Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-03-16
A REPLY TO MIR. cHILDss REPLY
To Statements About the New York Life
Made by Z. W. Gibson.

Your last issue contained an open letter TO
me from A. r. Childs, in reply TO recent
communication through the Vermont Phoenix
/ TO the policy holders of the New York Life
Insurance company, in which l advised them
not TO send their proxies to the local branch
office for use by some of the present board
of trustees to secure their own reelection.
1t is true that Mr.. Childs has great pecun.
| larry interests at stake in the New York Life
Insurance company and for that reason he
should stand squarely for new admins
traton and for honest management, wholly
disassociated with Wall street stock iobbery
and frenzied financial operations It would
seem that Mr. Childs's admission Of the in.
excuable mistakes Of the past, as he terms
them, coming from an honored and trusted
agent, is sufficient to warrant his standing
upon higher ground and for a better condi.
tion Of affairs.
The New York Life Insurance company
has advertised the world over, its trustees
as men of great business ability, Of sterling
integrity, and people have come to look to
them to safeguard their rights and to prevent
the very irregularities which the Armstrong
investigation revealed.
No one ever seriously questioned the sol
vency of the company or that its assets were
not ample to provide for every outstanding
that its present board of trustees has per
mitted single gigantic railway interest to
practically control and direct its investments;
that member of a Wall street firm, as trus
tee and head of the finance committee Of the
New York Life Insurance company exchanged
with himself tens of millions Of dollars worth
of securities for the policy holders money;
that the assets OF the company have been
directly and indirectly controlled by stock
market manipulators; that this has been
made possible through the laxity of manage.
ment by the trustees; that the funds of the
company have not been managed with that
security which ought to be guaranteed to pre-
MUM payers; that, notwithstanding the fact
that men are trustees whose names Mr.. Chids
tells us ought not to be named in article
in connection with Thomas w. Lawson mil.
lions of dollars of the policy holders of the
New York Life Insurance company have
been used in controlling legislatures, in
blocking wholesome legislation for the pro-
lection of those very policy holders against
unjust practices that the very body polite
has become corrupted through their laxity;
that syndicate transactions involving funds
of the policy holders have been permitted,
whereby the individuals connected Herewith,
and not the policy holders whose money has
been used, have been enriched; that through
their administration life insurance is now
regarded with suspicion by vast majority
of our citizens; that millions have been loan
ed to irresponsible parties, even in one case
to negro messenger boy as dummy; that |
secret funds have been maintained for Illicit |
purposes that hundreds of thousands of
dollars have been paid out for campaign |
funds and political corruption; that the funds |
in their control have been regarded by the I
trustees anything but trust; that even
at the present time hundreds of thousands |
of dollars belonging 10 the policy holders is
being used in sending out requests all over |
the world for proxies to secure continuance |
of the present management.
1t is my understanding, and l believe it is
that of the policy holders, that the trustees
should hold those positions to safeguard our
interests and the interests of thousands of
poor people who have pinned their faith to
life insurance investment. The members of
the present board of trustees have not done
that. They have fallen far short of it. So
much that they are by many regarded
as criminally liable for their neglect. If
they have not fully protected the policy hold.
ers in the past, they cannot be depended
upon to bring about better conditions in the
future.
My letter to the Phoenix was not for the
purpose of bringing the matter into contro-
versy but because / believed that the policy
holders were being misled through the re-
quests sent them from the branch office for
their proxies; that they did not understand
that their compliance with the request would
contribute to a continuance of the admins
tration under which these gross irregularities
have grown up.
Mr. Childs points to the financial showing
made by the New York Life Insurance COM
pany As l have already stated, no one has
L. nod &c co1r hut hnru
much better showing could be made and how
much better satisfied would the policy hold
ars be could all of the funds belonging to
them be rightly applied and justly dis
tributed Mr.. Childs says it should stand
10 credit of trustees that they have made mil.