The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-01-30
Wall st. Plunger Denies He
Had Any Tip on Note.
Regrets He Didn't: Could Have
Made More.
SOLD 2S,4OO SHARES, SHORT
PrOberS Fail to Find Leak in
German Embassy.
'Jail or Asylum for LawsOn!''
Kansan Asks Witness.

New York, Jan. 30.-Bernard Bar
UGH. Wall street plunger, cleared
s476.O00 playing peace lunches dur
ing thirteen days in December, he told
the leak to Wall street probers to-
day.
If he had known what was coming
from Washington, he said. he would
stead of covering part of his short
selling by buying United States steel
and his profits would have been
larger.
On December 10 Baruch said he
sold 2S.40O sharges of steel, short.
On that day Lloyd-George, speaking
in commons, rejected the German
chance1lor's peace terms. but left the
door open for further negotiations.
Il went to it as tight and fast as
/ could when l saw the word but on
the ticker he said.
The probers failed to open up any
lead which would reveal a leak thru
German circles, but the big Spectator
spilled more colorfu1 Wall street ro-
nance than all other witnesses COM
bined.
Peace BcariSh Effect.
Baruch grabbed the bunch to sell
out of the air, he said, figuring that
once the peace question was opened
1t would hang over the market and
business world as a bear factor for
weeks.
He coolly told of hiring a special
train to take him to Washington on
December 6, in order to get there an
hour ahead of the regular schedule
He wanted to be sure to be on time
for an engagement at the office of
the secretary of war with the national
defense advisory council.
Baruch denied having any advance
information on the Wilson peace mes
sage and regretted it Lacking such
5nformation he bought 1900 shares
ed, when he should have sold, he
said.
Was this a large dealing?"
We'll, I've done larger" he said.
I've been short this amount often"
Baruch denied any communication
with Secretary Tumulty during the pc
riod under investigation.
Drop White Examination
AS unexpectedly as Sherman L.
Whipple, counsel for the house leak
investigation committee, brought the
name of Ambassador Won Bernstorff
into his examination of the German
officials friend, Archibald S. White,
the New York financier, he suddenly
closed his direct Interrogation of
White today, after obtaining denia Is
from him that he had received ad-
vance information from any German
official regarding any of the recent
peace movements
Whipple asked White less than half
dozen questions and turned him over
to the committee for further examina-
ton. Whipple brought out that de-
tails of the German governments
peace proposals and President Will
sons note were not known in Gerna IL
official headquarters here and in
| Washington before they were made
public, and asked White if he re-
! n 6I-1 inf
them thru such channels White an
Swered negatively.
| Representative Campbell then took
| up the examination and tried to get
| White to admit that he joined with
Lawson in stock market operations
| because of top-heavy condition of the
market and the possibility of peace.
Question on Lawson's Mentality.
Did Lawson suggest to you" ask
top-heavy and that a suggestion of
peace would start the market down
and that it was a good time to get all
your friends into a pool?"
mo sir" said White.
Putting the question in many differ
ent forms Campbell tried to learn
| specifically what White and Lawson
talked about at their various meet
ings in New York at or prior to the
time the peace situation was big
factor in the stock market. All White
would say was that. they talked in
general terms about the war and its
| economic effects
He said he could not recall ever
| having discussed various specific sub
| jectS which the congressman suggest
! ed to him-the German peace pro-
| posals, the LIoyd-George speech in re-
| Div or the arrival of the Deutschla nd
and the U-53 or president Wilson'S
attitude
You had advance information or
the arrival of the U-53, did not your
asked Campbell
81 did not; I knew nothing of il
until 1 saw it in the newspapers"
DO you think Lawson ought to be
in an insane asylum or behind the
bars-which?"
II have no opinion on that. 1t i:
not within my jurisdiction" replied
the witnesses with a laugh.
Won Bernstorff SCOTS Cleanup"
New York Jan. 30.-An effort may
be made to pin the note leak either or
German Ambassa dor Won Bernstorf1
or certain Washington newspaper
men.
Persons following the congressional
leak probe closely inclined to thi:
view today. Following the persistent
examination into Archibald White:
relations with the, German envoy, wa:
the revelation that a congress pres:
gallery member was news correspond
ent for the Fisk bond house.
Apropos of Bernstorff, it was point
ed out that his official position CAV,
him a close grasp on big news both il
Washington and from Berlin. Bern
| CT n Cd OF he dn1 haf h