New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-06-18
KEENE A BIT CONFUSED
TestIfies About Hooking While
Ballot Loses Suburban.
LAWYER BOTHERS WITNESS
Finsncier Has to Correct an
Answer ard Explain His
\ Evidence.

Evidence.
rsres p Keene. whose horse Ballot was
the farc-ite in the Suburban Handicap
bling run a. the tins, became somewhat
confused yesterday afternoon at the
Iatnrop-Easkins hearing before Stafley
w Dexter. referee. Considerable time hdo
elapsed since his examination in the nahh-
ruptcy proceedings Of J. NJ f1sKe q 90
-sItn regard 20 the short sales OF the hoch-
Eng stock made by his brokers, Pepper q
sternbaoh. on January If, the cay lile
Hooking pools collapsed So when Abram
I Flk,s. attorney for Henry D. Hotchklss'
trustee for the creditors Of Lathrop, Has
Sins g. Co. asked him If he had received
from Mr.. Pepper his $500 shares Of Hook
ing stock he replied:
'sEhax stock? have received the money
sn- 81. 7 got the proceeds OF the sale
ssDor1't let US have any rnisunderstand-
frr'' said Mr. Elkus. II refer to the STOCK
which Mr. Pepper has testified he sold Tor
the account OF his firm"
Not on. penny have I got for IT, MI.
Kesne said. quickly correcting his former
answer.
II has been the aim Of both the Fiske
ard Easkins lawyers TO discover Whether
NJ Keeue, manager OF both the Hooking
pools. sold these pools out and caused the
failure OF J. u. Fiske & Co. Dathrop'
Haskins & Co and Roberts. Hall & Criss
NJ. Popper has testified that $500 shares OF
Hooking held by his firm for Mt. keene
we're SOLD short on the day Of the collapse,
but that these shares were sold not for MT
Keene's account but for the firms &C
count under an old agreement with their
customer. although the sales were first
6p- NJ kPpnRS
account
Keex1e Repeats Testimony.
Mr.. Keere. testified again yesterday that
he had first heard OF the use of bis STOCK
for delivery in these short sales on Feb
ruary q, more than month after they
had been made. In the interval he had
seen Mr., Pepper and talked with him two
or three times week. he said
And Mr.. Pepper didn't tell you the first
time he saw you after the collapse that he
had sold your stock short?" asked MI
Elkus.
-eNo. UntinFebruarv 2 never heard Of
his selling al share Of Hooking stock for
my account"
That is notswhat asked you" said Mr..
Flkus. IT asked you if he told you then
shout the short sales he had made for his
own account
No" repliadsafr. Keene. 'fI never heard
g word about them until February 81
Mr.. Flkus then asked the witness II on
January IS or ls Mr.. Pepper had asked him
10 put up more margin
No" said Mr. keene. My account was
in good shape ] had q margin Of s65o.ooo
or 10000 over and above the market value
Of the securities if they could have been
sold at their market price at that time"
Did Mr.. Pepper say to you that he was
afraid YOU couldn't make good If called
upon?"
II do not think he ever did and DO not
think he would ever dare to-"
Neither do t. said Mr.. Elkus, where
upon Edmund L Mooney, Mr. Keenes
counsel. interrupted with a strenuous OBJ
lection TO such comments, saying that they
would be telegraphed as far as San Fran
cisco and lead TO erroneous and injurious
interpretations Mr.. Elkus Immediately
withdrew his comment. and Mr.. Keene
was inspired TO soften his reply touching
upon Mr. Peppers bravery.
The questions following turned on the
form Of the checks used by Mr.. Keene in
his payments 10 Pepper & Sternbach. Mr..
EIkus wanted TO know why they were
made out by Lehranche, Mr.. Keene' S
cashier TO Mr.. Hardness instead OF TO
Pepper & Sternbach. and the witness ex-
planned that IL was 20 hide from Mr.. Has
kins the fact that he was trading through
Pepper & Sternbach-
Questions as TO Checks.
Were the Hardness checks only used
ir payments involving Hooking stock?'
Il think So
Was this done because you didn't want
IN P.orner e Stern
bach were selling Hooking stock belonging
TO you TO the pool?''
No said Mr.. Keene. ut was done with
the idea OF keeping my dealings with any
brokers from leaking out TO the public
through the hanks
In answer 10 another question the wit
ness said that on January II. Is and 10 he
was short OF some stock through previous
sales but that taking together all the
stocks he held ar the time. he was long
some fifty thousand or sixty thousand
shares. Mr.. Keene protested at different
times during the hearing that his connec-
sion with the Hooking pools was absolutely
straightforward and aboveboard in every
particular
Mr.. Elkus, you can look over all my
books said he. land If you find anything
wrong with them I'll give you my hand
under the Ratchet"
He had previously testified that his books
contained a record OF every transaction in
Hooking stock for himself or the pools
from the time the first pool was started. in
March. 1909. until the present
He was not ready TO swear this was true.
however. with regard TO transcript from
his ledger used In the F1ska hearings
which was offered in evidence He said he
didn't know what might have happened 10
II while in the custody of Ralph Wolf.
counsel for the Ftske receiver The ab
sence o. Mr.. Reene's bookkeeper and Of
figures offered in evidence at the F1ske
hearings caused an adjournment TO June
g.. at 10 p n
JUDGE MALONE TO GET IL. D,
Tndpa 7 hrafnra o. IA. c.,,-. Ia