The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-15
Committee Letterheads Used
in Promoting $5,OOO,OOO
Gold Hill Property.
FEDERAL ASSAYIST Is
USED AS INVESTIGATOR
J. SHELTON Williams Cited as
Friend of Promoter Wal
ter g. Newman.
LATTER HAS THE ENTREE
AT CAPITOL OFFICES
He Is President Of Company
Whose Stock Sells at so
Cents-Its Par Is S..

WASHINGTON, June 14.-If YOU hap
pen to have received a communication
on the official letter paper OF the Senate
Committee on Census, William L. Chill
ton of West Virginia, chairman. paint
ing the rosy prospects OF North Caro-
lima gold mine 1t is due to a mistake.
Further. IL you have been favored
with an identical communication on the
official letterhead of the Senate Conn
mittee on Rules. Lee s Overman OF
North Carolina, chairman, it also is tho
result of a mistake.
You can take the words OF Senator
Chiffon and Senator Overman for that.
While acknowledging an interest In the
mining venture. both dsclaim personal
responsibility for the extraordinary use
II the official stationery Of the Senate
committee. They say that their clerks
were to blame.
But the appearance of these letters
among curb brokers in New York has
had a somewhat spectacular character
and in other quarters has brought to a
definite foundation stories which have
been circulated in Washington for some
time that a section Of the Senate ana
others in Democratic aofficaldom were
| in the throes OF an incipicnt gold fever:
| that dreams were being dreamed of
| fabulous fortunes to be drawn from the
bowels of North Carolina mountain;
that Senators were letting their friends
in on the good thing; that clerks and
pages who were fortunate enough to get
an inkling OF this short cut to easy
street" were withdrawing their money
from the banks to buy stock. and that
all were basking in the sunshine radi-
ated by one Walter George Newman.
promoter. who has had something Of
a record in mining ventures.
J. shelton williams's Part.
In this Democratic gold movement
John Shelton Williams, Comptroller Of
the Currency, has played humble part.
Mr.. Newman says Comptroller Will
Jams is warm friend OF his, having
gone to school with him. and Newman
has been a frequent visitor at the
Comptroller's office. That. however, 10
an unimportant detail. A more inter-
esting fact is that Mr.. Williams. when
he was Assistant Secretary OF the
Treasury, had the chief expert of the
United States Assay Office go to North
Carolina at the Governments expense
and investigate the Newman gold mine.
Some of the Democratic Senators
awaited themselves of the results Of that
visit but it should be said that the re-
port made by the experts. though not
entirely unfavorable. was hardly az
rosy as the representations that had
been made.
officials of the Treasury Department
say it is very unusual. but not irregular,
for the Government to send a man out
at its expense to investigate a privately
owned gold mine. Mr.. Williams says
he was moved to send the expert
solely because the question OF the re-
opening OF the United States assay Of
1
he desired to ascertain whether or not
there had been any development in gold
production there that would require
such an important step. The report Of
the expert. In Mr.. Wlllams's opinion,
did not justify such a move by the Cow
eminent
senator Overman's Activity.
Senator Overman, as Treasury off,
Gals recall the incident, was the man
at whose request the reopennG Of the
assay office and the investigation OF
= the mine were taken up. All these in
cidents would. OF course. pass unnoticed
were it not for the unfortunate double
headed mistake, which has resulted in
the sending out OF the letters on the
official stationery.
The mining property that has aroused
so much Democratic enthusiasm Is that
Of the Gold Hill Consolidated Company
d whose mine Is at Gold Hill. Rowan
o county. n. c. This company Is the sue
;. cessor OF the old Gold Hill Copper Com
pany OF lamented memory. The latter
Is described in the Copper Hand Book,
e a recognized authority on such mat
r ters. as "a notorious promotion that
= caught many Wall Street operators
o but that is merely matter Of history
A new company has been organized
with Walter George Newman as presi-
9 dent and with an authorized capital OF
!" 100000. par IS a share. The letter
.