The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-07
IA. (. FIELDS
 HITS BACK Assails Trustees of the
 Mutual COMPANIES AGENT Declares Directors Knew of Ex-
 pendHures He Made. TAsugh Suffering From Incurasge Dis- ease Disgraccd Issara.ce EmpIeys Deelsres Ae Doe. Not Propose
 to he Made sc.pegeat.
coMPANY'sLEGISLATIvEAGE AGENT

New York. April Exchanges similar to those recently made against tho directors of tho Now York Life In- surance Compnny by Andrew Hamilton were made today against the trustees of the Mutual Ltfe Insurance Company by Andrew c. Fields.
 The former legislative agent of the Mutual is now In aoclusion at his home at Dobbs Ferry. He is said to be seri- ously Ill and has denied himself to all callers. The charges against the Mutual trustees were made In q formal statement which Fields issued through his physician. and in which he de- clared that the Mutual trustees well knew the nature of his duties while legislative agent and also had charge of it's supply department Hc says that he had come home prepared to tell the truth no matter whom it hurtss bc his position high or low"
 He denies that he ever gave a briba to anyone: declares the story of tho so-called house of mirth at Albany to be a malicious libel. and claims that while acting for the Mutual he saved the compny many hundreds of thous- ands of dollars. He says that the rec ords of the Mutual supply department which had been reported as missing are within easy reach and that they will be forthcoming whenever the trustees want them.
 VIII Tell All.
 He promises to make full and conl- piete explanation of the manner in wh1eh the $690,000 or more which was paid to him by the expenditure conn mittee was disbursed and to show that every payment was fully authorized Fields says that in all his career he had never had any personal dealings wr I.~. vAsN- islative agent for the New York Llfe Insurance Company.
 The statement in which Fields sav- agely hrraigned the officials of the Mutual with whom he had deaiinss follows , Tn the first place I never gave . bribe to any one in the whole course of my career. I have come home pre- pared to vindicate myself completely. Tn doing so shah let the truth which shall speak fall upon whom ff may. All of those trustees of the Mutual who are now pointing the finger Of scorn at me were aware of all I was doing in connection with legislative work for the Mutual and when they say they were ignorant of the char acter of my work, they say what Is untrue.
 "I am here to challenge them in every such statement they may make or have made. I am not an old man like Richard A. McCurdy. whose age is so great that he could not defend him self. While my bodily strength Is not what 1t might be. I am mentally as strong as ever I was. and am deter mined to vindicate myself in the eyes of the public.
 q have to laugh when I read the statements of the trustees to the effect that a portion of the records of the supply department of the Mutual is missing or was destroyed.
 T will say now that 1t Is absurd to say that single book or record in the supply department of which I was head, has been taken from the compa- ny's office. The story simply anuses me. nothing more. These trustees will have all the records of the supply de- partment when they want them. They are not missing.
 "As to the payments by Robert Oii- phant, chairman of the Expenditure Committee, of amounts ranging from $25, 900 upward and aggregating In all about $600,00 paid to me, will say that can furnish full and complete explanation of exactly what was done with this money and can show that every payment was fully authorised
 T saved for the Mutual Life by my work at Albany hundreds of thousands of dollars and in doing so never corn mitted a dishonest act. I do not pro- pose that the men associated with ne in the Mutual shall destroy my reSuta- ton to further their own private ends-
 The story about the so~called house of mlrth in Albany was a gross lib@l Nothing ever took place in that houae, which was simply my Albany residences. of which I nor any other God-fearing man need be ashamed. I am preparcd to tell the truth, no matter whom iL may hurt. be his position high or low"
 Dr. Judson said that MT. Fields would not be able to see any one for two weeks at least. His patient is suffering from an incurable disease. he said, bug by careful treatment his life may be prolonged for years.
 w. Fl. Truesdale, chairman of tho Mu- tual Internal Investigating Committee. said today:
 Tt would not be proper for me to state that Fields will be called upon to make statement to this commit tee. That such a course Is likely, however. Is a probability. There is no power vested in our committee that could be exercised to compel Fields to give 1t an explanation and any that he does will be purely voluntary"