The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18

NcCurdy Perjury Fields,
states Evidence. liant Testify.
District Attorney Jerome has finished
Ma Investigation Of the Mutual Life Insur-
snoe Company and submitted a report to
Ooe Higgins. The report was received by
Abe Governor Yesterday afternoon.
n a long document, in which Mr.. jerome
s,plains in detail the difficulties Of the in
vestieation and what steps he OOH to find
out if the officers Of the Mutual, from its
former president, Richard A. McCurdy,
; down. had committed crimes in the man.
aeement Of the company.
Mr.. Jerome's report Is an explanation
N whv 1t was impossible for him to charge
officials of the company with crimes. Only
TWO former officers Of the Mutual have
been indicted. DIR. Walter r. Gillette and
Robert A. Granniss, who were vice-presi-
dents. and Mr.. Jerome announces that
there is no provision OF the criminal law
on which TO base an indictment against
Richard A. McCurdy or Any other official
awe the two mentioned.
Mr.. Jerome lays the blame for many
abuses in the management Of the Mutual to
the Superintendent Of Insurance, who, he
saws, had the power to discover wrong
0OlIlWs dllu u ohbN W a bRSA eLO USAO
la,ure TO enact avs which would remedy
the evils. In many cases, Mr.. Jerome
syy, there il nothing in the insurance
laws which covers acts committed by the
officials OF the company. Certain trans
actions which to the lay mind would in
dictate criminality are not covered by
statute law, Mr.. Jerome declares, and
although they indicate moral obliquity,
- .,a&k1l - raaah;1r 4ka AFapla~a
under the laws which were in force at the
time.
sAYs McUBDY COMMITTED PERJURY.
or Richard A. McCurdy Mr.. Jerome
avs that he believes that he committed
perjury when he testified that he knew
nothing OF the contracts between the
Mutual and Raymond a Co, Of which
McCurdy's son-in-law, Louis A Thebaud,
was a member, but that there is no way
under the law of reaching Mr.. MCCurdy.
As for the confidential expenditures OF
che Mutual, there il no doubt in Mr.. Jerome's
mind that the money was used to bride
legislators, but there is no way Of proving
It. Il Is also plain to Mr.. Jerome that
Andrew c.. Fields handled the money, and
he has told Mr.. Jerome what he did with
Il, but Mr.. Jerome says that Fields cannot
be prosecuted. He has been accepted
as the States witness under a promise OF
immunity, and there is no way TO get the
evidence necessary to ~corroborate his story.
Mr.. Jerome tells the Governor that he
n now taking up the investigation of the
New York Life Insurance Conn "ny, and
that when he has that complete he will
make a report OF that company.
Mn mROMr's nEFRNcr
AZ the outset Mr.. Jerome divides the
transactions under suspicion into two
classes:
Ftrst-A class OF transactions In which
the committee. after proceeding to = certain
extent In its examination. stopped after
developing matters which gravely suggested
the commission of a crime.
~Secondly-A class OF transactions which.
upon the In Investigation had. were commonly
thought to involve the commission of crimes.
and which. at the least. had many If not all
the moral elements entering into certain
well known criminal offences.
The report continues;
/ conceived It to be my duty to continue the
Investigation of transactions Of the first class.
with Q view Of determining whether the sus-
picions aroused were well founded and a
crime had in fact been committed and could
be proved by legal evidence. As to TRANSACT
- .--l -. "a - -.
Ion " II c. "a y Dvoane my uu.y
saAeuIy ~ ann .ne =" an On Il
So @"u W ne'ne
CInne a oeen So''eu' 1unn'n inc
Iacts appearsns uetoIe a comnnl.'ee 10 De
susceptiple oi p,ool' n o seer ou, any sup
pemehCsry evruehoe Nnnn nlisnt pIIng Ihe
Hsusaclions unscIoseu w"hih u crInliha, Jaw.
! nave hot cohsiuereu sS : part Oh my
and sverv transaction of the life Insurance
companies involved in the investigation, on
the theory that possibly criminality might
exist.
The law does not Impose any general duties
Of visitorial character upon District Attor-
news in reference to any class OF corporations.
The insurance law clearly devolves these
duties upon the superintendent OF Insurance
In respect to insurance companies and pro-
vldes the machinery whereby ne may dis
charge his duties. When In the DISCHARGE OF
his duties OF investigating the AFFAIRS OF in
surance companies the superintendent OF In
sursnce discovers, or has reason to believe.
that a crime has been he should
call on the District Attorney oil the proper
county to investigate the matter. but until a
District Attorney has distin1 cause to believe