"The chairman gave the order three minutes ago," Dailey said.

I would hope that the chairman of the home affairs select committee will give a full public statement.

"We'll go ahead as soon as the chairman gives the okay."

In a statement, the company's chairman, John Mascotte, gave no estimate of the proceeds to be expected from the sale.

"The chairman wrote back saying that he thought we'd make a great couple and gave us his blessing," Ms. Tolchin said.

Even in conversation the chairman gave nothing away.

"Every time the chairman gives a speech, people will be asking, 'Yes, but where is Kevin Martin on this?' "

Usually the chairman will give a short generous speech about the difficulty of deciding between so many excellent books.

Its chairman also gave the final results of the Dec. 7 election, in which no candidate won an outright majority.

The chairman gave the speaker a disapproving look.