Show hotel proprietor was paid a week for looking after loans and commissioner clunies brother was bribed yew york dec 4 the most interesting te development in the legislative life insurance investigation today was continued in the testimony ot horace A brockway a hotel proprietor and director of the mutual reserve life insurance company who said that he had given to president frederick A burnham of that company at the demand ot mr burnham in 1889 mr Brockway told the commit teo that air told him that it he would take out a policy in the mutual reserve he would make him a director air brockway then took out policy amounting to after having been a director for some time ho was put on the pay roll of the company t a week received that salary tor tour months and then it was cut to a week asked what he did to earn that money ho said he looked over some loans tor the corn pany was consulted by policy holders as to whether the company wan a good one to insure in and did whatever bo was asked to do he had been getting week eight weeks when mr burnham demanded the what president burnham did with that money was explained by george D eldredge vice president and secretary of the mutual reserve life insurance company who testified that president burnham told him he had given it to hilary bell a newspaper man and publicity agent of the company to secure the publication of the articles favorable to the company at a time when it was being criticized in the newspapers mr bell had said that he could accomplish com much more with the money if ho were not compelled to report to the company just what he expended it tor mr brockway said ue Is still a director of tho company the reason why president burnham waa not called before the committee was given toy his physician who told the committee today that mr burnham is too sick to appear or eran make a deposition vice president pl dredge also testified that hla company had much trouble etith andrew E chunie when he was superintendent of insurance of california and in six years from 1897 paid thomaa J chunie th comila eigners Eib ners brother in counsel tees to represent the company before the insurance commissioner and legislature of that detate mr hughes was investigating the relations of the mutual life insurance company with the new york state department part ment then they adjourned until tomorrow senator armstrong chairman of the committee said today ahat the committee expected to finish its work by december 31 but that it it did committee would not PASS out of existence when the legislature ass cabled unless that body so ordered george D eldradge vice president and actuary of the mutual reserve life insurance company hafl the first witness before the committee today the witness said that of in the mutual reserve lite insurance company lapsed sn 1904 on which the company pad in cash surrenders besides this the company also charged off about in loans due the company on the policies lapsed and allowed or of extended insurance mr said in the mutual reserve life company had reached a point where it would have been compelled to increase ita assess ments to maintain its reserve instead the members ot tho company voted to apply to the payment of death claims the portion of the assessments which had ben going to the reserve fund you mean by members that president burnham voted the proxies said mr hughee mr eldredge bald tam mr hapet was then president of the company aid that ho did not know whether the proxies were voted at that meeting he thought the was a great mistake since that timo the company had been compelled to create liens against the policies and levy special assessments horace H brockway was called ho Is proprietor of the ashlund house and has been connected with the mutual reserve company for ten years he became a director of the company at the request ot president bunham who he said told him if he would take out a policy in the company he would make him a director mr brockway got first 10 and then 20 a week as director on march 23 he said he was put on the payroll of the company at per week to earn this salary he attended to alterations on and was consulted about loans and by policy holders as to the status of the company about two months after he went on salary president burnham told he was getting a good salary and asked for the gift of witness gave it to him mr burnham never promised to repay it and never did BO witness regarded it as a gift brockway said that after he had been drawing hia salary for eleven months he told president burnham he was not earning his eslary and asked that he bo dropped from the companas comp anys payroll apu tell him you had only been on the payroll eighth weeks at a week when he struck you tor asked mr hughe no I 1 thought ha was a good tel low witness said ha expected to ba kept on tho payroll he got back in all in salary brockway Broc hway Is still a director of the company george D EI dredge again went on the stand he uld that in 1891 it had been charged that mr burnham bad got money from certain officers in connection with the bill with the insurance mr burnham denied it but in 1904 told mr eldredge that he got the from mr brock way and expended it through hilary bell in securing the publication 0 artl clea favorable to tha company la 1899 witness fant beard ot the when mr wells before the insurance department made certain charge in january 1899 mr ima applied to president burnham and he witness tor or to expend personally without rendering bills to the company and mr bell said later that the got the money witness said it was not charged to the advertising account at that time the company was being bitterly attacked by the newspapers and witness asked mr veil to do something about mr eldredge at mr hushes request produced a statement of the companas comp anys legal expenses J thompson mr eld fedgo baid was employed by the mu reserve life insurance company in 1896 as corresponding sec and after he left its employ made charges against president frederick A burnham and sir eldredge pre ident burnham and mr eldredge had him arrested on a charge of criminal libel and when he was discharged by the court secured his indictment by a grand jury they also brought suit tor libel against him mr patterson brought counter suits for libel against president burnham and mr eldredge the counsel corthe two officers then died and they settled the trouble bv payment of to mr patterson from the funds of the lite insurance company mr eldredge said they paid it to avoid the e of securing new counsel and preventing the publication of further charges against the company mr hughea then took up the mu ual reserve life insurance companas comp anys legal es mr eldredge said there had been considerable legal e benses by hla company in california when andrew J clanie was of insurance in that state the mutual reserve company retained thomas J clunie brother of the insurance commissioner as its counsel and paid him from 1897 to 1903 commissioner clunie had raised the point that the company ought to include in its policies the provision of the california law reuting to non for feature and to furnish certain lista to itt in that state witness said he engaged thomas J clunie and that he was an attorney of high standing thomas J represent ed the mutual life reserve company before the insurance department and before tho legislature of california the license of the company witness aalde was held in suspense during the last two years la which andrew J clunie ws insurance it was issued near the end of his term during mr clunies Clun les term was in trouble in california nearly all the timo mr eldredia Eld redga added tho successor to mr clunie witness coni i linued did sot give the company a license to do business in california but insisted upon making an investigation to which the company did not submit the company engaged counsel to represent it before the new york insurance department in various examinations james F was ed by tha mutual reserve company a ter ho was superintendent of insurance of this state from to mr hughea said it had awn chargi pd in that a report of th dent of insurance containing charge against the mutual lite insurance company was afterwards modified and asked if this was true mr eldredia Eld redga said it was not unusual as most of the complaints mado the company by the superintendents were subsequently modified the wit ness said he did not know whether the superintendent of insurance examined the company on all the charges then made but he knew that the company asked mr vanderpool ahe examiner to make a report on all charges the company did not receive the on them however at this point the committee adjourned until tomorrow |