VER A HOLD U mis name is manning and the insurance corn panics bribed him into silence money bought senator influence PLATT TESTIFIES yew york nov 21 united stales senator thomas C platt testified as a witness before the insurance investigating committee today senator platt said that tho equitable society contributed a year to the republican state campaign fund senator platt said the contributions were in cash and were sent by messen to his office and he turned them over to the state committee they were unsolicited he said senator platt said that was frequently paid as an annual contribution to the state campaign fund but that it was not a regular thing and that he could not ra member the years in which it was paid the new york life inaura anco company he said also con tributes tri buted but not nearly so much no other insurance companies contributed so far as he knew senator platt said he was ex in return tor the alons to influence legislation when any measures were hostile to the insurance companies he added that he does not know an drew hamilton nor anything about hamiltons activity before the legislature he knew nothing about andrew C fields who represented the mutual life in aurance company at albany senator platt said also that he had received frequent eions of each from the mutual life insurance company new york nov 21 john A nichols a lawyer and quarantine com of the port of new york from 1880 to 1892 who wrote the letters to senator chauncey Chaunc sy it depew on behalf of his friend who usually gets around at this time of the year and who he wrote was getting ram and needed help was the first witness before the insurance investigating vesti gating committee today much interest had been aroused by the reading of nichols letters to senator depew on friday the senator was not able to remember ano mr nichols friend was As shown by vouchers under observation by the committee on friday mr nichols received retainers from the equitable late assurance society when he went before the committee today he testified that he had been employed by the equitable society for twenty to twenty five years under an annual retainer of and said he is still under that retainer recently he was employed by the mutual life insurance company he was counseled by the officers of the equitable society on matters not connected with the legislature in 1904 one of the matters entrusted to him was that of W S manning of albany witness said that manning who had been actuary was employs em ployd by certain people to bring charges against the equitable that the reserve was not so large as it ought to be manning was paid 30 mr nichols said so that he would be favorable to tile company witness later baid that this was paid lo 10 keep mannia i from being against the company he thought these payments had been made tor over a period of fifteen years sometimes the payments had reached other payments were made to a man named korr a correspondent of a new york paper now dead karr was paid certain sums for two or three years but the sums were bot mentioned by the witness the vouchers signed by mr were produced A payment of ast 1st 1899 witness could not remember but answering mr hughes he said he thought it as to enable him to pay somebody else vouchers dated october 1888 for and july ast 1st 1890 for witness was also unable to explain but thought ho could remember later when he had refreshed his memory the letter of the witness to senator depew dated december 1896 relative to our friend who gets around at this time of the year was read to the witness and ho said it referred to mr manning ho wrote to senator dupew because the senator was on the finance committee of tho equitable society and that he expected the senator to turn the letter over to the executive officers the letter of december ath 1902 relative to our rambunctious friend from up the river witness also eaid referred to mr manning mr manning he said wanted to know er the arrangement of yearly payments b the equitable society was to be continued witness said manning went into this arrangement nichola persuasion mr nichols said he induced manning to give up his business as an actuary because manning had been antagonistic witness thought mr manning was connected with the investigation of insurance companies in 1877 but he did not know in what capacity he did not recall that manning threatened t publish results of that investigation that had not been made public manning according to mr hughes claimed that he had information of that investigation vesti gation which it published would seriously affect the equitable society and mr hughes asked mr nichols it that was not the reason this money was paid to manning witness said he had no of point the names of alerson V drooker balderson and numerous others on vouchers on which payments were made witness said false names used to protect mainline and keep hla name out of the matter during this same period birness was employed by lip lit insurance in aclei ins as mr hghes formed it and paid manning or the mutual sums like hose bald for the equitable the same system of using false names 0 o protect manning was followed in his dealing with the mutual witness said he received 1000 annual lly for a time he received 1000 also from he new york life insurance company bur they discontinued it about 1899 witness said manning wanted to follow up the new york life but he quieted him without the uw of additional money said he does not know where manning la now he could not recall that he had had any business with any ot the three insurance companies other than in that manner thomas cowan mho said he looked after real and city complaints for the equitable society was next called he was formerly president of the board of aldermen and acting mayor upon mayor hoffmans election to the governorship he had held no office since 1872 he entered the employment in 1882 ha looked after matters that were referred to him mr hughes asked it he was the intermediary between the city departments and the equitable society and the witness replied whenever they requited anything he expressed the opinion that life insurance companies were justified in making campaign contributions while the gold issue was at stake he did not care to pass upon the of the companies in giving money for state campaigns what advantage could they get by so contributing aked mr hudges they got it through me as being connected with the state committee they would suppose I 1 would be likely to defend them at times when it was necessary I 1 never had occasion to do it have they ever requested your support on any matter they never have 1 I understood you to say they would expect you would support or defend them now what class of possibilities had you in mind in saying that to see that the legislature did not enact legislation which they thought hostile to policy holders that is about what it would amount to how could you control the situation 1 I could not control it how could you la any way influence it 1 I might have some influence through the disposition of the money in the election of legislators oh I 1 could not say that Is not that the way it realey comes about senator that the use of contributions in the election of candidates to office puts the candidate more or less under a moral obligation not to attack the interests supporting them that Is what naturally would be involved that really what Is involved 1 I should think so