The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-01
BUCKLEY WORKED
 YELLOW DOG' FUND Details of Game Are Brought
 Out By Hotchkiss BIG SUMS ARE PAID OUT Story Is Told of the Way Legislation Was Influenced In Albany By
 Buckley and Hamilton in
 Certain Cases
BIG SUMS ARE PAID OUT

New York, March 31.-How William H. Buckley accelerator of insurance legis- lation. and the late Andy" Hamilton, keeper of the life insurance yellow dog" fund of former years. worked shoulder to shoulder, oiling the legislative wheels at Albany for good and substantial con- alteration, was brought out today at the fire insurance inquiry conducted by Will liam H. Hotchkiss, state superintendent of insurance. Hamilton, the evidence showed, received no less than $Ss99 from certain companies in 1901.
 Hamilton's name was put on the record through the testimony of Henry c. Will COX, vice president of the American Surety company. In 1901, Wilcox testified, the fire insurance companies caused to be introduced in the legislature a bill to exempt the unearned premium reserves from taxation. Mir. Wilcox wanted to have the casualty and surety companies included in the exemption and according ly went to Albany. He tried to get Sem ator Rains and Assemblyman Lewis in- terested, but failed. Then he hunted up Buckley and told him his troubles.
 Buckley, he said, told him that Hamil- ton was the one to help him. Buckley telephoned to Hamilton, who was in New York, and when he got him had Wilcox lay the case before him. Then Buckley went into the telephone booth and had a talk with Hamilton. When he came out he said Hamilton had agreed to take 1t up. Wilcox left Albany and the amendment went through as desired. When it was all over Hamilton sent a bill for s1oooo to the American Surety com- pany.
 Did he tell you he had to pay out any of the money?" the witness was asked.
 He conveyed to me the suggestion that he had assumed obligations which he could not meet unless the full amount was paid.''
 This was as strong as MT. Wilcox would put it. He thought the bill too large, but as a compromise he sent, he said three checks to Hamilton aggre- gating s64e9 The bulk of that amount was paid by the American Surety com pany, which made out its check to Hamil- ton for s567e; while the United States Guarantee company palu S4l5, ana lnn Lawyers Surety, sSI4. Other surety com paines, although benefited, declined to contribute. It was shown later, however that the National Surety company paid s2530 direct to Hamilton.
 How did you happen to know that Buckley and Hamilton were frends?" the witness was asked.
 If I wanted to find one of them, the other usually was close by was the reply.
 Elijah R. Kennedy, former Legislative agent for the fire companies. who has been on the stand several times, came bac ktoday to tell of some new de- tails of the disbursement of S13311 in 1901 to bring about the passage of the tax exemption bill. He accounted for all but about $500 of the amount.
 Kennedy gave the first direct testi- mony showing the activities of the fire insurance men in Congress He said that Emmet Rhodes, an insurance man of Auburn, N. r., was sent to Wash . ington in 1900 to labor with the ways and means committee to induce 1t to remove the stamp tax, put on at the time of the Spanish American war. from insurance policies.
 Rhodes and Kennedy were in Wasp ington together and the underwriters