The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-11-22
OPPOSED TO LossYlNel

OTTOOEO " LO0b tlN1l
Gage e. Tarbell, second vice rresi.
dent Of the Equitable Assurance so
ciety, now says on the stand before the
investigating committee Of the New
York legislature that he is opposed to
paying out money belonging to policy
holders for the purpose Of lobbying in
the state legislatures He goes on to
state that his views are also held by
President Mccall Of the New York
Life
McCurdy of the Mutual, he says,
would not let them have their way
about it. but insisted on hiring lobby
lists, on the ground that any other
means of securing legislation favor
able to the insurance trust, or defeat.
ing legislation unfavorable to the
trust, was not practical"
So it seems we are about to get at
the bottom facts concerning the lobby
lists the insurance trust fastened upon
the state of Georgia.
Mccall, when on the witness stand
before the committee, stated that the
three big companies composing the
trust, viz: the New York Life. the
Equitable and the Mutual, jointly
agreed to have soma one Took after"
legislation in every state in the union.
Acting on this agreement, the various
states were divided amongst the three
companies. Georgia fell to the Equit.
able in this patriotic partition Of the
states and we have been told how the
man the Equitable hired gets $1,000
per annum Of the policyholders money
for looking after insurance legisla.
tion in this state
We must assume that the insurance
pool was managed by the three big
representatives of, the companies con
cerned. McCurdy. for the Mutual; Nc
Call. for the New York Life, and Tar
bell. for the Equitable Now, having
them all together in the act of discuss
ing the ways and means OF securing
the best returns for their noble enter
prise. let us follow the testimony.
Mccall and opposed lobbying, says
Tsrben
The lobbyists were hired. says Nc
Cali.
And Mccurdy says nothing on this
point.
Thus we are led to the conclusion
that McCurdy, being only one in the
conference. outvoted Mccall and Tar
bell, they having only two voices to
raise against McCurdy's oyerpowering
one.
McCurdy. in other words beat down
the opposition Of poor little Mccall
and innocent little Tarbell, and with
might and main forced them against
their win inso the dirty business of
hiring lobbyists to influence" lcgisla.
lures. AS Mccall puts It, and as is
well known here IN Georgia, the lob
byists were selected with a view to
rhelr ability in retiring men from
politics who could not see the insur.
ance interests as the lobbyists see il.
II we believe what Tarbell says. we
might as well expect to hear the lob
byists themselves shout next that they
are opposed to lobbying. but that they
were forced into the business by Nc
curdy.
Everyone concerned In lobbying be-
fore legislatures Is violently opposed
to it-when they are caught at it.
Nobody is responsible for it-when
responsibility is about to be fixed.
Il is a bad business they all say
when they hear the public clamor for
putting it down
Shifting the blame. however. viii
not stop the public clamor IN this in.
stance.
The names Of the lobbyists have
been uncovered and now we are slow.
" but surely getting az the facts con-
eerning their employment By the il.
surance trust No matter what horror
they all may exhibit at the bare men.
ton Of lobbying. and no matter how
strongly they protest that they are not
responsible, the fact remains that they
have been ,caught at the game and
they have 81 to take their medicine.