Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-01-09
Lansing Tells of Secrecy in His
Office When Notes Were Handled
Men With Whom He Talked Be-
fore the Note Was Pub
lshed Are Named by
Secretary.
NO CLUE TO THE LEAK

Washington, Jan. S.-Following the
testimony OF Mr.. Tumulty before the
house rules committee today, Secre-
tary of State Lansing was called. He
said.
Possibly | had better start" SAID
Secretary Lansing. "by stating that
assume that confidential commun-
cations between the president and
myself are not part of the inquiry.
can give you physical history OF
the note. The draft OF the note was
received by me from the White
House at 4 o'clock Monday alter
noon. | called Mr.. Polk, counsellor
for the department, and Mr.. Wool
sey, law adviser, attached to my office,
and discussed the three forms in
which the note had to be prepared
and sent forth. | then handed it to
Mr.. Woolscy, cnjoining the strictest
secrecy, that he might take it to the
three confidential stenographers
There it was to be prepared and de-
livered to Mr.. Salmon, chief of the
index bureau.
THE index clerk continued the
secretary, was to encipher the note
and said that it would take so long
to cipher the three notes that he
would have to have an assistant. |
directed that he engage his most con-
hdential man for the work. He did
so, was given the copies and the two
men locked themselves in the room.
They were given the copies at 8
o'clock and at 2:30 Tuesday morning
December l9) the noted were en-
ciphered, delivered to the telegraph
room and sent.
Tuesday afternoon discussed
with the president the time when the
note should be made public. The
reason for secrecy was the courtesy
due to the nations who were to re-
ceive the note that it should not be
published here before they received it.
"We decided it would take at least
two days for it to reach Austria and
Roumania and we decided it should
be made public on Thursday morn
ing. Tuesday evening about 8 O'Clock
copy of the note was handed to
Mr.. James, chief of the information
bureau. He at once took it up with
the printing Office
Receives Newspaper Men.
"At about II o'clock | received The
newspaper correspondents and tolt
them ! would have an importan
communication for them to be re
leased the next morning. l tolt
them in confidence as ! was afrait
its contents might come back from
Europe in garbled form. Further,
thought it courteous not to make /
public until it had been received b,
the countries to which il was ad
dressed. told them it did not con
tain any proposal of peace nor offe
of mediation.
"rhat evening at my house Am
bassador Willard (of SPAIN told m
he had been advised Of the content
of the note by the president and W
discussed the ACCESSIBILITY of him ad
dressing Spain on the subject TIL
next morning the note was mad
public in the press
Mr., Lansing said he could not re
call the name Of any newspaper ma
who was present at the conference
nor did he know any details of VIII
handled the note at the government
printing Office.
When was the first intimation yo
had that there had been a disclosur
of the contents of the notc?' aske
Representative Campbell.
Learns Of the Leak.
IT had none until it was stated /
the newspapers" Mr.. Lansing &C
ded he had made inquiries aroun
his department for leak" but faile
to locate one.
"Have you any information as t
A leak on the note about II o'cloc
Wednesday," asked Representativ
Campbell.
Not to my knowledge said M
Lansing.
at has been suggested here thu
representatives Of two newspaper
may have sent out information ;
that ttmc:
II have seen references to it in III
newspapers
Has anything been done at tn
C State department to show whctht
there is any foundation for that"