The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-18
COTTON INQUIRY UNCOVERS TROUBLE
ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY CHARGES
 AGAINST DEPARTMENT.
May shock the Nation-Telephone Cuts Figure-stories Told fin Wash tngton of Persons Who Have
 Gained Wealth by Ad- vance Crop Informa-
 tfOn.
Washington Special to New York Her

Washington Special to New York Her aid.
 Although great secrecy is still main tained regarding the investigation in-
 to the charges made by Richard Cheat ham. Secretary of the Southern Cot
 ton Growers Association, against of- ficials in the Department of Agricul- ture for having divulged to specula-
 tors advance information regarding the cotton crop, it is asserted that enough has been disclosed to justify many or | the allegations which have been made. | A prominent official familiar with
 the statistical work of the Department
 of Agriculture. as we'll as the Census
 \ Bureau. expressed the opinion today \ that when all the facts were known a \ state of affairs would be disclosed \ which would shock the country.
 \ Secretary Wilson. head of the De- ' partment, when asked today regarding \ the progress of the Inquiry. said that it would require three or four days to ' complete it, and repeated his previous B statements that the investigation would be very thorough and that no 4 6ne would be shielded.
 Mir. Holmes Not Dismissed. The Secretary denied the report E that Edward S. Holmes, Jr., an assist z ant statistician, who was suspended E last week, had been dismissed from the service He insisted that no &C., tion whatever had been taken regard ing any official further than to follow out all avenues of information, re- \ gardless of who might be inculpated It was disclosed today, however, that the investigation is practically out oi K the hands of Secretary Wilson. It Is f being conducted by officials of the Treasury Department attached to the secret service. This step has proba' A bly been taken because of representa- 4 tions which have been made that Sec 8 retary Wilson is of such a confidine $ nature that he refuses to believe any
 < thing i'll of any of the officials 'undei \ him.
 I All sorts of reports are current al
 K to who Is and who Is not under sus # picion. Thus far there is an apparen 3 lack of absolute proof touching thu # criminality ot any person.
 Stories are told of persons living 1T Washington who have risen in d few 4 years from poor circumstances to be come possessors of valuable real es \ tate and have conducted extensiv, 8 building operations. It Is said thes'
 \ persons have risen to afiuence through 8 money obtained by the improper us, A of advance information in connection H with the cotton crop. One of thes' 1 persons, when requested to explain thu possession of property, said frien( NJ of his met him on a train one day anC II urged him to buy stock in a gold mine ' In order to get rid of the important \ ties of his friend he purchased some O N the stock and. to his astonishment, h, \ was worth $4O,000 in Q short time. MT. Wilson in ErrOr.
 Secretary Wilson announced, immedi I ately after the accusations had bee I made against the Bureau of Statistic I by MT. Cheatham, that 1t was absolute ! ly impossible for any leak, to have oc A cured. The reports. he-'asserted, a they were received were put separatel H in a safe and locked up, There the Il remained until the time came for as \ sembling and tabulating the return \ from the cotton crop. and obtaining tn 4 probable total yield. When this tim M came all persons except those who wer 4 to do the figuring were excluded fror l the room, the door was locked an I there was no communication betwee sl those engaged on the work and the out I side world until the figures were read < for publication. Then they were an x nounced to the press associations, s X that everybody would get the informa Il tion at the same time.
 II It is said Secretary Wilson has bee T found to have been in error regardin
 his statement that there could hay
 been no communication with the out