Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-10-16

New York, Oct. 11.-Toward the
close of the session of the insurance
investigation President McCurdy
made the startling statement that an
insurance company was not an insti-
tuition founded to make money for the
policyhoIders, but was, or should be,
a great philanthropic enterprise
founded to increase and spread it's
benefits over the entire earth.
There has been a great mistake
made" he said about the real
province of life insurance companies
in these later years. People hav
been led to believe that the main pur-
pose YVES to make money for its pol
icyholders. In my viey that is not
the purpose of such companies. They
are eleemosynary. When a man
insures in a company he should take
into consideration the fact that he
has entered a great philanthropic
concern that is in duty bound to
spread itself, even though this
growth prevents him from realizing
as much as he expected"
Delayed by Speakers Death.
The sessions of the insurance in
vestigating committee were terminal
ed for the week at the adjournment
yesterday, because of the death of S.
Fred Nixon, speaker of the legisla-
tive assembly, at his home in West
field. The testimony yesterday did
not elicit any information of a SEN
sational nature beyond what had
previous witnesses. The feature
was the presence as witnesses OF the
executive officers of the Mutual Life
Insurance company. These were
President Richard A. McCurdy and
Vice Presidents Granniss and Gil
lette.
While it had been limited last
week that some expenditures charged
to legal expenses might have been
contributions to campaign commit
tees, it was announced definitely by
Gillette that the Mutual Life lnsur-
ance company contributed $4,000 to
the republican national committee
last fall, in 1900 $4,000 and in 1896
$4,000.
Gillette testified that he paid
these amounts personally in cash, and
later in the day McCurdy said that
while he knew campaign contribu-
lions had been made he did not know
the amounts. He said no contribu-
lions had been made to campaign
committees before 1896 and that no
contribution to state Or municipal
campaigns had ever been made in
this or any other state. The con-
tribution of $4,000 to a congressional
campaign committee, McCurdy said
he knew nothing about until it came
out in the testimony last week.
An interestiong statement was
made by Robert Olymphant when he
was on the stand early in the day. He
is chairman of expenditures and he
could not tell what the $4,000 items
drawn to his order were for, beyond
that they were for legal expenses
He said the company maintained a
confidential fund for expenditures for
which no voucher was taken and no
receipt received These payments
were made upon the assurance of an
executive officer that "they were all
right"
Grannis knew little about contri
buttons to campaign funds, but JUS
titled them on the same ground as
President Mccall of the New York
Life, that the free silver plank in the
democratic platform was a menace to
the interests of the policyholders
When Crimmins was called he as
sumed entire responsibility for the
terms of the contracts with Raymond
& Co., by which that firm made such
large profits. When the method of
the expenditure of $4,000 was in
quired into Grannts admitted that the
general solicitor could get $4,000
any time he wanted it without dis
closing 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.
In taking up a detailed list of the
cOmpany's expenses Gillette said the
company last year paid $4,000 for
luncheons for employees.