Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1917-02-01
VERGE OF WAR
STATEMENT BY
LANSING BLAMED
For Killing Stock Market in
Today's Hearing
(By the Associated Press)

Wy tHO <ASoOSIdNCu ACSo/
New York, Jan. 31.-Finding
further examination today of E. F..
Hutton barren of result as far as
showing the original information on
which the stock brokerage firm of E..
F. Hutton & Co. warned its consum-
ers, that President Wilson's peace
note was to be issued, the congress
sional "leak" investigating commit
tee today decided to summon George
A. Ellis, Jr., the member of the firm
who wrote the warning. telegram.
Ellis, according to Hutton, is still in
Georgia, but the committee neverthe-
less decided that he must appear.
F. A. Connolly of F. A. Connolly &
Co. of Washington, brokers, who fur
nished the Hutton firm with the in
formation, was expected to take the
stand later today. Connolly, on his
arrival from Washington, denied that
the information came through R. w.
Boiling, the presidents brother-in-
law and a member of his firm. He
said that it was gathered merely from
general talk around Washington.
Hutton today said although in pos
session of information as to the presi-
dents note at least two hours before
the market closed on December 20,
neither he nor any of his eight part
ners had taken advantage of it. His
customers had an hours leaway to
sell before the market closed. They
were long in the aggregate, about
$4,000 shares. He was of the opin-
ion that few needed the warning, but
promised the committee to furnish
the exact amount of selling orders
that came in.
Hutton said that information he
had on the peace note made little i'm
preston upon him. What "killed
the market was Secretary Lansing's
verge of war" statement, he said, the
day before the note was-ferwarded,
December 2T J.
Customers of the Connolly firm,
during the "peace period" in the mar
ket, lost $4,000, it was brought out.
No pools or collection of persons
were operating through his firm be-
tween December 10 and December %,
Hutton said.
He volunteered the emphatic state
ment that the connection between his
firm and the Connolly company was
not made because Boiling was Presi-
dent Wilson'S brother-in-law.
II want to say" he said, "that we
did not take the account of. Connolly
& Co, because Mr.. Boiling was Presi-
dent Wilson's brother-in-law.
ut would have been the same if he
had been Smith, Jones, or anyone
else, provided we were convinced
members of the firm we're clean men. I"
Until the Connolly firm opened,
Hutton said his house had no Wash
ington representative for seven
years.
The witness also insisted that he
had no knowledge on December 20
that a note was coming from Presi-
dent Wilson. Other members of the
firm handled virious messages now in
the records.
Representative Bennett called Hut
toms attention to testimony by news
paper men at Washington that Sec
retary Lansing in telling them the
note was forthcoming, had given
them an impression as to its contents
exactly opposite to what it really
was" fF#
'The only substantially accurate
forecast of the presidents note," said
Bennett, sis the ore sent to you by.
Connolly. How do you account for
that?" Az
II don't account for it, replied
Hutton. "That's up to Connolly"