New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-04-01
HOTCHKlSS GETS
EAGER WITNESSES
Kennedy, Bccb on Stand. Lugs
an Croker and Piatt at In
s9raHcc Inquiry.

iHFi-it ~ fico not UeeU maze 01rT ~
tho record Of the investigation which
Superintendent Of Insurance William H.
HOtchkiss is conducting il may safely
- put down a. result Of yesterdays
hearing that memory and recOUectiO,
are more carefully matured IN the cas-
ualty and surety insurance line than in
the fire insurance field
officials of companies Of rhe first
named line succeeded the fire Insurance.
yesterday. and their prompt manner os
recollecting dates and amounts OF pay
ments astounded the previous witnesses
beyond measure.
Henry q. Wilcox. vice-president and
general solicitor of the American Surety
Company, and W. J. Griffin. first vice
president of the National Surety Com
pany, were almost eager to make clean
breast Of their Albany affairs which
were in fact practically summed I'D ir
one incident of $4,000 encounter with
the late Andrew Hamilton.
When asked about recent activities -
William RI. Buckley in connection with
his company. Mr.. Griffin showed slight
lapse Of memory. but. as n appeared
from letters brought in by Alfred Hur-
rell. counsel TO Mr. Hotchkiss. the Buck
ley relations with the National surety
Company in 1908 were administered en-
tirely through the president. William r
Joyce. so Griffin's lack Of recoIIectio,
was pardonsbIe
Stewart Brownies Letter
Stewart Browne, the organizer Of tn.
International Banking and Trust COM
pany. stock of which William H Buck
ley put up as collateral for some Of his
loans from the Phenix. was sworn and
occupied the witness chair long enough
to hear Mr.. HOtChkEs read into the rec
ord of the investigation long letter
written by Browne 70 the Superintendenr
after H. had been apprised Of his connec-
tion with the case by Tribune re-
porter The letter consisted mainly of =.
reiteration Of the statements which hs
made to The Tribune on Wednesday
night denying that either William II
Buckley. Edward r. Mccall or ex-Sen-
ator Louis F. GoOdse1l had ever received
from the International Banking and
Trust Company or it's predecessor or suc-
cegr-ors any unearned fee or gratuitOU5
stock
Mr.. Hotchkiss was not ready to sx-
anime Rrowne until he had gone over
some additional data connected with the
matter Of the Buckley loans transferred
from certain trust companies To the
PHenix. and Mr.. Browne was excused
until this mornings session
Elijah r KENNEDY. the Albany man
of the FIRE insurance interests for
twenty-one years up 70 1901. resumed
the stand for short period and. though
displaying a remar<a bic recollection of
details concerning instances in the dim
past when he had spurned the traps Of
legislators or politicians. his recoIlec-
tions of things nearer the present, such
as the 1901 gift giving. described . con-
tinuous diminuendo which allowed him
10 furnish but one new name for the list
Of recipients Of his presents
Emmett Rhodes Got $500.
He tackled on $1,000 to the amount n.
had previously stated as having gone u
Commodore 2. Vedder, and told Of sn
$500 disbursement to Emmett Rhodes.
the insurance lawyer who received Slo.-
600 from the National Board OF Fire
Underwriters for his services in secur-
ing the Congressional repeal OF the
stamp tax aCt.
This brought tire total amount sc-
counted for u5 to- $1,000 odd. including
the regular expenses of SS.311 ~, and
leaves between $500 and $500 Of the gift
fund for which the recipients have not
Yet been named
Who are those ether politicianse'
asked NJ NOrchkiss- They must have
been cheap ones
But Ut Kennedy wouldn't stand for
that
81 never knew any cheap politicians.
he said. ''but they might have been men
who dill only little work for me-.
Further Mr. Kennedy informed Mr.
Hotchkiss that he never used middle
men He said J. SIoat Fassett was one
cf his friends in his Albany days
II avoided middIemen and that kind
az cattle" SAID Kennedy To see them
means employing lobbyists to infuence 2
ren IN the Legislature. Why. in the
last two Democratic administrations IL
was common talk that all you had 10 90
was to go To- an office in the Trinity
Building and arrange what bills yOc
wanted.