Omaha daily bee., 1906-10-17
PEABODY EXPLAINS ACTION
President Of New York Mutual Life Before
Kentucky Insurance Department
ALL CHARGES or wRoNGOONG DENIED
General Agent ut Louisville Dis
charged because lie Attacked
integrity of Management
of the Company.

hhtthENg oH
of the COMPANY.
FRANKFORT. Ky. oct 16--Charles A.
Peabody president of the Mutual Life
Insurance company of New York appeared
here today before Insurance Commissioner
II. r. Prewitt to answer charges which
were read to him By the COMMISSIONS.
These charges covered attempts to coerce,
intlmidate and otherwise influence agents
OF the company into soliciting votes for
the ticket known as the administration
ticket" compelling S1larad employees Of
the company to electioncer end solicit
votes for thst ticket; threatening employees
Of the company with discharge unless thcy
loyalty support the admiuistra don ticket;
the discharge OF several of the managing
agents Of the company because they or
some kinsman OF theirs have accepted
nomination or ticket other than the adj
mnietration ticket. or because they would
not support and solicit votes for lhat
ticket: land that you have lately dis
missed Colonel Biscoe Hindman. late man.
aging agent OF tho company IN Kentucky.
because he accepted a nomination for
trustee on ticket other than the admins
| trntion t!cket and because he refused or
4
on the administration ticket"
To these charges Mr.. Peabody entered
n denial. and when IT came to explaining
the dismissal of Colonel IIindman he said
he could not have dismissed him for being
on the trustees ticket. because Colonel
/ TIindmau had told him that he had not
accepted the nomination. Mr.. Peabody
stated that Colonel Hindman had openly
and avowedly attacked the integrity of the
mana cement and that his position was not
| consistent with a proper performance OF
his duties as an insurance manager. 1t
was for this reason that Colonel Hlndman
was dismissed.
Statement by Peabody.
Mr.. Peabody then read a prepared state
ment, in part, as follows. stating the posi-
! ton of the company:
THE bylaws OF the company provide that.
with the exception of the president and
| vice president, no officers OF the company
shall be members OF tho board of trustees.
ITO comply with this bylaw in the few
Instances where managers or agents of the
company have announced the intention Of
| accepting nominations for office as trus-
| tees, this company has felt impelled to
| terminate the contracts under which such
| managers and agents have been in the COM
\ pany's service.
mo action has been taken by the com
pany which can properly be characterized
as coercing any employee into voting or
soliciting votes otherwise than as his own
/ free will dictates.
THE law compels the trustees to NOM
mate ticket described as administration
ticket
However, no money of the corporation
can be properly used in electioneerins. and
| fhaH f,at md will mot atl-
thorize any such use.
1T is the duty of all employees of the
company to explain to the policyholders
! their rights under the law. And Il Is the
| duty of all such employees to abstain from
exercising any kind, of coercion and from
submitting to any coerciom" r. ai1lE - .
| Decision IL Reserved. s.,
At the CLOSE of the statement and after
some further questioning Of Mr.. Peabody
as to details, Commissioner Prewitt stated
| that a decision in the matter may not be
announced for several days.
Mr.. Peabody's willingness to appear al
! though the power of the commissioner to
| compel him to attend was in doubt. created
favorable impression. Under recent
Kentucky statute the power of the insur-
ance commissioner to GUST a company from
| the state is absolute.
The investigation at times took wide
range and once Mr.. Peabody protested
This was when Attorney Brown asked Mr..
| Peabody who sent out the ballot from New
York with only one ticket on it, Mr.. Pea
body replied that the company did not, and
Mr.. Brown asked who did. This brought
out the protest and Commissioner Prewitt
held that only the affairs Of the company
were being Investigated. Mr.. Peabody then
| TOT 81 TO flxr bat ba had
out the ballots on his own personal ac-
! count.
spends His own Money.
Mr. Peabody said further that he wanted
1t understood that the company is not do
been told that they would be dismissed IL
they did not get votes for the admlnstra-
ton ticket. Mr. Brown then asked the di-
rect question whether or not the company
would not in the end bear the expense of
running the administration ticket in the
coming election. and Mr.. Peabody's reply
was:
If you are now fishing to find out whether
the company was paying the expense of
the election you will find nothing. The
company Is not paying and no one expects
| to he reimbursed, but | will answer your
question as to my object in spending money
in the election, regardless OF whether II is
d proper question. My object Is to secure
the election of that ticket because of my
interest In the company and because ] am
a polcyholder. 81
Replying to a question byk Commissioner
Prewitt. Mr. Peabody said he was SPEND
Ing money for the administration ticket be-
cause he believed it TO be for the best IN
terests of the policyholders.
"Since / went with the company / have
been much bounded and abused by persons
and by the press. I am seeking a vlndica-
ton in the election OF the administration
ticket. The law required me to put 1t in
'the field"
Hindman COntrRdicts Peabody.
At the night session Colonel Biscoe Hind
man of Louisville the deposed general
agent OF the Mutual Life Insurance COM
pany for Kentucky and Tennessee, was
the principal witness. He told OF several
conferences and had read a number OF let
ters exchanged before his discharge. Mr..
Hindman said he was asked TO support the
administration ticket and TO write a let
ter affirming such action. This he declined
TO do. He was then called TO New York
and told he must either affirm or retire
from the company. MIR. Hindman said he
considered the Mutual Life Insurance COM
pany safe company, but he could not APP
DrOKe he Mc(urdv Trustees