The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-06-30
TON SCANDAL
COMMITTEE NAMED
To Investigate Activities Of VIII
liam EIEWood in North Car
DINA Gold Mine.
tcharIes Brooks Smith,


WASHINGTON, D. c., June 30
Senator Kern, chairman of the priv
ileges and elections committee, to-
day named Senators Thompson, Lea.
Hughes. Kenyon and Clapp as sub
committee to conduct the investiga-
ton in to the use of the Senate sta
tionery to promote gold mine at
Gold Hill, N. G. New light has been
shed on the activity of John SHELTON
Williams, now comptroller Of the
currency, in connection with this
case. 1t is said that the treasury
department sent an expert at the e1-
pense of the government to North
Carolina to investigate the property
after Walter George Newman, the
promoter, had represented to Mr..
Williams, the assistant secretary of
the treasury, that it was new Col
conda and warranted the opening OF
the United States assay office at
Charlotte, N. c.
Mr.. Williams and other treasury
officials have insisted that the sole
purpose in sending the government
expert to North Carolina was to de-
termine whether or not there had
been any developments in gold pro-
duction there that would warrant
action on the request made by New
man.
1t appears now that John Shelton
Williams may have manifested an in
terest beyond the mere settlement of
the question OF the reopening of the
assay office.
1t is aid that he invited Hennen
Jennings, of Washington, well
known and wealthy gold mining en-
gineer, to his Office in the Treasury
Department, introduced him to Pro-
moter Newman, and summoned the
government expert down to make a
report to Mr.. Jennings on what he.
the gold expert, had found at the
North Carolina gold mine.
Newman had submitted specimens
Of the ore and was seeking to interest
Mr.. Jennings and others, including
John Shelton Williams in the ven
ture.
There would have been nothing in
a legal way to prevent Mr.. Williams
from investing in such a project II
he saw fit, but he insists that he did
not at that time OF any other time
have any thought of participating in
the Newman mine venture.
Comptroller Williams explains the
conference In his office on two
grounds. He had heard that erro-
neous and exaggerated reports about
the findings of the government ex-
pert had been circulated, and he de-
sired to have them corrected, and
particularly that Mr.. Jennings should
know the truth.
That was one reason for the con-
ference. The otheP was. that Mr..
Williams desired to help Newman
just as he would help any other man
who thought he had a good mining
property. In this spirit he had sug-
gested to Newman that he should get
in touch with some man who really
knew something about gold mines
Henning Jennings for instance. Mr..
Jennings besides being close friend
of Comptroller Williams had been
associated with him as a director OF
the Staboard Air Line.
1t is said that a trip was made to
the mines by Berkeley Williams,
John Shelton Williams's brother, in
March about two months after the
report of the government expert, and
it has also been asserted that Berke-
ley Williams not only made the trip
but took with him mining
expert, Prof Grasty. of the University
of Virginia.
These developments are interest
ing chiefly because Of Comptroller
disposition to minimize
his dealings with Newman and be-
cause OF the impression that was
conveyed that his only activity in
this matter consisted in the move to
ascertain whether or not the govern
ment assay Offices should be re-
opened.