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Show SEARCHEIGHTS TO BE TURNED I ON AEE SHORT DEALS MADE BT I LEAK ON PRESIDENT'S NOTE I President of New York Stock Exchange Ordered I to "Request" Governing Board to Supply I j House Rules Committee With List of All I Transactions and Stock Numbers. I New York, Jan. 23. Searchlights of the house rules committee in the "leak" inquiry are to be turned immediately imme-diately on all the ' short deals which took place on the stock exchange between be-tween December 10, and December 23. It was on such speculation, if any, that profits were made on advance information informa-tion regarding the president's peace note, it is averred. That this featuie of the inquiry may be expedited the committee at its first session today ordered H. G. S. president of the stock exchange to "request" "re-quest" the governing board of the exchange ex-change to ask its members to supplv the committee forthwith with a list of all their transactions between December De-cember 10 and December 23. designating designat-ing all customers by their real names and not by numbers of appellations. To Obtain Stock Numbers. The statement, requested also are to show the numbers of stocks borrowed, borrow-ed, by whom and to whom loaned and the date returned. With this information in hand, the committeo believes it soon can determine deter-mine if there is any basis to the charges of immense profit taking through "short" selling by those in posf hsion of "leak" information Noble was the first witness called after Sherman L. Whipple, counsel for the committee, had made his opening statement It was featured b an outline out-line of the immediate plans of the committee conducting investigation into in-to nothinp save the "leak" said to have occurred in connection with the president's presi-dent's peace note Noble was questioned ques-tioned particularly as to the operations opera-tions of "short" pools and the proper-tv proper-tv of speculators accentuating un favorable news by selling stocks in order or-der to depress the price and "cover" at a profit. He said he saw nothing improper in such operation- He was told that if the board of gov r mors did not obtain the records desired, the committee would be compelled to make its own search Noble agreed to place the matter before the governors this afternoon Samuel F. Steik. chairman of the! stock exchange clearing house, the sec-i und witness, explained its operations l New York. Jan. 23. The "leak" in- J v estigation was resumed by the houso ; rules committeo at tho customs house here today with M. G. S Noble, president presi-dent of the New York stock e.vchance as the first witness. Mr Noble was called, as explained by Sherman L. Whipple, counsel fori the committee, to detail the workings' of the stock exchange and to aid in determining the "possibility under its rules of engineering deals for largo profits " In a brief opening statement of the purpose of the "leak" Inquiry, Whipple made it plain that extraneous matters such as a general investigation of the! stock exchange will have no place in th inquiry at present. Whipple Outlines Plan. The investigation, according to tbo plan Whipple outlined, will sock 10 determine first of all three things: What wore the activities on the exchange ex-change during the week of December 18, when the "leak" on President Wilson's Wil-son's peace note is said to have occurred oc-curred and tho possibilities for causing losses? Who are the brokers responsible for the transactions during this period? What made the profits? The second inquiry, Whipple said, should extend to both profits and losses. loss-es. "After that," he said, "the committee commit-tee may feel that it is in a position j where it may intelligently inquire about those who profited and it seems likely that those who profited ma be those who obtained advance information informa-tion " President Noble Testifies. Mr Noblo described in detail "the activities of the market on the floor of the exchange on a sample day." The slock exchange clearing house, he said, received at the end of each day from each brokerage house a statement state-ment of its purchases and sales, explained ex-plained the witness, and declared this material was accessible to the committee. com-mittee. The board of governors of the exchange, ex-change, said the witness can enforce penalties for the violation by any of its members of the standards of "commercial "com-mercial mortality and unpersonal honor." hon-or." Mr. Noblo then furnished the committee com-mittee with a list of what he regarded as speculative stocks United States Steel, Aanaconda, Marines, "tho Indus I trial stocks which had profited by the war," Willys-Overland, Reading and Union Pacific Mr. Whipple inquired what there was about United States Steel that the public did not know which would make it speculative. Explains Profits on Stock. Noble explained that the doubt was : about the profits the stock would , make, opinion differing as to this. Whipple asked if the governing body I of the exchange ever had made an in- I vestigation to determine if there had been "short" sale plots Noble replied that there had been investigations to determine if its members had done illegal acts or made "wash" sales. Short Sales Query. "Would you and the men who stand for the best that there is on the exchange ex-change approve the action of men sub- scribing large sums of money to be used in making 'short' sales, using un- I fav orable news and accentuating and driving the stocks down and then buy ' in the stock at a low figure in order to increase their profits?" Whipple j asked. j "Your question seems to imply," No-j No-j ble answered, "that tnere is some im- propriety in men getting together and 1 selling on some news they think un H favorable.'" Noble Is Evasive. Whipple worded his question a lit-, lit-, tie differently. Noblo again failed to a direct answer, an-swer, saying operators had the right to sell if the operators thought tho sit- i uation warranted and the exchange ! could do nothing about it The witness added that he could see no impropriety in such transactions. Whipple Demands Records Mr. Whipple then said that the committee com-mittee wanted records for the period between December 10 and December 23, which would show the names of customers, how their accounts stood day by day, whether they were long or short and how much. He said that if the board of governors govern-ors failed to produce then it would i require the committee "to make its ; own search through the various offices for what it can and will get who H profited, who lost and perhaps, how th.-y did ii H Noblo said he would put tho matter H up to the board of governors this H afternoon. 00 |
