Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-16
'PROBE To BOTTOM
|OF HEARST CHARGES
| PROMISED BY REED
Chairman Says Senate Com
mittee viii Trace Mexican
Papers to Source.
DECISION Is ANNOUNCED
AFTER CLOSED SESSION
Editor Claims He Sought to Prove
Authenticity of Charges-Sena-
tors Reply Unchallenged.
By the Associated Press.

BY tne Associated Pfess'
An investigation ito the very bot
tom" of the source of the documents
purporting to show creation of a
St,215,000 Mexican fund for four
United States Senators was promised
today by Chairman Reed, Republican,
Pennsylvania. of the special Senate
committee.
After hearing more testimony con-
corning the documents today the COM
mittee held an executive meeting and
decided to go to the end of the trail
of the papers which Miguel Avila says
he bought.
There was a hint from the commit
tee room that the secret service might
be asked to aid in the investigation.
Already Department of Justice agents
are with the committee, closely guard
ing the documents turned over to
Chairman Reed yesterday by William
Randolph Hearst.
Aided by Translator.
At the committees executive ses-
sion the documents were gone over
with a translator Chairman Reed
said Avila had given in secret the
names of clerks in Mexico with whom
nS uSdll III ODldliiinS lHS papers, Out
had not revealed the name of the
clerk in the Mexican consulate Office
in New York. with whom he said he
worked in obtaining documents there.
The maze of contradictions dumped
onto the committee by the Hearst
Mexican documents was taken behind
documents was taken behind closed
closed doors by the committee today
in its effort to trace authenticity OF
the papers.
AS on the opening day of the investi-
cation, there was none to dispute as
sertions of the Senators-Borah, Nor
ris. La Toilette and Hef1in-that no
such fund had ever reached them, and
the committee did not even go into this
phase of the subject.
Doors Are Barred.
After hearing George Hinman,
John Page and Victor Watson of the
Hearst organization, on details of how
the papers We're procured, and after
again questioning Avila, the doors
were barred unit 1880 o'clock tomor-
row morning.
morning.
Especial attention was given by the
committee today to Avila, who was
pressed for Details. and he was even
Mexican consulate in New York, from
which he testified he obtained some
of the documents. His description
was of a general nature.
Watson, editor of the New York
Daily Mirror, testified as TO plans
for publishing the documents and
said he had made efforts to au-
thenticate them. Replying to a ques-
tion from Senator Robinson, Deno-
crat. Arkansas. he said he would not
consider grammatical errors in the
papers would prove they were not au-
thentic, because many Mexican clerks
were illiterate.
Claims Affidavits.
Page, who was instrumental in
obtaining the documents, said he had
some additional affidavits relating to
their authenticity, one of which was
signed by Almicar Zoutella, member
of the Mexican Congress. Another
was signed by a stenographer in
Mexico City, he said. He added there
Japanese secret treaty.
The witness did not believe there
were misplaced accents on the docu-
ments. as some of the members of the
committee had concluded. He said
he knew Spanish well enough to know
when accents were properly placed.
Some accents were missing, however,
he declared.
Hinman Takes Stand.
Hnman, the first witness today.
said he was in Mexico City when John
Page, a fellow reporter. got the docu-
ments, but he never saw them.
Last March. Hinman said. he had
heard papers were in existence pur-
porting to show payment of money
to Americans. The next day. he said.
he was called home by his fathers
death Meanwhile, he said, Page ap-
parently had obtained the papers.
AFTER 1 returned to Mexico, got
the impression that Mr.. Page was
working on these papers," he con-
tinued.
Chairman Reed pressed him about
his first information on the docu-
ments and he said he merely had
heard from Mexican sources that they
were in existence. He did not know
whether his informant was the same
as Pages and knew nothing OF the
genuineness of the papers.
The witness said that Miguel Avila
had told him that he believed some
documents could be obtained from the
Treasury.
Quizzed About Papers.
''I believe he approached me on the
question:" Hinman said. This was
early in April / told him we were
interested. 1t was gossip around
Mexico by Summertime that these
papers were in existence.
Page had testified he went to Avila
in May and asked him to get on the
trail of the documents. Watson was
called when Hinman concluded his
testimony, but he failed to respond
and Hinman was asked to communi-
cate with him.
There are no other witnesses that
I know Of" Senator Reed said.
please tell him the committee is
waiting for him."
William A. de Ford OF New York,
senior counsel for Hearst, told the
committee that he had made inquiry
about Watson and was informed that
he was en- route to the committee
room
81 am informed that he is a little
under the weather." de Ford said.
The committee members conferred
among themselves while they waited
for the witness
Watson Arrives.
After about 10 minutes Watson
reached the committee room, but
Avila was recalled to the stand and he
testified he was first informed about
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