The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-07-18


sident of the Equitable, at the meet
presented. Tarbell is one of the
the Prick report, and one OF those
the Prick report and one of those
organization
step he proposed to take to bring about
naturalization of the Equitable, l was,
it might be be said, entirely ignorant
of everything that was going on in
connection with the financial end of
our business. l was engaged in bring
ing into the Equitable its income and
its business; and the management of
that income and the care of its assets
were i'm the hands of other officers ana
the executive committee. To say that
l was surprised at the facts that were
brought to my attention does not eX-
press the situation. | was astounded, |
and | cannot but believe, gentlemen, |
that the most of you have been equally
astounded at the revelations of the past
few months, partial though they be.
| had never assumed for instance, |
that the president of the society re-
ceved a salary of more than $4,000 per
annum. Grant that a subcommittee
of the executive committee were JUS
titled in fixing the salary of Mr. Hyde
at 100000 per annpm, a sum so large
that l was surprised that it was not
called to the attention of the board for
formal record l think all will admit
that the least he could have possibly
done would have been to take an ac-
tive interest in our business, to try to
learn something of it and to stay in
this country and devote his time to II.
Only during the past two weeks did
l learn for the first time that a life
pension had been voted to Mrs. Henry
e. Hyde of $4,000. l am wondering
how this board can justify to the public
such contributions from the funds of
the policyholders Of this society.
In the management of the insurance
part of the business of which we have
beer able to make a most favorable
comparison with other companies, pro-
gress has been maintained only by the
hardest kind of work, and in spite of
our terrific handicaps 1 will only refer
to two items; the abnormal expenses
of our foreign business, where in some
Of our largest agencies the cost of
9ON'' ms 'IiS Du''IlS9S 10 llSe'l ~ VI qul0S
2OO per cent OF the hrst years pre-
NUNS and the real estate accounts,
I inherited by the present management
OF TINS company with losses that ag-
gregate' probably twenty or twenty
five millions of dollars in marking down
and in loss of income. The total real
estate values carried during the past
year were S5'OOo'Ooo ana TINS vast sum
netted the society only 212 per cent You
can imagine what loau TINS mas "eeh
TO carry ana l nave no DOUBT you won
der why II IS you should not pay pettof
returns Will therefore give you
some OF the reasons In the year l9o''
Our New YORK pulIdihg' carried on
our BOOKS at valuation OF over Slo'-
OOo'oOO gave the society net deh'll'
exclusive Of the use OF the society
othces and after charging up $55o,OOo
Tor rent tor space occupied by the So
clety' 1t lheh ylelus net income oI
less tnan per cent
In TINS connection l thlhk II proper
to call your attention to the tact that
one OF the reasons Tor MS is the IN
adequate returns we get from the Mer-
camille Safe Deposit Company Not
Wlthslahdlhg the TACT thal the lease Is
am Improbable one to the society
within the past year or two some $780,
600 was expended by the society for
new equipment without, l have been
informed ANY modif1cation whatever III
the terms OF the lease or increase III
return to the society. 1t Is safe TO
assume that the income to the So
Ctety from this source is at least more
than $4,000 per annum less than 1t
should be for the money invested ana
3 the space occupied.
/ Next let me refer to the society's
building in ST. Louis. This is among
its assets at $l,OOO,OOO with net returns
to the society of less than per cent.
Here again a safe-deposit arrangement
with lease running for $50 years is
/ largely responsible the rents that the
| society has received over long period