The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-04

counsl to the insurance Investigating com nlittee he was not known except among his professional associates who looked upon him as the best lawyer in New York city. His record in that investigation has been commended by every one, even by Hearst in his newspapers. This incl dent that happened at the first of tho investigation shows strikingly the dif- ference between Hughes and Hearst:
 After the third hearing of the Arm strong insurance committee 1t was brought out that the New York Life had borrowed q 100000 from a trust com pany on the note of one of its employees a $500 a year messenger. The life com pany put as collateral for the loan cer- tain stocks the purpose of the trans action being to conceal the ownership of the securities in the company's annual schedule of assets.
 "That it was the first important scan dal hit upon by the state investigators. The first two sessions had been taken up with an inquiry into the methods of elect ing trustees and other subjects equally dry The public whose interest had been keyed to the higher pitch by the sensa- tional disclosures in the old Equitable, was demanding something startling. It had been treated to high grade of scan dals in the case of the Aexander-Hyde management of the Equitable and was not prepared to accept anything mediocre as worthy of serious attention
 "The investigators appreciated, this fact: Charles F. Hughes the committees chief counsel, appreciated it. They all knew that to maintain public interest III the inquiry after six months of Equitable corruption really sensational disclosures would have to be made. And they knew further-at least MT. Hughes did-that without a keen public interest any at tempt at radical reform in the. life in- surance system would prove futile.
 The Neglected Opportunity.
 'Neither the committees counsel nor the members themselves knew at this third session what the prospects of sue cess were. From the frank and confident attitude of the companies the lawyers judged that they were going to have great difficulty in bringing out facts strong enough to force remedial legisla- ton through at Albany. But here. in this New York Life transaction. when they were facing uncertainty, was a splendid opportunity for a popular appealed to the public; here was a chance for fine grand stand play.
 "The young messenger who had given his note for S1 500.000 was negro. What a sendoff it would have been for the committee to have subpoenaed nm as a witness. to have called him to the same stand with the life insurance presi- dents and to have brought out ridiculous ly in his own words his entire Snor- ance of the real meaning of the trans action.
 But Charles E. Hughes adopted the absurdly unsensational method of clAng the officers of the New York Life to the stand and drawing from them the history of the transaction. MT. Hughes was so blind to his opportunity that he even neglected to bring out the fact that the $500 year messenger who had given his i note for S1.500,OOO was negro. He left l that one for MT. Hearst's newspapers 1 More than one lawyer in this town, when they learned the fact, smiled and said: 1 Hughes missed golden opportunity. v