Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-03-16


of these transactions and shrunk into
their shoes-they are the curS-and
that Is the reason that 1 came before
you and say that the great interest
of $4,000, 100000 of life insurance and
$400,000,000 of assets can never be safe
ly entrusted to the hands and adminis-
tration of lot of ours"
Appearance Unexpected
This was the ostensible purpose of
Judge Hamilton's appearance before
the committee, to advocate the pending
bill of the committee which would leg
islate the present boards of directors
out of office and provide for a complete
reorganization in November next.
Judge Hamilton's appearance was
totally unexpected by the committee
and he declared before his speech and
to friends before and after, that it was
only at luncheon today that the i'm
pulse seized him to come before the
committee.
Among those who sat near as he be-
gan his bitter arraignment of the New
York Life trustees were the following
members of the board:
Rufus NJ. Weeks, vice president and
actuary; I. A. Buckner, vice presi-
dent; D. P. Kingsley, vice president;
John S. Mccall, secretary, and j. H.
Mcintosh.
"I wish to state" began Judge Ham
ilton, that my remarks here will be
confined entirely to the New York
Life insurance company and the men
who manage it. For the other life in
surance companies 1 have high and
loyal respect, because so far as l have
seen have not yet found among them
ours and traitors.
Makes SWeepnq Charge
There never was a line or thing
that was done in the New York Life
in the administration of my depart
ment but What the executive officers,
one and all, were conscious of what
the purpose was, or what the object
was, or what the expense was. l say
this now and when 1 look around see
their faces before me, and l challenge
contradiction.
Let us consider for a moment the
criticisms that have been made In re-
gard to the payments that have been
made to me upon my single voucher.
Remember l did not go in there and
own this company. / went In there as
a humble little lawyer, a country
lawyer-and I got In there because
beat DIR. Pecksniff in his Beers pension.
1T simply excites my laughter when
hear the gentlemen assert, those
who are here and in my hearing, and
others, that they did not know that
Andrew Hamilton was defending the
New York Life and the insurance in
terests throughout theS United States
generally, on behalf Of the principles
which the insurance companies believed
to be necessary for their success. and
for the benefit of the policy holders.
Send for the Judge
"Wby, if there was trouble, and an
agent would write from a far off coun-
try and say, If this bill passes it is
going to kill our business out here
they would rush in, you know, to the
president and say, here is this agents
letter. for Heavens sake we will lose
all our business out there
"'Well, send for the judge
"'All right, the judge will come
"'Sit down.
"'Well, what is the trouble?'
"'Heavens, If this bill passes we
might as we'll get out of that state
Plan of Campaign
"'All right, we will have to see what
the objections are to it. We will have
to agitate; we will have the press do
something; we will have the politi-
clans do something; we will have the
agents do something; we will have the
policy holders do something; we will
get men of influence to go ahead and
see If we cannot beat it; and we would
beat it.
about the methods and the vouch-
ers. / have no excuse whatever to Of
fer about the form of the vouchers
that were accepted for the disburse-
ments that l made to the various agen-
cies. The insurance world today is the
greatest financial proposition in the
United States. And as great affairs
always do, it commands a higher law.
In defending it's rights and it's prop
erty you cannot stop to kick every cur
that comes along and barks; and If
you could sweep them out in other per-
haps mysterious but honest ways, you
are defending and asserting the higher
law which great enterprises have a
right to command. So 1 say when these
vouchers were given oyer they were
right, and when the auditing commit
tee approved them then they stand as
sponsors for them. If they did not
approve them then they failed to per-
form their duty"