New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-28
Brokers Say Virtually
Every House Knew After
Lansing's Tip to Writers
WHIPPLE CONFIDENT
OF SOLVING MYSTERY
Counsel, with Many Stock
Lists In, Will Resume
Hearing Tomorrow

sherman L. Whipple, counsel 70 tne
Rules Committee of the House IN the
le.k INQUIRY. has found from personal
conversations with brokers that prac-
,icslly ell Of Wall Street was aware
by noon on December 10 of the immi-
nence Of some important White House
uttersnce.
In the forenoon Of that day Secre-
.sry Lansing had called the Washing
TON correspondents together TO tell
them in strict confidence that tn.
President would give out that after
noon a document Of great Importance.
A, hour or so later the substance OF
this announcement was common
knowledge IN Wall Street, and by :
o'clock the Dow, Jones ticker had. sent
il out.
CAN, apparently, got advance infor-
nation Of Lansing's announcement
said Mr.. Whipple. 81 suppose the
newspaper men at the conference I'M
mediately sent word to their home Oh
fees to be waiting for the note-con-
fdential messages, Of course-and TINS
news was told in confidence to one
nerson after another until it had be-
come widespread.
Market Smash Was Certain
The brokers tell me that they
didn't know what the Presidents note
was going to be. but that they inquired
II would smash the market, Whatever
il contained. As one broker SAID 10
me, 1T either meant peace or war.
ut will be the particular task OF tne
committee now TO look for leak con-
corning the imminenee Of the note or
its nature. or both, earlier than Mr.;
Lansing's announcement, and 70 nnd
out. also, whether any one IN the
Street knew of the nature of the note
after Mr.. Lansing had talked with the
newspaper men, but before its appear
ance.
"But if the witnesses you put on
the stand insist that their stock opeI-
ations were the result of their lndi-
vidual judgments, how will you pro-
coed with their examination he was
asked.
"Why. I shall ask them, then, what
information led them to form such
judgments. That's about all can do,
yes; but that makes your job
rather a hard one" it was suggested
"Not at all. II ! were trying 10
prove that q leak occurred, 1t would
be a hard one. And so It would be II
/ were trying to prove the opposite:
But | am trying to prove neither l
am simply trying to bring out all the
facts that the Congressional Commit
tee may determine for itself whetner
there was a leak"
Says He's Playing Safe Game
"You see" he added, with a smile,
II am playing a perfectly safe game.
/ can't lose either way"
Mr.. Whipple said that he had talked
with more of the big brokers yesterday
and found them all, without exception,
cordially disposed toward the commit.
tee. Some, he said, had actually asked
their larger customers for permission
70 hand over the latter's accounts di-
rect to the committee, these larger Gus
toners being men OF considerable
prominence in the community.
So far Chairman STREET. of the Com
mittee on Clearing House of the Stock
Exchange has received in sealed en-
velopes the statements OF about thirty
brokerage houses concerning their Gus
toners accounts and names between
December 10 and %.
81 haven't found one broker who
said that he would refuse TO submit
his evidence" Mr.. Whipple added. "The
whole lot have said that they would 60
the limit"
Mr.. Whippls regards United States
steel as by all odds the leading stock
IN the speculative activity which coin
cided with the appearance Of the peace
note. He intends using the operations