Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-18

fore his retirement last winter. He has not
been doing any business; he took no part
in the late campaign. but he comes down
to New York nearly every day from Irving
ton, where he has been living, lunches at
the club and seems as hearty and jovial as
he ever was. He is accepting invitations to
dinner and is entertaining his friends with
hts old-time hospitality. Washington people
who have seen him say that he has entirety
recovered his health and capacity for en-
joyment. Many OF Senator Depews friends
think he was unjustly condemned; that his
punishment was undeserved and that his
newspaper critics, carried away with the
sensational disclosures of the insurance
companies became so hysterical that they
could not discriminate. The only offenseS
charged against him were that he drew an
annual salary of $4,000 from the Equitable
Life Insurance Company for services that
he never performed, and that he had en-
joyed this sinecure at the expense of the
policy holders for years. In the second
place, town site company in which he
was interested and which bears his name
was aHowed to borrow a large sum of
money from the company. secured by a
mortgage upon property that was not worth
half the amount. While these things were
going on Mr.. Depew, ii is claimed, was not
only protecting but encouraging young Mr..
Hyde in his follies and extravagances and
with other directors was permitting the
funds of the company to be used for specu-
lation and private profit.
Extenuating Circumstances.
All this is undoubtedly true. but there
were extenuating circumstances which, al
though they do not prove his innocence,
should be taken into consideration He did
exactly what forty-eight other directors
did, and that was to aiiow the officials Of
the company to conduct the business of the
company in their own way, as they always
had done, and use the funds for their own
hoe hnn ntyyci N-a1 thou
that the loan to the town of Depew was
not made at his request or with his knowl-
edge, although it goes without saying that
itAwould not have been made or even asked
for If he had not been a stakeholder in the
town site and director Of the insurance
company.
His retainer of $4,000 year was largely
a matter of sentiment The elder Mr.;
Hyde employed him as his confidential
legal adviser for many years. He did
scarcely anything without consulting Mr..
Depew. They met almost every day and
If one may accept the opinion of the
the death of the father Mr. Depew con-
tinued to enjoy similar relations with the
son and that fact was known to all Of the
officials Of the Equitable Insurance Com
pany His salary was continued for that
reason. Nobody ever questioned the pro-
priety Of the arrangement and young Mr.
Hyde would have resented any criticisms
It's matter of taste as well as judgment
whether Mr.. Depew's services to this &C.
centric young man was worth the money.
However valuable his advice might have
been. Mr.. Hyde seldom accepted 1t and
went his own way without regard to the
opinions of others.
. London Police Examination.
In answer to an inquiry I would say that
the members Of the London police force
are required to pass a very severe ex-
animation in tests of judgment and ply
steal qualifications. They must be in per-
feet health between twenty and thirty
years of age, five feet ten inches or more
in height; must be able to read correctly
and rapidly. write a plain. fair hand. do
describe the location OF every street, every
public building, every church. hotel and
monument in London. Not more than
twenty per cent Of the candidates are
Is accepted who Is addicted to the use Of
LIQUOR or has ever been accused even OF
crime or vice. He Is allowed to drink
beer. but not spirituous liquor, while of
duty, but for an officer to take even a
mouthful of either malt or spirituous
liquors during his hours of duty Is equiva-
lent to his resignation Single men are
preferred, but married men are accepted
If their wives are not invalids and they
have no more than two children.
The superintendent of divisions receive
salaries of $i,536 and $2,016 per annum,
according to the length OF time they have
been on the force; inspectors from $14 to
$50 a week: sergeants from $3.50 to So
week, and patrolmen from So to $3.50 a
week besides their clothing allowance
After fifteen years of service a man may
retire on a pension. half-pay for disabil-
ity, after TWENTY-FIVE years service he
can retire at win upon two-thirds pay.
Oxford Slang Terms.
In a recent letter about Oxford Univer-
sity I stated that close student. such a
one as American undergraduates call
dig" or grind" or a "poler," was
called a Stacker at Oxford. An old
friend corrects this mistake and says that
such man Is called q "mugger." He
says a Stacker il a man who Will not
study.