New-York tribune., 1910-01-18
WHITE EXONER4TED?
Friends of Lieutenant Co..
e1nor Issue Statement.
by telegram to The. Tribune

Albany Jan. 17.-Lieutenant Governor
White returned to-day from Syracuse.
where he had another session with Su-
perintendent Hotchkiss of the State Insur-
snce Department regarding the affairs of
the Peoples Mutual Life Insurance AS
sociation and League. He had nothing to
say for publication regarding the case II
was intimated that he would have some
statement to make in this connection soon.
Friends of the Lieutenant Governor de
clared that the grand jury proceedings in
Syracuse to-day had exonerated the Lieu
tenant Governor and the directors of the
insurance company from any charge of
conspiracy in connection with the purchase
of the company by John Tevis. of Louis
Vile The Lieutenant Governor handled
fund of $4,000 with which Tevis bought
the company. after w. H. Travers. of the
Canadian Bank of Toronto, which had
been considering the purchase of the COM
pany, declined to buy it. In a semi-informal
statement these friends Of Mr.. White
said:
The charge of conspiracy was based
largely on the testimony Of w. H. Travers,
manager of the Canadian Bank of Toronto,
TO the superintendent of insurance. Travers
claiming that he went TO Syracuse with
$4,000 Of Canadian currency, but returned
with II without consummating the deal for
the purchase Of the company. Travers and
Tevis. both of wnom are represented on
the new BOARD of directors of the insurance
company. were persuaded by the directors,
under tear Of criminal proceedings, TO go
TO Syracuse and made a clean breast of
spent most OF last night under a crossf1re
OF questioning by the Superintendent of In
slrance
The testimony of Travers and Tevis, it
is said by Lieutenant Governor Whites
friends, proved that the $4,000 used to
purchase the company involved was not
m 90 tha
itself, but upon curb copper stock de-
posted by Mr.: Teyis with Manager Trav-
is said to have admitted that the Sl50oOO
which he took back to Toronto was de-
posted in his bank to the credit of the
Peoples Mutual Company. NJ. G. Hunt, a
Toronto lawyer, produced a letter which
Mr.. Travers had sent him in December
last showing concluslvely that the insur-
ance company had sl5oeD on deposit in
the Toronto bank.
Tevis raised the s15oooo which he paid
over to Lieutenant Governor White for
disbursement among the old directors of
the insurance company by depositing with
the Toronto bank 100000 in copper stock.
Chemical National Bank, of New York
City, as a part of the bargain Tevis.
after gaining control of the company,
tons money with the Toronto bank, agree
ing at the end of three months to take
over bank stock TO that amount. A Ger
tihcate of deposit was given by Travers to
the new officials of the insurance company
and an agreement was signed by the new
directors to the effect that they would sup
port resolution to buy the bank stock.
When the Insurance Department began
It's investigation of the deal Travers
claimed that this certificate was spurious
and that the money he took back to To-
ronto was. his own, and not the company's
With charge OF conspiracy facing him.
the directors and counsel representing
Travers and Hunt appealed so urgently
TO Travers and Tevis TO straighten out the
AFFAIRS that the latter went TO Syracuse
ments presented by Hunt and the other
new directors, testified that the S50,000 at
Toronto was the insurance company's
money, and that the $4,000 put up by
Tevis was loaned to him on copper securi-
ties deposited with the Toronto Bank
TraVers agreed last night to waive the
provision which required ninety days no
tice for the withdrawal of money and re-
turn at once the $4,000 belonging 10 the
company. The Superintendent of Insur-
ance sent one of his representatives to To-
ronto last night TO get the money.