The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-01-25
LEAK PRObERS
HAVE ADJOURNED
TO GIVE BROKERS TIME
TO PRODUCE RECORDS
Committee Expects Compli-
anceWith Demands or Will
Invoke Power of fCongress.

NEW YORK. Jan. 24.-To give
Stock Exchange brokers time to pro-
duce records of the dealings Of their
customers during the time the inter
national peace situation was factor
in the stock market, the rules commit
tee Of the House suspended to-day its
leak" inquiry and returned to Wash
ington. They will come back. prob
ably, next Tuesday, by which time. it
isssxpected. the brokers accounts will
have been examined by the commit
tees experts:
The committee expects to learn
from these accounts who were the big
operators in the market just prior to
the publication Of the Presidents
peace note, and then summon these
individuals TO find out il they had any
advance information Of the note, and
Nif so, where they got it.
The adjournment came after the
committee had been informed by
Chairman Samuel F. Streit, of the
Stock Exchange clearing house COM
mittee, that it would be physically i'm
possible for the 900 or so brokerage
houses belonging to the exchange to
produce the desired data within two
weeks or month.
This was In conflict with an earlier
statement by President H. G. S. No
Bile. Of the exchange. who thought the
first responses might come within a
day or two. The committee went into
executive session on the subject, with
Messrs. Streit and Noble and its ex-
pertS.
A Supplemental Request.
The result was that, the committee
submitted to the board Of governors
of the exchange a supplemental re-
ho kal tN hn
kers, which was expected not only to
simplify the bookkeeping task Of fur
nishing the desired data, but also to
provide for concealment Of the names
of customers whom the committee
finds need not be involved in the in
quiry.
discover those responsible for the big
short selling operations which are
supposed to have reflected possession
Of an advance tip on the note. Under
the new scheme the actual accounts
are to be submitted in one envelope
and the name Of the customer IN an
other, with common symbol Tor both.
If the account, on examination, ap-
pears innocent, the envelope contain
ing the name Will remain sealed.
The board Of Governors agreed to
submit the request and the committee
went away assuming that the brokers
would accede to 1t, but the commit
tees counsel, Sherman L. Whipple.
made it plain that If any broker dis
sented, the power of Congress would
be>nsed to force him to reveal the In
moreover, for any desire in his case
10 keep confidential the names Of his
Examining Sheets
Already the committees experts
house sheets under examination and
have list Of brokerage houses which
sold stocks heavily just prior to the
publication Of the note. One OF these
documents showing net sales on De-
cember 13 Of $500 shares OF United
States steel by an unnamed firm was
submitted to the committee in It's pub
lie session today. It was brought out
that this did not indicate necessarily
that the shares were for the snort side
of the account, but furnished cue.
The exact nature Of the sales the ex-
perts could find out by examining the
firms books.
AS was the case yesterday. the com
mittees counsel in exa1nin ng wit
nesses today, pounded away at the
..short sale feature Of stock market
speculation 1t seemed to be MIR.
Mhipples purpose to show that the op-
portunities for the public to make
profits against pools to operate on the
Short side, were slim. In questioning
President Noble on this subject. par
ticularly as to whether stocks in di-
minished circulation circulation were
not withdrawn from the market as un-
available for short operation, MIR.
Whipple was assailed by Representa-
tive Chiperfield. The congressman &C
cused the attorney Of impugning No
ble's sincerity. Whipple denied any
c-,cb Intention