The Sentinel=record., 1914-06-16
STATIONERY OF BODY IS USED 7 TO PROMOTE GOLD MINING
 SCHEME IN N. CAROLINA.
SENATOR'S ARE STOCKHOLDERS
Chief Expert of the United States Assay Office Was Sent to lnvesti- gate the Mine by Assistant secre- tary of Treasury Williams.

Washington, D. C., June 15.-The way was opened in the senate today for an investigation of the senate stationery and the alleged employ ment of government officials in con nection with the promotion of a North Carolina gold mine. Senator Over man, one of those mentioned in con nection with the mine, introduced a resolution calling for such an inquiry and it was endorsed by Senator Chil- ton, another senator whose name figured in the same way.
 The resolution was referred with out debate to the committee on con tingent expenses and probably will be reported for action within few days. There is little doubt that it will be agreed to without opposition.
 The call for an investigation came as the result of a report published to- | day that there had appeared in the offices of New York brokers letters boosting the mine of the Gold Hill Consolidated Company, written on stationery of the senate committee on rules, of which Mir. Overman is chairman, and of the committee of the census, of which Mir. Chiffon is chairman.
 1'iIe letter on the census commit, tee stationery was addressed to Senator Chiffon and signed by J. c. Williams, an economic and mining engineer.
 The other letter was said to be identical.
 According to the published report, the chief expert of the United States assay office was sent to investigate the mine by Comptroller of the Cur rency John Skelton Williams several months ago, when Mir. Williams was assistant secretary of the treasury. What purported to be a reproduction of the letters appeared, carrying the names of all senators on the com mittees, as do all such letterheads. This disturbed several of the mem bers of the committees and Senator LaFollette prepared a resolution iden- teal with that introduced later by Mir. OYerman, announcing if no one else introduced t he would.
 Senators Overman and Chiffon both said they were interested in the Gold Hill Company but denied any lnowl- edge of the use of the senate station cry to boost it. Senator Oyerman said young lady in his office had made copies of the letter on rules committee paper at the request of Walter George Newman, said to be promoter of the mine. and Senator Chiffon said that Williams, the en- gineer, came to his office and got his clerk to make copies on census com mittee paper.
 This mine is in my county" said Senator Overman. Before the war, at one time it was the largest gold producer in the United States. An assay office was established at Char lotte, N. C., to test the gold from it. Some time ago Newman, whom know nothing about, went down there and unwatered it. He said that by cross-cutting he had found a vein that had been lost. l refused to have anything to do with attempting to have an assay office re-established. Some did ask to have it re-establish- ed and Williams sent a man to see if the production down there justified the re-establishment of the assay office.
 "In view of what l knew of the mine and of what Newman reported, invested $2,o00 in the stock. have done nothing to promote it. All that has been done in my office was done by a poor woman who worked there temporarily"
 Senator Chiffon addressed the sen ate as soon as Senator Oyerman con cluded.
 q yield second place to no one in having money invested in gold mines" he said "All my life l have fostered an idea that l might get out of the habit of not having enough to pay my bills by striking a gold mine. : "I felt interested and sent this mining engineer, J. c. Williams, down there. When he returned he told me about the mine and later sent me letter. One day Dr. Will