from hereafter holding
any Office IN Il life insurance company,
as we'll as all the other officers and
directors who participated in these IN
lawful transactions.
Hyde Blamed.
'AIr. Hyde, on the death of his father
became the owner of 5O2 shares of the
Equitable society stock and acquired
thirty-five additional shares, making
good working majority. He knew this,
and others were quickly made aware
of it. He did not hesitate to extract
from the society's treasury $500, 800 for
his stock in the Missouri Safe Deposit
company, made valuable only by the
outrageous leases with the parent So
ciety. He permitted the society to lose
heavily i'll its business transactions
with the Commercial Trust company.
of which he is salaried officer and
a large stakeholder. He was very
active in promoting the transactions
by which the present Equitable Trust
company was developed, and he there
by profited largely, and became vice
president at a liberal salary. BY rea-
son of the Equitable sOciety's control
Of the Mercantile Trust company he be-
came vice president of that institution
with good salary. He has been ac-
customed to buy large amounts OF Sc
curities and involve the society in
other important ventures without au-
thority. lie has carried large holdings
of the society's stocks in his own name
He exacted salaries out of all proper
ton to his age, ability or value OF
his services and caused those of his
immediate friends and favorltes to be
unduly advanced.
He is mainly responsible for the ex-
trnvagant salaries allowed many exec
utive officers. He has been accus-
toned TO draw large sums for ex-
penses Oh his own unitemized vouch-
ers. in fact he has not seemed to CON
slider himself accountable TO any one
for the expenditure of the society's
funds. lie introduced and conducted
the syndicate transactions and involved
others with himself. He forced him
self Oh boards of direction and into
business relations with prominent men
by the aggressive assertion of his stock