New-York tribune., 1920-03-12
Ticker Firm Sued
For False Report
On Court Decision
President of Dow, Jones &
Co. Says Error i'm Income
Tax Opinion Was Due
TO Reporters Alteration

A test suit was begun yesterday in
the Supreme Court to ascertain whether
Dow, Jones & Co., operating financial
news ticker service in Wall Street, are
liable for losses sustained by individ-
uals who sold stocks last Monday fol-
lowing publication on the Dow Jones
ticker Of an erroneous report that the
dends taxable as income.
The suit was brought by Martin c.
Ansorge, a lawyer, of 100 Broadway, in
behalf of CASTOR Jaillet, against Jo-
seph eastman, treasurer of the Dow
Jones organization. The damages
sought amount to $2,21O, which Mr.
Jaillet, customer of the Stock Ex-
change firm of Josephthal G. Co., left
on transaction in Crucible Steel. Mr..
Ansorge declared the court proceed
lngs were instituted in the interests of
had been ruined.
In the bill of complaint Mr.. Jaillet
charges that Dow, Jones & Co. "delib-
erately published and caused to be
transmitted" on its news tickers an
erroneous report of the Supreme
Courts decision and that he was in
fluenced thereby to dispose of stocks
at q loss.-
"The decision in said case," the COM
plant continued, twas of the greatest
Importance in the determination Of the
value Of stocks, bonds and securities,
and said decision had been anxiously
awaited for many months, and it was
we'll known to this defendant that it's
report thereof would have a material
effect upon the stock markets of the
country"
The publication of the false report,
Jaillet alleges, was due to negligence,
carelessness and recklessness," and for
a long time afterward Dow, Jones & Co.
"negligently, carelessly and recklessly
failed to correct said false report"
even though they knew that brokerage
houses and customers were relying on
the erroneous information. "Stocks
subsequently violently reacted" the
complaint adds, "and rapidly advan :ed
upward before the defendant correct
ed it's report, and before the defend
ant knew of the falsity thereof and
was able to and did act thereon"
Clarence w. Barron, president of
Dow, Jones & Co., declared yesterday
that the first impression of the Dow
Jones reporter and many others was
stock dividend case had been reversed
by the Supreme Courts finding, and,
therefore, that stock dividends were
taxable and the word mot" was strick-
en- out of the bulletin which had been
prepared to send to Wall Street. Then
the message was held for confirma-
tion, Mr.. Barron said, and in few
minutes it became positive that the
lower courts decision had been af-
firmed. He continues:
"By some mental alteration, which
nobody on earth can explain, the re-
porter was confident, as he handed
the bulletin to the messenger, that he
had put back the word not He sat
in the courtroom for more than fifteen
minutes with no suspicion but that he
had delivered the first flash and deliv-
cred it correctly
"When the brokers' Washington
wires in about fifteen minutes began
to doubt the correctness of all the
previous Wall Street reports, the
Washington office was asked to con-
firm. 1t was a few minutes before the
reporter could be reached. Of course,
the correction came back promptly and
the reporter was nearly crushed when
he learned of the lapse that he had
committed"