sellingshort

Von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to the United States, was involved in the "leak" inquiry, see caption of a similar photo in the Morning Oregonian, January 16, 1917, Image 2. It seems that the photo has been taken on the same occasion as this (see comments there): www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/11733474574/

Bernard Mannes Baruch (/bəˈruːk/; August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965), American financier, stock investor, philanthropist, statesman, and political consultant. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Baruch In January 1917, he was involved in an inquiry into charges that there was a leak to Wall Street on the President's peace note, see e.g. - Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919, January 10, 1917, Image 6, col. 5, "Bernard Baruch Denies He received "Tip", oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn99063957/1917-01-10/ed-1/se... - The Ogden standard., January 12, 1917, 4 P.M. City Edition, Image 1, with photo chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058396/1917-01-12/ed-... Another protagonist of the affair: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/16026587331/

B-59: thanks for finding more information on Bernard Baruch. We'll add it to the record.

More from the House floor on the rumor that Baruch had sold 15,000 shares of steel shares short before news of Wilson's peace note and the British response were public: query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E03E7D71438EE...

Possibly en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_W._Lawson_(businessman) "Thomas William Lawson (February 26, 1857 – February 8, 1925) was an American businessman and author. A highly controversial Boston stock promoter, he is known for both his efforts to promote reforms in the stock markets and the fortune he amassed for himself through highly dubious stock manipulations."

He was in the news around the turn of the year from 1916 to 1917. See The Chicago Day Book., December 28, 1916, LAST EDITION, page 1 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1916-12-28/ed-...

swanq: thanks for finding more information on Thomas Lawson. We'll add it to the record.

Lawson's allegations that market insiders knew of and profited from an early leak of Wilson peace overtures around Christmas, 1916 were central to the House Rules Committee leak investigation in January. Here's what an editorial in the El Paso (TX) Herald said about Lawson in January, 1917: "Lawson Shoots His Wad" After all, Thomas W. Lawson, in the "leak" investigation conducted by the house rules committee, gave about the testimony expected of him, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. He was bombastic and vituperative, but short on facts and figures. He could not be pinned down to give the names of those who, he claimed, gave out the advance information on the president's peace note which is alleged to have resulted in a Wall Street clean-up. He could not, or did not, name a single person who profited by such alleged information, save himself. Claiming to have enough information to create a national sensation, he fought shy of giving any of it under the most insistent prompting. Having gone to Washington with the announcement that he would aid the investigation, he aided it not at all. , The country will believe that Mr. Lawson, in fact, told about all he knew, which was nothing whatever but the ordinary Wall Street gossip of every day circulation. Having no evidence which would justify him in making charges against any individual, he was shrewd enough to restrain his love of playing to the galleries and refrain from naming anyone." chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88084272/1917-01-09/ed-...

This picture ran in The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, OK), January 08, 1917. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042303/1917-01-08/ed-...