Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-12-09
RYAN WOULD NOTSAY
Purchaser of J. H. Hyde's
 Equitable Stock Testifles.
JEROME MAY GET SECRETS FROM HIM

! Witness Said He Gave $2.5OO.00O to
 Avert Worst Financial Panic This
 Country Had Ever Known-He
 Had No Selfish Motives.
 NEW YORK, Dec. 9.-Thomas F. Ryan put himself in contempt of the legislative insurance committee by re- fusing, on the advice of counsel, to an swer all questions bearing upon a con versation had with Edward H. Harri- man when Hartman sought to break into a share of the Ryan purchase of Equitable stock.
 a court. In fact, it represents the high est court in the state.
 Under protest Ryan admitted that few days or the day after he had pur- chased Hyde's Equitable stock Harri- man had asked to share in the owner ship.
 T declined" said Ryan. T didn't want MT. Hartman or any one else who had anything to do with the big insurance companies in any way to be in this matter with me-
 Hughes pressed for the reasons which Hartman advanced to be permitted to become partner of Ryan Ryan said he didn't think he should be asked to repeat a private conversa- tion.
 Paul D. Cravath, Ryan's personal counsel, advised the witness not to an swer unless he wished to do so.
 Why did you invest $25O0000 in stock which you immediately handed over to trustees and from which you could get no more than per cent?" asked Hughes. ...
 T thought I was doing great public service" answered Ryan slowly. II believed at the time and believe now that if the Equitable had gone into the hands of receiver this country would have seen a most tremendous panic, the worst it had ever known"
 Ryan described the conditions ob- taining at the time he bought the Equi- table by saying that he had great inter- ests at stake which might have been sacrificed.
 The Hyde stock, added its present master, was paid for by his check for S2,500O0O.
 And here follows the examination:
 "Will you state, Mir. Ryan, what led you to make the purchaser
 T had very large interests that were sure to be affected seriously by any disturbance in the financial situation or confidence in New York or any dis aster that might come. I saw in the virtual certainty of receivership of the Equitable Life such disaster i'm pending unless the factional differences in the company among the directors and the management of the company should be radically changed. To avert this and to prevent the frightful losses that would occur from the violent breaking up of the Equitable, not only to the policy holders, but to the finan- cial community at large myself as well-I thought that some one ought to undertake the business. My theory uUOut cuCNCob III IS man is not judged so much by what he has as he is by what he does, and this seemed to me to be thing worth do- ing. My first idea was to get together a number of policy holders who would take this company out of the hands in which 1t was going to destruction and give 1t clean management, economical and efficient, and restore it's prosperity for the benefit of all honest interests. I soon concluded that the amounts that could be obtained from disinterested people-people who had no axes to grind-would be very small, so I con cluded to do 1t myself"
 It is said that District Attorney Je- rome has been requested by the legisla. tive Investigating committee to insti- tute proceedings to punish MT. Ryan for his refusal to answer questions ad- | dressed to him by Mir. Hughes, counsel for tha committee