The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-02
CONTRADICTION OF
 BROKERS EVIDENCE
 TO PROLONG PROBE
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tee to great activity. Impressed, as sev- eral committeeman said, with Becker s apparent sincerity and keen recollection of events of December 20, they insisted on following up his declaration without delay.
 Sherman L. Whipple, counsel to the committee, joined in their view. That no doubt may remain as to whether the Connolly message did reach the Hutton office by any of it's wires, Whipple de- clared, every telegraph operator in the emplOye of the firm should be called at once. Decker suggests that there was another wire, the southern circuit, over which the message might have come, but he hardly thoughe such was the case.
 CHILLING EXAMINATION
 MT. Connolly again submitted to a grilling examination for almost three hours today without deWation from his original declaration that he could not recall the exact source of the gossip and "rumor" on which he based his forecast of the note. He probably will be recalled later.
 Like Connolly, w. G. Toomey chief telegraph operator for the Hutton firm who on December 20 sent a flash" on his own responsibility forecastlng the I iCSAdcill nOLO u hOQIS pSlOlS IL NctS released and before the Connolly resume could name positively no one from whom he had obtained the information. He suggested that a young man named Peterson in the Hutton office or any of one of half dozen telegraph opera tors might have told him a note was expected.
 ELLIS AWAITED f
 The committee is tonight anxiously awaiting the appearance of George A. Ellis. Jr., one of the Hutton firm, who, according to testimony drafted the firm S warning from Connolly's message. E. F. Hutton, head of the firm, advised the committee today that Ellis probably would not reach Washington from a Georgia hunting lodge. where he is shoot ing before Sunday
 The inquiry veered off the Hutton leak angle today long enough to trace the runlor that led to a hint of a com ing note being carried by Dow-Jones thinker at 2:05 o'clock on the afternoon of December 20. Three witnesses, James E. service and the Wall Street Journal, Har- old T. Johnson, a Journal reporter, and Louis B. Sterling of Logan S Bryan brokers, ran the rurnor back to a mes sage Donald McMillen of Chicago, an investor, sent from New York to Chicago over Logan & Bryan's private wire on December 20.
 NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY
 The message said that the President had called a conference of prominent newspaper men for Christmas day in Washington to aid in furthering peace propaganda. The committee did not take the rumor very seriously. Reilly said he had heard rumors of the peace note as early as December 12
 Included in the exhibits Sterling of fered was message from Logan & Bryan's Washington correspondent, w. IS, which reached New York and Chicago saving:
 President is likely to give an intima- ton to the country, designed more espe- cialy for financial circles. to take with grain of salt reports of the adminis- trations stand on peace. The President is aware of the speculative purposes to which rumors have been applied The White house, it is said, will be prompt to give official announcement of any definite steps by this government. It goes without saying that the President is anxious to do anything possible to forward peace. but at present the situa- tion might be likened to the proverbial case of where angels fear to tread.'"
 The committee worked short-handed throughout the day owing to the inter national situation Representative liar rison of Mississippi, a member of the foreign affairs committee, left Washing ton this morning, and Representatives Chipperfield and Foster of Illinois, Ben nett of New York and Cantrill of Ken lucky were absent from the afternoon session.