The Washington herald., 1906-10-22
TRICKS TO GET VOTES
New York Life Conducting
Mail Campaign.
COMMITTEE TICKET SCRATCHED
One Ballot includes All Necessary
FOrmaIfties To Make Votes for
Present officials Legal, While
Others Arc MutiIated TO Make them
Void-There Are $4,000 Ballots.


| New York Life Insurance Company, in
common with those Of other cities are in
,ensely interested, and many are indig-
nant at the methods which, it is alleged.
/ the present officers of that company are
employing in the effort 10 induce the pol
/ icy holders TO support the administration
ticket in the coming election Of December
/ IS against the ticket put up by the In
ternational Policy Holders Committee.
Ballots have been prepared containing
both tickets, but with the policy holders
/ ticket scratched" These ballots are
being mailed to policy holders. So many
complaints have been received at Albany
! concerning the manner In which ballots
with the INSTRUMENTATION ticket al
ready scratched have been distributed.
that Otto Kelsey. State superintendent Of
/ insurance, has been appealed 10 TO inter
/ fere.
There was exhibited last evening a set
/ Of ballots received by a Washington Of
( fetal whose policy was issued at his home
! city. Three ballots were sent him. The
FIRST had each name OF the anti-admin-
istration ticket carefully blot5ed out by
/ ink lines. leaving the names OF the pres
ent directorate intact This ballot. evil
IDENTIFY designed for the policy holders
/ signature, had his proper policy number
in ink at the bottom. 1t also inclosed
a printed return envelope. with postage
stamp attached. addressed to the home
Office of The company.
Methods of Voting.
Policy holders may vote in any one Of
three ways-in person. by mail, OF by
proxy. Those entitled to receive proxies
for the administration ticket are Row
land G. Hazard. Alba B. Johnson. and
Horace X. Lurton, 345 Broadway, New
York City. Those who shall receive the
proxies for the policy holders ticket are
Harlow y. Higginbotham. Richard Olney,
and Charles Emory Smith, % Broadway,
New York
I No one is supposed to know the num-
Der of any individual holders policy but
the holder himself and his agent-with
the exception, of course Of those who
have access TO the books at the home
Office. AS "a vote by mail or proxy is
void If 10 does not contain the holders
policy number as we'll as his name. the
interesting phase of what follows viii be
apparent
ed ballot described above this Washing
ton man received. under New York post
mark another ballot. clean and unmark-
ed. but this contained no stamped en-
velope for reply. and the policy number
was also wanting Many "a holder does
not know his number His policy is sell
dom in his own keeping. especially IN the
case of one who is away from home II.
therefore. he should send in his vote over
his signature but without his policy num-
Der. his ballot would be void
That is to say. if he took advantage Of
the first ballot sent him with stamped
envelope for return he would be voting
for the present administration on a ballot
all fixed for him. II he marked the sec
ond 10 suit himself. but did not append
his policy number, his vote would not be
counted.
Third Ballot sent Out.
third ballot was received by this
Washingtonian, sent by the policy holders
/. committee. from which the names of the
administration ticket had been scratched
with red ink This did not bear his policy
number, for the obvious reason that the
committee had no means Of knowing that
number: nor did it inciose a stamped en-
velope for return.
State Superintendent Of Insurance Kel-
sey has distinctly stated that the New
York insurance law requires companies
90 mail to each policy holder "a state
of the several tickets for directors with
fun instructions for voting and with blank
proxy and return envelope No other in
closures are allowed
So the company gives ouc tne impress
sion that the agents themselves. and not
the company's officials are sending out
the eXtraneoUs matter
Letter Sent out.
An interesting sideHght on the subject is
thrown by a letter. printed in imitation
OF typewriting. which accompanied the
first scratched ballot sent out reading in
part as follows:
[ As policy holder you are interested in conserving
81 the CCmpauv's property and business. 80 am ]
Your insurance is an night. The company j.
sound wisely and economically managed As
D an agent OF the company. ! am going TO do every
thing in MY power TO protect the interests Of an
nv friends and parties who insured in this
company from the inexperienced people who are
irving 90 get control. There are two tickets IN the
field. the administration ucket and the luterna
ional committee's ticket which. elected, viii
place the company III the hands Of men without
practical knowledge Of the business. Deeply in
tercsted as / am in the cUmranys welfare. l sin
cereiy hope sou VIII vote the administration ticket
and / urge sou TO do So. I am sending You
this letter and the Enclosures Of my accord and
without any expense 20 the COMPANY. directly OF
indirectly.
On the back OF the Olney ballot is an
explanation giving the arguments ad-
vanced by the committee in favor of "a
new management
THAT letter just quoted reads very sus-
piciOusly,' said policy holder last night.
night
1T is possible. Of course that the agents
are going to the expense Of sending out
these letters and stamped envelopes in the
fear that they may lose their positions If
they do not do so; but it looks to me as
though they were being made the Scape-
goats for the company, which knows that
it is debarred by law from sending out
such appeals or return postage.
Tt is charged that the New York Life
secured, in some unexplained manner
S56,000 official ballots, for the purpose, 1t is
alleged. Of mutilating them before mailing
them to the policy holders. The mutilated
2 ballot is Identical with the official ballot
. even 10 a slight typographical error-with
d ! the exception, of course, Of the erasure
of the opposition ticket.
Letter Sent Out.
The letter attached to the anti-adminis-
t tration ticket. referred to above. contains
the following statements:
After a pTOtracted, though incomplete
1 investigation of the affairs Of the com
| pany, the New York legislature emphatic
ally condemned the existing administra-
ton. practically legislated the persons
composing it out of Office. and called upon
the policy holders to elect a new board OF
. directors.
II THE legislative investigation demon
Il strated that one chief cause Of the proven