Evening star., 1916-05-02
GOLD M|N|NGPLA
NEAR WASHINGTON
Eastern Corporation and Sub
sidiary Company Operating
at Great Falls.
ARE QUICKLY ACQUIRING
LARGE TRACTS OF LAND
Belief Expressed That du Pont Firm
Is Backing Project, With Nitro
gen Production in View.

Gold mining operations on scale
hitherto unheard of in the east are
under way on the Maryland side OF the
Potomac at Great Falls. where, for
several months an eastern corporation
has been quietly obtaining large tracts
of land. With the recording recently
at Rockville of large number OF
deeds for property purchased, the first
definite information as to the identity
of the persons concerned in the opera
tions has come to light.
The purchases. it has been learned,
have all been made by two corpora
tions operating under a single man
agcment. In the papers recorded at
Rockville the titles of the corporations
are given as the Atlantic Development
Company and the Great Falls Mining
COMPANY Both are Delaware corpora
tions. il is stated, the latter being
merely a. subsidiary of the former.
Robert Pennington is president of
the development company ofhces OF
which are at Wilmington. Mr.. Fen
nington is said to be the personal at
torney for Alfred I. du Pont, one OF
the principal stockholders in the great
du Pont powder manufacturing con-
Germ at Wilmington.
Tracts of Land Acquired.
The first tract bought by the develop
ment company was one of 500 acres
purchased from Thomas Dawson and
George S. AlInut. both OF Rockville.
other tracts acquired since the original
purchase and recorded at Rockville are
NoIney Eaton, twenty acres: |. H. Ford
and ]. ~. Clark, 2o5 acres; |. H. Ford
and j. NJ Clark. 1:12 acres: Charles h.
Marbley. 121a acres: Misses Saiile ana
Maggie Harrison, 203 acres: George B.
+. Umstead 80 acres William II.
Stall and NJ. +. Hackett, 200 acres;
Truxton Beale, 1927 acres; TruXton
BeaIe. - acres; ii. E. Sands, 20 acres.
T. is understood the company has OPP
tions on n number of tracts in addition
to those already purchased. and that the
options are to be closed shortly. The
eleven tracts already purchased en-
brace a total of .43l u acres. and il is
said the company intends to buy sur
fcient land in addition thereto TO bring
the holdings up TO 5,oeo acres or more
Operates on Elaborate Scale.
For several months the Great Falls
Mining Company. the subsidiary cor
poration. has been conducting mining
operations on an elaborate scale. the
operations extending over practically
the entire tract already bought. With
installations of the latest types of min
ing machinery and drills saveral shafts
have been sunk. and already half
dozen or more cars of ore have been
sacked ard shipped to refneries and
assay laboratories in the east for thor
oush tests. That the results of these
tests have not been unfavorable is
saiu to be attested by the fact that
operations are continuing on even
larger scale. while new test shafts and
cuttings. have been made all over the
acquired properties
The mining company has for several
months employed a force of from $50 to
geo men, its pay roll being in excess OF
$4,000 a month. The total value of the
properties alreadwy purchased, accord
ing to the papers filed in Rockville. was
in excess of S50o.009. while the COM
pany is said to have spent more than
sIUU.0eo in sinking shafts and doing
other prospecting work.
Pay by Checks of du Pont Company.
Some of those who have sold their
property 70 the development company
say the checks given in payment were
issued by the du Pont company at Will
minSton.
Some time ago the du Pont company
rHaGe tentative propositions to the War
Department looking toward the
qUirement Of power site at Great
Falls for the establishment of a big
plant for the fxation of nitrogen from
the air. Nothing done in regard
To the proposition. however, far as
can he learned. II is the belief of
persons closely in touch with the i'm
IEcnse activities of the development
and mining companies at Great Falls.
however that the real financial power
Iehind il is the du Pont company. and
khat the real object is the ultimate es-
tabl.shment of d nitTogen-making
liant that would utilize the power of
knc falls. estimated AT not less than
10000 horsepower