The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-08
Tied Hand and Foot by Ropes
Hartman Has Wound
Around Him.
EQUITABLE QUIZ A FARCE.
Il Isn't Touching the Things the
Public Wants 10 Know.

VINO Run the sOctety's Chattel, the Equi,
table Trust COmpany?-And the Mercan,
tile Trust7-DOes Hyde Draw S8J 500
Year Salary From Themf-AFs
The Directors Hyde Dummies, TOOT
Maybe ChOate Ould Find Out-What
Was the RaKe.On on Security Loans
and Who Got I?-What Did Depew Get
S2S, 900 q Year FOr?-EverybOdy
Knows the Equitable Is SOIyent-But
Can the Pilferers he Punished?-Hen-
bricks Not Pleased by Hydes EvasIOns.
Sun reporter met an Equitable policy
holder yesterday and found him in a very
discouraged frame Of mind. you see,
he said, I'VE are tied hand and foot, as
The SUN has already expressed il. The
law won't permit us to apply for a receiver,
and we cannot ask for an accounting. As
the law reads, the Attorney General Of the
State is the only one who can institute
a suit in such conditions, and in my opinion
we might az we'll apply to Hartman himself
for the relief that we need. We poor policy
holders are just like lot Of sheep as THE
Sun said that we were, only with this differ
enoe, that sheep are seldom without some
sort Of a leader, whereas we have none.
Il Is true we have a policyhoders' com
mittee provided for us by Mr.. Hartman
and presided over by John d. Crimmins.
II we could have a few more leaders like
Mr., Crimmins we would no longer be sheep,
k...A
and we would rush down a steep place and
plunge into the sea and find some sort Of
an end TO our troubles. No, am not pos
sessed Of either a devil or a Crimmins.
4 certainly thought that, with the class
Of men whose names are paraded as trustees
81 the Equitable, should ind a different
outcome to their deliberations, never
could have believed that they would con-
fDs their duty to abusing the men who
let the cat out Of the bag, and endeav oring
to punish the officials Of the company for
permitting the truth TO be known. APP
parently the only function Of trustee Of a
life insurance company is to conceal the
crimes which are perpetrated under his
nose and punish as heavily as possible
anybody who discloses the criminality Of
the management which he, the trustee,
Is elected and appointed 10 guarantee.
II Is pitiable state Of things that the bust
ness Of life insurance, upon which men
like myself have habitually Teposed the
most implicit faith should lapse into
such evil conditions. Why doesn't THE
Sun disclose 10 the public some more Of
the actual details Of the Equitable's rotten
ness? We policyholders can't help think
ing that THE SUN knows vastly more than
it has disclosed. There can be no mis-
take about il. The mastery tone Of The
SUNS articles, written with that assurance
which only specific knowledge can i'm
part Is all convincing on this point
we would like to know something about
the Equitable Trust Company, which is the
chattel Of the Equitable Life. Who are its
officers? Who constitute the board Of di-
rectors7 Is IL true that Mr.. Hyde draws a
salary from the Equitable Trust Company
Of S25 900 year in addition to his salary Of
$4,000 year from the Equitable Life9
How about the Mercantile Trust Com
panyy hear that Mr. Hyde's salary there
is 1880 year, and am told. and believe,
that the directors Of both these trust com
panies are qualified for their directorship
in just the same manner that so many di-
rectors Of the Equitable Life are qualified.
That Is, they sit by virtue Of few shares
Of stock which they do not own. but which
are transferred 10 them by way Of a fc-
titious and, as think. a fraudulent pretence
az qualification, which in my judgment no
court would approve OF or sustain. It is
true these are trivial matters, and in the
present emergency Of the poll cyholders
they don't amount 10 much. The main
issue now is that Hartman has grabbed our
property and that we have no legal way Of
ousting him.
Perhaps IL Is true that Mr.. Choate. IL
he we're here. might be able to devise some
method Of enforcing our rights. / don't
suppose that he could do anything with
Legislature In which Nixon and his two
colleagues are compelled by Odell's orders
to do precisely as Mr.. Hartman directs
they shall do. I am not sure, however,
but that in the near future Mr.. Choate, or
somebody like him. will develop the Equita-
BILE question on the broad lines Of the in
dividual responsibility Of the trustee. We
all know now that the trustees are morally
responsible for the vast sums Of money
which have been pilfered from the Equita-
BILE through the practices Of its directors, in
their relation to the subsidiary corporations
Of the Equitable and their relations to the
two trust companies, the Mercantile and
the Equitable. That's It, They are morally
responsible; but is Il true that life insurance
corporations 90 differ from other corpora
tions that Il Ia impossible 70 hold their
trustees responsible for fraudulency and
peculations in which they have personally
participated. or which they have made
possible by their neglect and supinsnessi
n - n TTaaaeI a ~ ALL
the men whose character / am acquainted
with, the very man TO deal with and answer
these questions. OF COURSE, the Equitable
il solvent No one In his senses presumes
for a moment TO doubt It, but Il is amusing
10 see the heroic attitude In which the State
Superintendent Of Insurance., Mr.. Hendricks,
-. -. -. .-.r,4,ntfnn Eofhtn0 oan