Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-02
AT ODDS OVER METHODS
Can't Agree Whether to Classify Votes
First or Count Them.
TWO WEEKS DELAY THUS FAR
Minority Members of the Board Of In
spection May Make Matter Public
Litigation is Probable.

NEW YORK, January q With two
weeks gone by since the votes were cast
in the New York and Mutual Life cleo
tions. the board of inspectors appointed
by Supt. Kelsey of the state insurance
department to canvass the vote in the
former institution had not counted sim
gle ballot up to last night. The<inspectors
are drawing about $35 day compensa
ton, that being the amount. fixed by the
superintendent when he arranged for the
canvassing of the vote
The fundamental trouble at the New
York Life, however, involves not merely
the failure to count any>votes up to this
time, but an open split among the inspec-
tors themselves over the question of pro-
cedure. which has threatened to disrupt
the board entirely several times. The
board is divided three to two, the ma
jority having sided consistently thus far,
according to authoritative information,
with series Of contentious advanced by
Counsel James H. Mcintosh of the New
York Life, who has been in daily and al
most continual attendance at the sessions
Of the inspectors.
Mr. Mcintosh does not represent the ad-
ministration ticket as watcher. That
position is filled by lawyer named Henry
Bottome, who has done more or less legal
work for the New York Life in the past
Mr.. Mcintosh early in the sessions of the
inspectors contended that the first thing
the board must do was to open the boxes
containing the votes polled by the inter-
national policyholders' committee ticket
and see how many of these votes there
were.
For Comparison.
Having done this. 1t was proposed that
the inspectors should add without count
ing them the votes and proxies turned
over by the New York Life, including the
official ballots sent in direct to the COM
pany. thus making a preliminary total
for the purposes OF comparison" with
the results to be obtained through the
actual tabulation. This preparatory count
was not intended to include an actual
canvass OF the policy holders votes, which
were to be left in their sealed envelopes.
Three Of the inspectors. J. Earl Lowshe,
the chairman; Adolphus KOelble, and Rob-
ert 8. Huse, adopted the proposition to
count the policyholders vote first. and
Frederick w. Marks. the fourth member
Of the board. and E. g.. Kinkead. the fifth
member. strongly opposed the proposition
on the grounds. first, that 1t would be I'M
from the total vote. and, second. that
nothing could be gained from q preiimi-
nary count that did not attempt to can
vass the ballots, but merely to ascertain
the total number cast.
Read Riot Act
Last Monday Mr.. Marks read the riot
act to his Neutrality-suspicious.. He said he
would have them understand In the first
place that the proceedings OF the board
were not going to be Of a star chamber
order If he had anything to do with It. in
asmuch as the issue concerned many hun
dred thousand policyholders. and. further
more. that he would not stand for q dis
elimination against the policyholders
ticket in the proposition to count only that
vote and take the figures OF the company
for the number of official ballots and prox-
les turned in. Mr.. Kinkead backed I'D
Mr. Marks.
Eventually the three inspectors who had
sufficiently from their position to agree to
a preliminary count of all the votes to de-
termine the total number and when the
board of inspectors adjourned over New
Year this was the situation. 1t Is not
probable, however, that the truce will last
very long. Mr. Marks and Mr. Kinkead
have not changed their views as to the
futility of a count that will not tell any
thing Of the actual result and which
plete.
Nor does 1t appear to the protesting in
spectors that the figures on the total vote
to be thus obtained will be of any value
for purposes of comparison when the real
canvass Is started. inasmuch as there are
thousands of duplicate ballots and many
envelopes which undoubtedly contain sew
mnation of the minority members of the
inspection board Is to bring the whole thing
out into the open, and 1t Is not improb-
able that court proceedings may be in
augurated to get the canvass of the votes
under way.