Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-08-04
Millions of Englishmen Sus-
pect all Stock Companies
Who Hold Their Money.
HOOLEY'S REVELATIONS
Cause Many Aristocrats to Start on For
eign Tours-New Revelations Con-
s,antly Made as the Testi-
mony is Given-The In
former Hero.

London, Aug. 1-Mr. Ernest J. Hooley's
revelations of the rottenness of London
fnanciering have thrown into panic mil
lions of Englishmen who have invested
their savings in the stock of companies
1t was matter of common notoriety that
the small promoting journalistic parasites
fattened on the companies operations but
the gigantic fabric of bribery and black
mailing by which boards of directors are
organized of purchased names and backed
By subsidized press-somc lords even be-
ing paid to quit the companies when no
longer needed-was unsupported.
The only question asked is, who will
be the next; and the chorus of denials,
some merely technical, Is received with
cynical skeptcism. An exodus of aristo-
Gratis on foreign tours is expected, and n
crop of Investigations is sure to result.
Proposals of legislation to regulate and
purify companies are already preached.
In the meantime the promoting Napoleon,
turned informer, mounts the pedestal as
q popular hero.
People are forgetting his share of the
responsibility for the system exposed, the
crowd in court applauding every time he
scores off nobleman. To-day's proceed
ings were filed with dramatic episodes,
especially the revelations of attempts to
bride Mr.. Hooley to perJure himself by
withdrawing the statements he made at
from the registrar the remark: 1T is a
most scandalous thing"
The testimony given to-day implicated
many we'll known Iyondoners, whose names
would not be recognized In America, some
in the business world hitherto untarnish-
ed by suspicion. One of the gravest
charges was the story of dealings with
Lloyds bank where were deposited 5000
shares of the Singer company. The day
Hooley went bankrupt these shares were
transferred. He swore this afternoon
that he never transferred them and that
the certificates used were signed in blank
for another transaction.
Among his alleged dealings with the
Earl De La War;. Mr.. Hooley asserted
that the Earl tried to sell him an estate
at Haslinden, representing that it con-
tanned 1000 acres. Hooley said:
81 promised to take IT. but when / sent
my agent to see the property he found
there were only 100 acres. I had to pay
De La War; ten thousand shares of the
Trent Cycle company to get him toilet me
off the bargain"
When replying to an interruption, he de-
nounced the speaker, exclaming:
Dean. Harrison Davis and Bealt are
three ofthe greatest blackmailers in Lon
DON" He was tremendously applaudcd
for this retort.
NO BRITISH RAILWAYS IN CHINA.
London. Aug. lin the House of Lords
the Marquis OF Salisbury. the premier,
discussed the Chinese question, replying
to the Earl OF Kimberley, the liberal lead
or. who sharply attacked the government
for permitting the rivals of; Great Britain
to out manoeuvre him in the matter OF
railway and other concessions. Lord Sal
isbury declared that no British capitalists
were attempting to build railways in
China and he certainly should not advo-
cate the building or substituting of rail-
ways there by the British government. He
repeated the instruction given to Sir
Claude Macdonald, the British minister at
Pedn, which had been outlined in the
House of-Commons by Mr.. Curzon, and
added
We are willing to repeat that and to
stake all upon it,"