The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-10-13

New York. October 10.-The SEES
sions of the insurance investigating
committee were terminated for the
week at the adjournment today. be-
cause of the death of S. Fred Nixon.
speaker of the assembly legislature of
New York at his home in Westfeld.
The. testimony today did not elicit
n information of a sensational ma
ture beyond what had been discounted
in the testimony of previous witnesses.
The feature was the presence as wit
nesses of the executive officers of the
Mutual Life Insurance Company.
These were President Richard A.
McCurdy. and Vice Presidents Grannis
n Gillette.
While it had been limited last week
that some expenditures charged to
legal expenses. might have been con-
tributions to campaign committees it
was definitely by DR.. Gill
lette that the Mutual Life contributed
$4,000 to the Republican national
committee last fall: that in 1900. $685.
600 was contributed and in 1895 SIS
900 was given for campaign purposes.
DR.. Gillette testified that he paid
these amounts personally in cash. and
later in the day Mr.. McCurdy said that
while he knew campaign contributions
had. been made. he did not know the
amounts. He said that no contribu-
tlOnS had been made to campaign
funds before 1896. and that no cOntri-
button to state or municipal campaigns
a ever been made in this or any
other state. h contribution. of So
500 to the congressional campaign
committee. Mr.. McCurdy said he knew
nothing about, until it came out in the
testimony last week
An interesting statement was made
by Robert Oliphant. when he was on
the stand early in he day:
Mr.. Aliphant is chairman of
: expenditures and he could not tell
what the $4,000 items drawn to MS
order were for. beyond that they were
for legal expenses. He said the COM
pany maintained a confidential fund
for expenditures for which no voucher
was taken and nc receipt was received.
These payments were made upon the
assurance of an executive officer that
they were all right.
Vice President Grannis knew little
about the contributions to campaign
funds. but justified them on the same
grounds as President John A. Mccall.
of the New York Life hat the free
silver plank in the Democratic plat
form. was a menace to the interests of
policy holders.
When Mr.. Grannis was called he as
sumed the entire responsibility for the
terms of the contracts with G. H. Ray
mond & Co.. by which hat firm made
such large profits. When the method
of the expenditure of $4,000 items
was inquired into. Mr.. Grannis admit
ted that the genera solicitor could get
$4,000 any time he wanted it without
disclosing for what purpose he wanted
it and without rendering any account
of it. He further said he never knew
where a cent of the money spent by
the general solicitor went. 3
In taking UP a detailed list of the
company's expenses DR.. Gillette said
that the last ear paid $72,-
600 for luncheons for the employees.
1t is a custom for the o to fur
niSh their clerks with luncheon. This
is at the rate of about $3.50 a day.
President McCurdy was on the stand
all of the afternoon session. Mr.. Nc
Curdy testified that he never knew
what Mr.. Thebaud. his son-in-law,
was getting out of the business of c..
H. Raymond & Co. and said he did not
think it was any of his business to
ask about Mr.. Thebaud's personal af-
fairs. He said the did the
business to get the commissions and
that was all he knew. All contracts
were made without his knowledge.
Witness said on the matter Of salaries
that he never requested that his salary
b. raised. and all such increases he
took as COMPLIMENTARY to his manage
ment of the business. They were al
ways made by h committee on sala-
rieS of their own vOlitiOn.
Toward the close of the session. Mr..
McCurdy made the startling statement
that an insurance company was not an
institution founded to make money for
the policyholders. Int was. or should
be a great philanthropic enterprise
founded to increase n spread its
benefits over the earth.
There has been a great mistake
made he said. about the real pro-
vince of life insurance companies in
these latter years. People have been
lead to believe that the main purpose
was to make money for its policyhold-
ers. In my view that is not the pur-
pose Of such companies. They are
( eleemosynary. When a man insures
in a he should take into con-
sideration the fact that he has entered
a great philanthropic concern that 5
i'm duty bound to spread itself. even
though this growth prevents him from
realizing as much as he expected"
IT was brought out that the witness
and DIR. Gillett had enough proxies of
~policyholders to control the OF
trustees by electing its members.
Mr.. McCurdy said he understood
that the policyholders have sufficient
confidence in the Mutual to take out
policies. and the management 20