The Columbus commercial. (Columbus, Miss.) 1893-1922, 1917-01-18

CHAIRMAN AND
WITNESS CLASH
lawson Says Henry Gave Data
Upon Which IIis Assertions
Were Made.


Of the nations most powerful finan
ciers, headed by ! Z. Morgan ant
!. 4. Vauderlip to shed any light the,
may have as to how news Of Presi
dent Wilson's note reached Wal
street was the big development ol
Tuesdays session Of the rules com
mittee probing the leak. With Nor
gan and Vanderlip, was summoned
II. T. Davidson, Sol Wexler and Otto
Upper. The decision of the rules
committee to subpoena these finan.
ciers indicates their determination to
20 into every possible phase of the
leak.
Asked as to whose request Morgan
and his associates were called, Rep
resentative Harrison of Mississippi,
merely said: 81 want them sum-
moned for what they may know"
Thomas W. Lawson, whose sensa-
tional disclosures yesterday started
the committee on the real work of
the probe, was recalled this morning.
Several clashes between Chairman
Henry and Lawson livened the hear
ing.
A sharp difference developed when
Lawson declared that on their state
ments either he or Chairman Henry
was periurer and that the commit
tee had no higher duty than to dis
cover which was guilty
Lawson added to his sensational
charges Of yesterday in detailing his
conversation with Henry on January
I sanG y. lie declared he had told
Henry that there was a combination
in Wall street $50 big it gave you
thrill" and that this combination
had been in existence for the ped
ding of Mexican war news until ut
was so common in Wall street, he
didn't have to get this first hand"
The rules committee chamber was
crowded when the probe into the
peace leak was renewed today.
Floods of denials of statements
made by Lawson naming the admin
stration as being involved enlivened
the session.
Secretary of the Treasury Nc
Adoo, President Wilson's secretary,
Tumulty, and w. w. Price, a Wash
ington newspaper man, all of whom
were named by Lawson as being con-
nected with the leak by gossip, have
issued sweeping denials.
With the exception of McAdoo and
possibly Tumulty, subpoenas will be
issued for every man named by Law
son.
Secretary McAdoo and Secretary
Tumulty may appear on Invitation"
although their denials have been pub
lished already.
1t is an open secret that until now
many democrats have been disin-
clined to further the investigation,
partly because it was based to a
great extent on hearsay evidence.
having failed in this, they are now
quite as eager to clear up the mass
of charges involving men in and out
of public life all through the east,
as any of their colleagues.
They are convinced that the coun-
try at large will be satisfied with
nothing less than a real investigation.
Others who have been served with
subpoenas and some of whom may
be heard today are Erman Ridge
way, magazine publisher, John
0'Kara Cosgrove, of the New York
World, Donald Mcdonald, a Boston
publisher, II. Bliny Fisk, banker,
Paul M. Warburg, of the federal re-
serve board, Archibald S. White,
Malcolm McAdoo, Stuart G. Gibbony,
Mrs Ruth Thompson Viconti and
John R. Rathom, Providence news
paper publisher.
Mondays proceedings disposed of
preparations made to hold Lawson in
contempt before the bar of the house.
There was big crowd on hand when
Lawson appeared, most of those pres
ent seeming to have sensed sensa-
! tion though of another kind than
that which actually took place.
With a set Of fourteen questions
before him, prepared by Representa-
tive Lenroot, Chairman Henry began
to question Lawson.
Lawson insisted that he first be
permitted to make a statement, set
ting forth that it was against his
wishes to give the names in public.