The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-01-08

nard Baruch?" asked Representative
Chiperfeld.
"Yes, sir.
"Whcn did YOU last see him2"
At the Gridiron dinner, in Washing
ton, Dee. ..
"Did you come closely in contact
with him there?'
II sat about FIVE seats away from
him and exchanged greetings with
him.
did sou have any private convcr-
sation with him?'
"None at all.
Secretary Lansing followed Mr.. Tu.
multy and described to the committee
i'm detail the routine connected with
the preparation, enciphering and trans
mission of the note. lie told of the re.
ccipt of the note from the President
on Monday afternoon and gave the
names of officials OF his department who
had the handling of it in the course OF
its preparation for cabling, all of whom
were enioined TO strietest secrecy.
The reason for secrecy. he said, was
the courtesy due to nations who were
to receive the note. that it should not
be published here until they received
it. He said that he discussed with the
President Tuesday the question Of when
it should be made public and it was de
cidcd TO permit il to be published
Thursday morning.
Regarding his interview with news
papermen on Wednesday morning, Mr.
Lansing said: AT about IL clock |
received the newspaper correspondents
and told them that l would have an
Important communication for them at
o clock for release the next morning
! told them in confidence as | was
afraid its contents might come back
from Europe in a garbled form. ! fur
ther thought il courteous not to make
II public until il had been received bv
the countries to which it was addressed.
told them it did not contain any pro-
posal of peace nor offer OF mediation. -
Mr.. Lansing said that on the morning
Of the conference three other men were
present waiting to see him but that he
did not know they were IN the room
until after he had talked with the news
papermen. Two OF these men were naval
officers about to start for Haiti and the
other was \. T.. Snowden of New York,
he said.
He declared it was very improbable
they would have said anything about
his statement. Questioned further Mr.
Lansing said his statements regarding
the note were entirely negative.
Thomas w. Lawson, pacing up and
down before the committees, declared
that all he had said in the public press
regarding the leak he believed to be
true. 81 repeat it all now, he de-
clarcd.
Mr.. Lawson added: ''It is one Of the
commoncst things in Wall street - adj
vance information from Washington
about government affairs, affairs of such
Importance that they frequently affect
the eountry'S securities. | mean also
leaks from the supreme court-advance
information on decisions, advance in
formation on important senate matters,
actions of congressional committee, cab
met affairs and advance information di-
rect from the White House itself -
From that he led into charges of a
prcmcditatcd, deliberately figured out
deliberately worked out robbery of the
American people through united stock
gamblers
lie SAID he knew who was responsible
for the leaks and reiterated he was con
WINGED the committee did not want an
investigation.
Lawson began his statement to the
committee with general declarations
which soon led into an uproar.
Ii ended by a clerk of the house fore.
ing hlm TO the chair and the committee
voting unanimously to expunge the
whole exchange from the records.
The stenographer had missed much
of 1t IN the confusion. Finally when
Chairman Henry got Lawson down to
cross examination the Boston financier
said IN effect he "could tell, but would
not.