The New York herald., 1922-07-04
MEMBERS IN REVOLT
over CONSOLIDATED
OFFICIALS POLICIES.
Exchange Stirred by Lax
ity in Admission Of New
Members to It's Floor.
ONE WAS INDICTED
Fuller and DER Failures
Basis for Protest That
Demands Reform.
BOARD MEETS SECRETLY
designations by Governing
Authorities and New Deal
Among Objects.
BOARD MEETS SECRETLY

Resentment over the continuance Of
policies that have caused severe criti-
cism of the Consolidated Stock Ex-
change has started revolt within its
membership and, while the movement
against the administration has not
progressed very far, there are indica-
tons that the officers of the Consoli-
dated are much concerned over the
outcome.
Yesterday the governing committee
Of the Consolidated met in special
meeting, hurriedly called. and besides
taking up routine matters of nature
which did not call for a special meet
ing, discussed the Fuller failure, the
admission of Fuller. then, as now, un-
der indictment, as member of the
Consolidated Exchange; the criticisms
that have been leveled at the organ
.ization and the policies which have led
to them. The committee was in ses-
sion from o'clock until after o'clock
last night. Then no announcement
was made.
There had been published in the
afternoon a statement that the meet
ing had been specially called as the
result Of an informal mass meeting
of protest by members who had de-
clared that the president, w. S. Silk
worth, and other officers must resign.
The story of the afternoon was some-
what circumstantial. It's truth was
denied emphatically by Mr.. Silkwortn.
Mr. Silkworth said that there was no
) dissension in the organization that no
designations had been asked for and
none had been offered, that during the
summer time the regular meetings of
the governing board We're suspended and
the routine business allowed to accu-
mulate until there was sufficient to
necessltate the calling of special meet
ing. The meeting called for yesterday,
he said. was such a meeting.
Regular Meetings Are Held.
AS matter of fact the governing
board of the Consolidated, which meets
regularly on the second and fourth
Thursdays every month. held its reg
ular meetings on June and June 90
1t was also scheduled to hold its regular
meeting on July 13 and no other ar
rangement was completed until Friday.
On Friday 1t was decided that a special
meeting should be held the notices
were hurriedly prepared and they were
handed out in sealed envelopes on Sat-
urday morning.
The significance is the fact that the |
mass meeting of protest was reported
as having been held on Friday after
noon.
There is no disposition on the part
of anybody deeply concerned in the |
affairs of the Consolidated to discuss
the family row that is going on there. |
There Is better element in the mem
bership which has been deeply cha
grined over the happenings of recent
months. Nearly every one of these |
happenings. as THE NEW YORK HERALD
showed in its series of articles on the |
Consolidated Stock Exchange reflected
more or less on the management and I
methods of the organization. There
have not only been two score failures
in which the investing public lost mil
lions of dollars, but there have been
other disclosures which have aroused /
Indignation in the more conservative
element In the membership.
group of these men got together on |
Friday and talked matters over This
was not. strictly speaking. a mass meet
ing; IL was meeting OF protest The
special meeting was asked for and the !
protest was carried into the board room
yesterday. After the meeting had lasted
four hours the newspaper men were
dismissed with the announcement that
no news would be given out
Insurgents Not Organized.
The insurgents. IL they can be so
called, have not organized, as far as
could be learned. Nor are there any
indications that the group Is powerful
enough to make a great deal OF head
way against the administration group.
which is powerfully intrenched
Aside from the numerous failures and
the revelations of the history and ques-
tionable financial tactics Of failed mem-
bers the insurgent group have In mind
particularly the failure of Il. NJ Fuller
a Co. in which the public will probably
lose nearly $4,000 the membership CT
Percy Thomas, who, according to the
evidence in the DER bankruptcy hear
ings. bucketed Dier's orders, and the
membership of Fred Andrews, cashier
for Hughes & DER and DER & Co..
whose operations have figured promi-
nently in the DER investigation
The Fuller case is regarded by these
men as being particularly flagrant mas
much as Fuller was under Indictment
when he became a member and officials
of the Exchange have said they knew
as much Their explanation was that
Fuller said the suits aginst him should
not be taken seriously.
There also Is story In connection
with the Fuller failure TO the effect that
q near relative of an official of the
Consolidated was employed as a clerk
by Fuller at a salary of $4,000 a year.
when neither his experience nor his
duties warranted the payment Of any
such sum. Othe- and more ague tales
of favoritism are prevalent