The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-19
TO. STOP FIGHT FOR PROXIES.
UNTERMYER SENDS A WARNING
TO ". Y. LIFE TRUSTEES.

hiioiui POftNy OiAOl SOiiiihibt1Ct 10 ~
served notice on President Alexander e.
Orr of the New York Life that no will hold
him and other trustees OF the company
personally responsible for the po~lioyholders'
money hat has been spent recently In the
management's campaign for proxies. 1t
is estimated that more than 100000 has
been spent in this way.
The proxies are for USE at the annual
meeting Of the New York Life on April IL
in the event of the failure to pass the Arm
strong committee recommendations before
that date. If the Armstrong committee
bills are enacted before April II the proxies
will, Of course, be void, and the annual
meeting will be postponed.
There are six trustees to be elected at
the April meeting. One Of these is Presi-
dent Orr himself. The others, it is under
stood, are William B. Hornblower, Darwin
P. Kingsley, John Clafin, Woodbury. Lang
don and George A. Morrison. Mr., Clafin
is one Of the trustees to whom the new
proxies are issued. Mr.. Untermyer in his
letter to President Orr intimates that il Is
the desire Of the management to reflect
the six trustees at the April election for
the effect which 1t will have in the mora
trenuous campaign that will preoede the
annual election set by the Armstrong COM
mittee, Here is Mr.. Untermyer's letter
to President Orr, dated March II:
DEAR Sir: As counsel for p~olicyholders
and committees that are now representing
upward OF $4,000 policyholders in your
company, although no canvass for proxies
has been possible, / am instructed to protest
in their behalf against the extraordinary
use that is being made by o and your
officers Of the agency force of the company
who are being pressed into the service OF
soliciting proxies for the reelection Of
yourself and associates as directors ct
enormous expense to the p~olicyholders.
you are we'll aware that your tenure Of
office and that of you associates are about
to be terminated and a new election ordered
by the enactment Of the pending legislation.
You know that until this legislation 10
enacted the p~olicyholders are practically
disfranchised. You and your associates
are responsible for their helpless position
in this respect. 1t was under your admins
tration that the requests of polieyholders
for an inspection of the lists so that they
might know who are their associates and
be able to communicate with them as to the
selection Of trustees were recently denied.
When the court granted that demand 1t
was under your administration that the
funds of the policyholders were used in the
appeal from that ruling, which resulted In
the extraordinary decision that denied TO
them access to the lists. X
1T is the result of that litigation, CON-
Quoted for the defeat Of the rights Iof the
~policyholder n at his expense, which
emphasizes the necessity for the pending
legislation.
"In its remarkable opinion in that case
the Court observes with prophetic vision
that these lists might prove a valuable
asset in ~unsorupulous hands And go
they will if you are permitted to utilize
them as you are now doing,
II am informed that within the last few
days you sent out from your head office
to your entire agency force throughout
the country kilograms urging them to
collect proxies. I nave before me one Of
a number of printed letters and circulars
issued from your head Office, signed by the
cashier of your company, with an accom-.
panying form of proxy, addressed to policy
holders, enclosing a biography Of each Of
the directors and officers whom you seek
to reflect, includin , yourself. This proxy
is to Messrs. John Clafin, Oscar H. Straus
and Clarence H. Maokay, of whom biog-
raphies are also enclosed, printed at the
expense of the p~olioyholders, Your circular
letter concludes as follows.
You interest az a ~policyholder cannot
better be served than by promptly executing
the enclosed form and returning it as sug-
gested.
IF these documents have been sent to
every policyholder the cost TO the company
for postage alone would be about $50, 900,
and the cost of printing n stationery as
much more. How you justify such ex-
penditures to say nothing Of the manifesS
improperly of such action at this juncture)
| fail to understand.
These documents are coming to us in
great numbers from Infatuated policy
holders with the request that our committee
take some action to prevent your thus
wasting the money Of the polioyholders in
the attempt to return yourselves to office.
Il nave also had placed in my hands cir
cular letters signed by your vice-president,
Mr.. Buckner, and sent broadcast to your
agents some months ago before the pending
bills were introduced and at a time when
it was expected that your election for trus-
tees would be held on April IL. At enor-
nous expense to the company the agency
force was ciroularized and inducements
held out 10 them TO gather proxies in favor
of the present management. In these cir
culars schemes and combinations are sug-
gested and the agents are told how many
proxies are expected from each OF them by
the cement.
81 am told that, as the result Of this mis-
use OF the time of the high priced officials
Of the company and Of the agency forces
you have within the last three months suo
ceeded in collecting through your agents
and otherwise from policyholders who are
unfamiliar with existing conditions about
10000 proxies, of which, approximately,
1900 come from your home Office agents,
about $1,000 from the Chicago branches
and about 5000 from your foreign agencies
through your Paris office.
upon the publication OF the Armstrong
report you issued instructions to stop this
campaign. We supposed that was the end
Of it and that you would await the result
of the recommendations of that report.
you nave now resumed the campaign
apparently in the hope Of stealing a march
on the p~olicyholders while they are In this