New-York tribune., 1910-02-18
HELD POOL STOCK
KEENE SAYS He DID
NOT SELL OUT.
BOOTS SAID to Shoe He Care
T7cice as Much to Syndicate
as He Bought.

James r Keene submitted yesterday
to 4 more pointed examination Of ms
activity as manager of the Hooking
pools The questions Of Ralph Wolf.
attorney for the receiver of J. NJ Fishe
6 CO. one of the three Stock Exchange
firms which failed with the collapse OF
the pools last month. were designed to
bring out lust what became of the large
individual holdings of Columbus ana
Hooking Coal and Iron stock which Mr.
Keene had acquired prior 70 the forma-
ton of Pool No. /. Explanation OF nu-
nerous items appearing on the transcript
of Mr- Keene's books offered in evidence
was l1a mpered by the absence of the
WITNESSES bookkeeper, who helped him so
materially at his first public examina
tion. last Monday.
Commissioner Alexander's dingy room
was crowded. as on Monday. and the
cIoseness of the air was bad for tempers,
Mr. Keene showed some petulance at
Mr. Wolf's repeated queries relating to
the entries in his books. and said finally;
You might ask me these questions for
hundred years and 1 could not answer
them / must tell you that I am not
familiar with bookkeeping details
want to give you information
That's what We want-informa ton.
reiofned MI Wolf is your bookkeeper
here?T
He is in town" said Mir. Keene, but
he became sick or something, and
stepped out.
A tolerabIe key to the drift OF Mr.
VOLTS questions and to the maze into
which those questions involving the
bookkeeping methods in vogue in Mr.
Keene's office apparently plunged the
witness. and certainly plunged all the
passive spectators, may be found in Mr..
Keene's own explanation of the stipula-
ton with which he entered pool No. l.
kEENE FRANK TO POOL.
When the pool was first formed-it
NAV have been just before its formation
or shortly afterward, I can't recall
there was a meeting of all the contrib
utors in Haskins's Office he said In
the general discussion the question was
raised by some one among the fifteen or
twenty present as to who was the
biggest Hooking ,stockholder. 1 said the
Lathrop estate must be, because that
was the general belief.
Mr.. Keene added that he then turned
to Haskins, and the following conversa-
tion ensued between them:
How much of the stock have you
got?"
Nobody shall know" said Haskins.
But what harm would it do if they
did know Keene asked.
Il am not going to tell any one how
much I hold he replied. He said he
had a great deal. though. and that he
thought it was worth more money"
Following these remarks between him
and MI. Haskins. Mr. keene testified he
told the members of the pool: You all
know I hold seven thousand shares of
the stock. AS long as this pool goes on
I will keep them. But l give you full
notice. when I sell out this pool I am TO
be free TO sell my own stock from
then on
when the pools were closed out on
January 19-that is, when the crash
came-what were your holdings of Hook
ing stock individually or as a pool mem
ber?" was Mr.. VOLTS firsf question
Il held my pool stock replied Mr..
Keene
How much was that"
''Sixty-one hundred or sixty-tWo hun
dred shares. l had actually seventy five
hundred. The remainder 1 held individ-
ually."
Mr Wolf took up the transcript OF the
books then, and the trouble began He
wanted To know what distinction there
was between entries of stock marked
bought and sold" and those marked
received and delivered" Mr. Keene Put
out his hand for the copy Of the tran
| script
Let me look at that" he said 4
don't know much about books"
But you know considerable about
stocks" suggested Mr.. Wolf
y don't know" said Mr.. Keene. slowly
Il don't like
Then he looked the transcript over
/ carefully
/ MR.. KEENE EXPLAINS.
/ when you see stock delivered he
| said that means the constituent parties
! received their pro rata shares of the