Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-16

piauded, and | wonder whether 1t was like
the llQe In Goldsmith-that it was counter
ielt giee, or whether the attitude that thew
feited honesty
nave no prepared speach-no set speech
no typewriter notes to go by. out at INV
iuhcheon today, when l considered the hear
ing that was on. | said: Well there is q
uuty TO De performed here, and have been
accused In performing nv duty T will
come up to the front now on a certain line,
And here ] am" ~
There was another Nance =. .t.
he went on: " 'A"9' linen
one of the features that has bean on
iinportaht event in the Investigations of
your committee. Mr.. Chairman. has heen
.iie question OF my transactions and of nv
.oucilers; You have heard all the sweet
p,otestallons of innocence that have come
along, and how the only one to blame was
tne dead. the killed, whom they drove into
MS grave and deserted-and-the yellow
dog. 1t was this that made an appeal to
me 10 come down here and say something
for him and Just a word for MYSELF Wnt
that we are asserting any defense. or MAX
ing any apologies, or asking for any i'm
mnnlty' but because what we say is said in
support of this measure
May Excite Derision.
why, when they say they did not know
what was going on 1t excites my laughter.
my derision. The Pecksniff of three admin
istrations, and who thinks that he is the
Ialieyrand of the present one; the confidant
OF the Beers scandal and author of the
beers pension, rotates through one admin
Istldloh, ana rotates through another and
as say, thinks that he is going to he Ill,
AaiiSSidItd an indispensable member of an
other administration. Do Won tbi1Iy 49,,
the man who held the same rafa .io,, 70 "
Beers that | did to Ny. Mccall con1d sit
~ me thirteen years since and NOT know,
VIZ ana now ire expenditures that were
haGt were to be and We're disbursed?
remark, that I say that when dis-
pufsed my expenditure money NOT dolIar
was dlsbursed IN way that could he CRIT
iciSeui ana yet he, and such like him SIT
hot Judging me as peers, but Judging me as
cohquerors' talking about yellow dogsr'
An outburst of applause came at This
while some people gasped and the name Of
the Pecksnin THAT of an eminent law
yer-passed around the chamber in whis-
pers: So Hamilton continued:
NOW let us consider for a moment the
criticisms made in regard to the navn1anfs
thal nave peen made to me upon my single
Noucher- NOW, remember, l did not go in
there and own this company. 1 went In
there as humble little lawyer q country
lawyer, and l got in there because | heat
PeckSpin in his Beers pension and 7 bea :
him with all the legion Of great names that
ne mad around him. and l beat him single
named ana alone. And when | won NV
victory, then they said: Well we will give
you a chance here And then / stared in
to perform my duties
Now, when the first month came. and
my voucher went in. that was the time to
have said to me. Sir, you have not sub
mitted the proper voucher
And whose duty was it to do that?'
The auditing committee Of the trustees >
Were they perfunctory?
:" No; salaried--a special salary for a
chairman, another salary for a deputy. a
daily compensation for others that at
tended
Suppose that it passed the first month
When the accounts came in the vouchers
were there, in the hands of the controller
And 1t came to second month. and il
went to a fifth month, and it went to a
tenth month, and it went to a year, and all
the time | was carrying forward the busi-
ness and the purposes and the protection
and saving money for these insurance COM
panieS.
But the tenth month passed and there
was no objection. And the first year passed
and there was no objection. And the second
year and the third year, and the fourth
and the fifth and the sixth and the seventh,
the eighth, the NINTH and the tenth and
then when the cry comes out they say:
We'll, we did not know anything about it.
This is the fellow, this is the man that has
done 1t all
Never q Single Criticism.
Never, as the evidence Of your investI-
cation shows. until you reached it, was
there single criticism. Why should there
be? They sat there weekly, cashng the
emoluments that came to them for the per-
formance of their duty, with the vouchers
there under their noses, and if they took
them and looked at them, and then they
approved what was done, / stood approved
II they did not take them and look at them,
then they deceived me into the assumption
that they performed their duty and that
they were satisfied with the manner and
rendition of my accounts.
Now 1t must not be said, you knew,
that the responsibility of this auditing can
be confined to a, and G. During this
long period of years there has been a ro-
tating membership; this time and 3,
next year B and c, and next year D and h;
so that all this knowledge has spread And
1t simply eXcites my laughter when l 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 in
surance interests generally throughout the
United States on behalf of the principles
panies believed to be necessary for their
success and for the benefit of the policy
holders.
IF there was trouble, and an agent
would write from far-off country and say
If this bill passes 1t IS going to kill our
business out here, they would rush In you
know, to the President, and say: Well,
now, here IS this agents letter For heav-
ell 5 SAKE, we Will lose all our money out
there We'll, send for the Judge All
right. The judge Will come sit down.
We'll. what is the trouble?' Well.
heavens! II this bill passes we might as
well get out of that state We'll. ali right.
We viii have to see what the objections are
to 1t, and will have to agitate We win
have the press do something; we will have
to have the politicians do something: we
will have to have the agents do something;
we will have to have the policy holders do
we will get men of influence to
go ahead and see If we cannot beat IT.
And we would beat It, Then the word
would come in. 1t is beaten And they
would come in and pat me on the back
The men that would not know me now
would come in and pat me on the back and
say: You did tt :"
Hamilton had to pause here as well for
breath as to let the applause die out Then
he went on:
About the Vouchers.
Now. about the vouchers All I say
about that is that 1 did not keep the books
Of the New York Life. / never saw the
inside of one Of their books And when
81 eco or 5000 came into my possession 1
gave my voucher for 1t. Now. If was
going to do anything wrong with 1t OF put
A,t~