New-York tribune., 1910-12-11
FIRE COMPANY'S. APPEAL
Official Says Lawyers Mortgage
Company Has a Blacklist.
NEW SIDE TO GRAFT HUNT
Buffalo German Mans Charges.
However. Are Denied
LIoyds Told About.

r. E Ross. the New Tork representative
~ the Buffalo German Fire Insurance Com
psnv, furnished the first instance on record
Of The fire insurance company appealing 10
.he Legislative Investigating committee.
~hen he described yesterday what he
termed was practically a blacklist of in
surance companies Disseminated against
By the Lawyers Mortgage COMPANY
The committees investigation mp 70 date
has beer largely an attack upon the rate
making powers Of the fire insurance com
nsnies of the state. with inferred sug-
sestions Of recommendations for Some kind
of state supervision or control With Mr..
Poss's session on the stand. however. a
neu field was opened up.
according 20 Mr.. Ross. Theodore c
Woodbury.. bond salesman for Laden
burg. Thalr1snn & Co. came TO him IN the
early paTt Of 1910 with the proposition that
his COMPANY the Buffalo German. should
buy certain bonds of the Lawyers Mort
gage Company. coupled with the threat
that II the insurance company didn't buy
the bonds il would be taken off the list OF
acceptable companies of the bonding
company
Nr- Ross turned the proposition over 10
John g Nickser. the president of the
Buffalo German and formerly State Treas
ser promptly turned Il down. Thereupon,
Ross testified. policies written by his COM
panr on property over which the Law
-eTs' Mortgage Company held mortgages
zere returned and refused by the Lawyers
Mortgage Company. entsiling consider
able loss OF business
Ross's Statements Denied.
A. the Offices OF the Lawyers Mortgage
s-csrnrsr7v a man who said he the treas
rrer Of that corporation said that Mr.. Ross
was mistaken. in that the bonds of which
he spoke were not bonds OF the Lawyers
Mortgage Company. but were bonds of the
Mortgage Bond Company of New York,
which he said was a distinct and separate
corporation from the other.
The treasurer said however. that r. NJ
Iurd was president of the Lawyers Mort
gage Company and vice-president Of the
Mortgage Bond Company, and that his
brother. George Hurd. was president OF
the Mortgage Bond Company
At his home in Locust y. j. last night
II NJ. Hu-d denied that his company had
INV such thing as d blacklist, anG explained
the relations of the Lawyers Mortgage
Company with the Buffalo German Fire In
e1Irance Company as reciprocal"
w oo6 bury saws that he did not make
any such threat as Ross claims. said MT.
Herd. and 4 I We're called TO the stand
would testify that if he did he exceeded
his authority Our policy is fully outlined
f. 3 letter I sent 70 Mr.. Ross Upon this
subject IL April of This year. when wrote;
The policy OF the LAWYERS Mortgage Com
ranv Is 70 give . preference 10 fire insur-
zn.e e.ornnanies which furnish reciprocal
business either to this company or TO ITS
silieI companies That Is only fair. and
,F any m
: blacklist in that.
Nj Ross presented 10 the committee
three lists. two of which he said had been
-,-epsre5 F,v the Lawyers Mortgage Com
rarv and the other hy- Woodbury. The
FRS mas ? list Of acceptable companies.
N dated December. l@o5. in which the Buffalo
IL Germans name was conspicuous The sec
" end -zs another list of acceptable COM
panies. dated April. 1910. in which the
F2rI%alo German together with several
ether equally strong American companies,
does not appear.
Buffalo Company Left Out
II oo5h,rz-s LIST contained the names Of
=J-r insurance companies as had bought
-he bonds Of the Lawyers Mortgage Com
-,sr7,-. and Ross svore that The new list OF
..e-oe-tarle companies was identical with
the list IF those which had bought bonds,
and that further the companies wh-,h ap-
reared on the 1906 list OF acceptable com
-aries- and not OF the bond buyers list
we're z,ot IN the Iolo list Of acceptable
companies
The Buffalo German. he testified, was
-z-ea a tho -hird strongest American
eo-,qr7-7- AID without going into details
he. ris esifed some % the companies on the
bond buying list and the 1910 acceptable
fgt" IS recent entries into the field Of in
rr-ance. Or companies Of comparatively
email capital and reserve.
.Tot7-7 q Wickser, the president Of the