Connecticut western news., 1910-03-24
INSURANCE BRIBERY
 SCANDAL EXPOSED,
New York Fire. Underwriters
 Paid For Legislation.

A new mine of legislative iniquity involving the Republican state commit tee and several Republican leaders was uncovered on Friday when Will liam H. Hotchkiss. superintendent of the state insurance department, began an Investigation of sums of money spent by the New York board of fire underwriters to obtain the kind of leg 1slat1on wanted by the fire insurance companies. 1t was shown in testi- mony:
 That the New York board of fire un- derwriters. m organization composed Of officers of all the fire insurance companies doing business in New York. spent considerable sums for leg islative purposes. The amounts so far disclosed indicate that a yellow pup" fund was annually on tap to meet needs at Albany.
 That for twenty odd years prior to 1901 and including the legislative ses- sion of that year the legislative repre- sentative of the fire Insurance com panies and disburser of funds was Eli Jah R. Kennedy. member of the insur- ance brokerage firm of Weed & Ken nedy. an elderly wealthy man living in Brooklyn -..-'
 Thatkduring the 1901 session of the legislature-the one which developed the Conger-Allds scandal-the insur- ance companies had bill prepared to defeat a decision rendered by the court of appeals. which had declared that the reinsurance reserve funds of the fire companies were all asset and consequently subject to taxation. The bill prepared by the insurance compa- nies declared these funds to be a lia- bility and consequently not subject to taxation. Under the decision of the court of appeals the fire companies would have had to pay large sums in taxes. a.# @.. ... .... ...
 That this bill upsetting the purpose of the court of appeals, was introduc- ed by Senator John Raines and after hard campaign was put through both branches of the legislature at the close of the session. April B. 1901.
 That Mir Kennedy disbursed about $5.000 as presents" to various per sons with political influence to get the bill through the legislature, including $1,000 to George w. Aldridge, Repub- lican boss of Rochester and Onondaga county Aan6 member of the Republican state committee.
 That Governor Odell was opposed to the bill, which had to be signed with i'll thirty days of its passage or be- come imperative. He decided to veto and had written his reasons for veto ing it. While it was still in the gov ernor's hands and before the expira- tion of the thirty days, MT. Kennedy promised Reuben l.. Fox to make a contribution of 5000 to the Republic an state committee on the last day but one of the thirty days. Governor Oden reversed his veto and signed the bill. thereby creating law which destroyed the decision of the court of appeals ard relieved the fire compa- nies of paying tax which had been decided just After the governor sign ed the bill the 5000 was paid to the Republican state committC by Mir. Kennedy.
 That among those whom Kennedy got to work for the bill while 1t was pending in the legislature were George w. Dunn, chairman of the Republican state committee; the then Senator Nal by, Senator Higgins. afterward gov ernor. and others. .|