Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-04-01
HOWARD Stokes
ACCUSES PROBERS
OF UNFA|RNESs
Says They Did Not Seek Truth
Regarding School Bond
Sales.
EX-GOVERNOR'S BROTHER
CALLS REPORT MISLEADING
Statement Regarding Sale by
Newark Bank Deliberate Mis-
statement, He Claims.
rspeelal 70 the Newark start e

TRENTON, April l.-HoWar0 n.
Stokes. a brother of former Governor
Edward c. Stokes, today issued a state
ment in reference to the report recent
ly made by the Senate school investi-
eating committee in which Mr.. Stokes
was charged with selling school bonds
to the State school fund while his
brother was Governor of the State OF
New Jersey.
Mr.. Stokes in his statement charges
that the report is so obviously mis-
leading, and SO lacking In judicial
temperament, could only have been
+ made by those who are inspired by
malice or who are wiIlfully ignorant II
the facts. and who seek by innuendo
and inference drawn from half truths
TO conceal the whole truth, and VINO
thus deliberately try to injure the char
acter or business of those to whcirs
they refer"
Denies Selling Bonds.
1t is denied in the stat ment that Mr..
Stokes ever sold any school honda TO
the State school fund during the time
his brother was a merqf II OF the trus-
tees of the school ftno. 1t is also
charged thai the committee did ilot
wan to ascertain the truth about the
various bond sales mentioned In the
report which was submitted to the
Senate. MIR. stokes also insists and
challenges the committee to show h a
any time bonds were bought from
him by the school trustees for II
other reason than that they were the
cheapest and best bonds in the list of
offerings.
Mr.. Stokes's statement follows
The report of the Senate committee
which has been Investigating. the. state
school system is wholly misleading IN
its reference to me and to my us'he
At the request of Mr.. Frelinghuysen
I appeared before the investigating
On the first occasion 1 tool with ME
a complete transcript from my records
showing all the bonds which l had
fund and giving the price which / paid
for them and the price at which | sold
them to the fund. l notiied the atLor-
ney for this committee of the fact
that / had this record. I also notified
the committee that l was wiling ana
ready to answer any question relating
TO any bond transactions in which l
was personally Interested.
No Questions of Own Transactions.
Instead of asking me any questions
relating to my own transactions, tho
committee began to ask a series or
questions relating to the transactions
OF other bankers ana relating. 70 uouu
sales covering only the period during
which my brother was governors; l
stated to the committee that / mad no
to the state school fund while my
brother was governor; that / did not
sell any bonds to the school fund dur
ing fneern 5h tne nature SsapS, Of Of W the au,sa onp that
the committee did not desire to know
about transactions in which | was In
terested and about which I could give
full information. but only sought by
indirection to associate me or my
brother with some transactions from
which would reflect upon his char
acter or mine. l repeatedly requested
them to ask me about my own trans
actions, but my request was wholly
ignored. OF the twenty or more bond
firms who sold bonds to the State
school fund during the years 1so6-1s1o
appear before the committee. II. the
committee had honestly desired to
know the whole truth regarding the
bond sales of bond dealers and whether
those sales were made at reasonable
prices and for reasonable profits, 1t
was plainly the duty, of the committee
make inquiries regarding market con
ditions and bond prices. The commit
tee did not do so. On the contrary. the
one of not only indifference to but
entire disregard of such information as
would have shed any real light on the
Ao02lA VI win u Wob hOl
asked a single question relating to
bond. prices and values but in at least
ope instance, when the committee was
discussing the purchase of a block of
bonds at a seemingly high price. a
voluntary explanation was made b.
reference TO onciaI data which I had
with me at the time. This explanation
entirely cleared up the question at
Issue. The transaction in no wav con-
cerled me, and / simply tried to give
the committee information which
would enable 1t to see all the facts in
the lease. But the explanation was
wholly ignored in the committee re-
portA and the trustees were censured
in a way that showed a deliberate and
determined effort on part of the COM
mittee to disregard the clear evidence
that vas before them.
Accuses Report False.
In he report repeated and studied
effortsAare made to connect my trans
actions with those of r. M. Grant &
Co. Itiwas shown in the testimony of
both Mt. Grant and myself that since
the yeah 1904 we have had no trans
action ttgether, and that neither of us
had the tslightest interest In the bust
ness traisactions of the other, and vet
the committee deliberately states in its
report. which covers the six-year
period 19l5-1910, that "at some period
Howard Stokes and r. M. Grant were
co-partneIt" This is a deliberate un-