New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-04-02
WCALL EXPLAINS


3
Now. as to the $4,000, I have before me
= transcript if | am informed correctly,
which was given you or taken by you
from the books of the insurance company.
I attach il hereto and mark il ID" I OBJ
serve that it sets forth two specific loans
/ TO Mr.. Buckley of $1,000. one dated Feb
ruary Is. 1899, and the other dated jan
uary % 1891 Neither one OF these loans. as
to their details the obtaining of the
same, had | any knowledge or. Nor did l
ever know or was ] ever told that my
Checks would he applied in payment OF
either of these or any specific loan Some
error has been perpetrated in the crediting
OF my checks. because they entered
( as having been paid December q, 1890. The
facts arc that Mr.. Buckley came to ME in
+ december. and asked me to loan HIM an
amount ~ interest that was due on his
loan
/ drew my check for 1916 - to the
PhenlX Insurance Company he re-
quested, and my recollection is that I
handed u TO him On January IA, 1901.
/ ar Buckley again asked me to advance
! Hlm Sl2s6S %. as they were pressing him
! LOT q payment again loaned him that
amount and both of these checks I now
attach hereto and mark e" and Fl" In
neither Of these instances did I ever see
any one from the Phenix Insurance Com
pany, nor did know or even inquire what
was the need >Jr what was the necessity
Tor these pay ments.
/ 1t never entered my mind that any state
. menL proposition WAS involved. and If
such a thought were to come would have
/ dismissed u. because the date of the adj
NAhceinent by me (January IA 1901-not
. december 81, 1909 would seem to pre-
clude any such possibility At anv rate
/ ! was not giving any thought TO the fire
/ insurance company, nor was [ in anv way
/ concerned with its affairs or concerns or
I HletAodS OF conducting its business
Only Interest to Help a Friend.
Ny only interest in the entire subject
vas that = friend was in need of money;
/ mao Il, and on his request 1 loaned il 10
/ nm. On January %. 1901, Mr.. Buckley
Lad Lad me back $4,000 of these advance
/ menus, and did II by giving me the check
OF the Phenix Insurance Company
/ IN conclusion l beg TO advise YOU that l
relation with the Phenix Fire Insurance
/ company. l never was in their offices,
and ! never knew the names of any per-
sons Connected with it except Mr. Sheldon
WITH whom | had a slight aCuuainta1ce
ana never considered or gave snv
/ thought 10 said company for moment in
any Of the transactions involved 7 knew
ar Buckley only. and my friendship with
MIN dates from bOyhood.
Stewart Browne was the ONLY witness
examined at Yesterdays session of the
inquiry He characterized himself as a
/ 'woodshed lawyer" and ended his all
day session on the stand with a We
! hement defence of Justice Mccall.
Browne was the "inceptor." as he put
IL, of the American Bond and Mortgage
/ Guarantee Company. and of its success
sOr, the International Banking and Trust
Company and further confessed himself
as the author Of the alI-embracing char
! ter given 70 the first named company by
the Legislature of 1899, and now a part
+ Of the property Of that company owned
! by the Trust Company of America.
/ The American Bond and Mortgage
/ Guarantee Company. Browne modestIy
7
! ton Of making it "a financial institution
which would equal. then surpass, the
financial strength and power of the big
three lHe insurance companies, the New
York, the Equita BILE and the Mutual"
/ Browne commended all through the day
that the entire investigation was an lille
gal proceeding, but came as a voluntary
witness In fact. as Mr. Hotchkiss put
! il. Browne invited himself to the
stand" He told Mr.. Hotchkiss what he
could remember of the formative steps
/ of the American Bond and Mortgage
/ Guarantee Company. and from his testi-
mony and the records OF the minute
/ books and other journals Of the company
on hand it appeared that the company's
only reason for existence was that It
might secure from the Legislature its ex-
/ tremely broad charter.
Real Purpose Evident
As soon as that end had been accom-
plished the company was succeeded by
the International Banking and Trust
! Company and the dummy incorporators
We're replaced by the real directors of the
/ enterprise Browne was made president
; ". H. ChesebOroUgh was elected vice
I president and Theodore H Froelich sec
/ rotary. Senator Louis r CiOodseu intro
duced the bill which gave the company
its charter. and though it remained in
the Banking Committee for twenty-one
days. it went through at a swift pace in
( the closing days Of the session after it
was released from the committee.
Browne recoIlected that there had been
some kind Of delay on il. but he was not
/ clear on that point. He was introduced
[ to Goodsel by the late Andrew Hamil-
ton h. said. and thereafter left the bill
/ in GoodseITs hands. There was an i'm
! preston al Albany. he said that the bill
was New York Life measure. and that
made its passage easy.
AdnulO d H- " dS ABOUT the HldlIETS
/ connected with the bill Incorporating the
/ company. Browne became as silent as
the Sphinx when it came to a question of
the numerous loans which it appeared
/ had been made upon the new company's
stock within a few months Of it's organ
ization.
It was selling then at $40 share. he
said. though its par value was only $50,
but later in what Browne termed the
panic Of 1899 II dropped TO S125. Mean
while Senator GOodsell and William H
Buckley. each of whom had become pos
sessed Of 100 shares OF the new cor
poration. had secured loans running
close 10 the par value of their holdings,
and when the drop came Browne inter
coded for them with the old Seventh
National Bank. which was Carrying their
notes.
Cioodsell and Buckley paid for their
stock. he said though as a concession
they were allowed 10 buy it in al $3.50
when II was selling at S175. The hold