The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-01-07
Stock Ticker Four Hours before
Existence of Note Was
Known Forecast Its Coming
TUMULTY, LANSING AND
LAWSON TOMORROW
Nothing Brought Out Yester-
day by Investigators Save
Circumstantial Evidence that
There Was a LEAK"

Washington, Jan. 6.-Secretary Of
State Robert Lansing, Secretary to the
President, Joseph 2. Tumuiiy, and
Thomas w. Lawson will be the star
witnesses before the leak probers at
the Capitol on Monday. The an
nouncement of the coming OF the two
high officials of government was made
late today. Lawson is under sub
poena, but Secretary Lansing AMI
Secretary Tumulty will appear of their
own volition.
Todays session of the Committee
on Rules was occupied by the pre-
sentation of prepared argument by
Representative Augustus +. Gardner.
of Massachusetts. He discussed cir
cumstantial evidence which he said
showed clearly that a leak had been
permitted. The Wall Street bear
plungers. Gardner declared, had ad-
vance information OF the Presidents
peace note of December S, and made
use of this information to sell stocks
short in the face OF a rising market
and cover at stupendous profits after
the public announcement of the Presi-
dents action was made.
Garnered Harvest
Representative Gardner made no
accuse tons, His argument took the
ground that the circumstances made
1t apparent that some one with in
side information made the short COM
mitments enjoyed the toboggan Of
prices In the stock list and then in
the erratic market following the big
decline covered their short sales and
garnered their rich harvest of real
money.
Il stand on my statement that
= - T. Il "
Gardner at the beginning of his state
ment. Gardner had come prepared.
He named no names of officials sus-
pected or of bankers and spectators
alleged to have been participated in
the bear raid. He had with him sec
lions from the stock news tickers.
One OF these, a short extract. was
timed four hours before the Presi-
dents intention to dispatch a note
was made public. 1t read:
THE renewed selling OF the mar
ket is due to reports received by
brokers' private wires from Washing
ton to the effect that the administra-
ton will in the near future address
to the belligerents some suggestions
or proposals in regard to peace. Moth
ing definite Is obtainahle in admins
tration circles"
Summon Correspondents
This statement of Eardner's in
duced the committee at once to sum
mon the State Department and the
White House correspondents of the
two Wall Street news services.
Representative Gardner outlined
his views OF the alleged leak and his
own plan for locating the leak which
he said was a question of such gravity
that the House could not afford 10 ig-
more It, He said:
TT seems to HE that the right way
TO go about the matter is to md out
from the President whom he talked
this peace note over with, and then
summon these various gentlemen and
find out whether there was any way
in which they inadvertently let the
cat out OF the bag.
Next should get list of those
employees of the White House and
State Department and Of our embas-
sizes abroad who handled this particu-
lar peace note.
OF Formidable Length.
'I think you will find this list quite
formidable In length. i
simultaneously with the foregoing
investigation from this end OF the line
should make inquiries through the
medium of the New York Stock Elk
change as to who the parties were
who reaped the largest profits from
the abrupt fall in prices on December
21.
by comparing the results OF these
Investigations from two different ends
of the line you will, in my opinion.
arrive at one of two results:
First, either you will discover the