The Washington herald., 1922-12-11
RADIO AND OIL
. STATUSCASES
ON CALENDAR
District Judge to Decide Right
of U. S. to Control Air. and
Swamp Lands of Southwest
CABINET MEMBERS CALLED
Secretary Fall and Secretary
Hoover Both Appeal from
Curbs Placed on Authority

Oil and gas lands, the radio, an
alleged liquor bribe and "a $780,
900 Liberty bond theft from the
Treasury will figure in cases as
signed for trial this week in the
Court Of Appeals and the Grim
inal Courts.
The bond theft case will be tried
in Criminal Court No. 2 before
Justice Jennings Bailey. The de-
PENDANTS are Charles A. Clevenger.
l1rcel U. Waimsley, of Charlottes-
Vile. Va, the alleged accomplice
of Clevenger. Assistant District At
torney J. II. Bilbrey will prosecute
the accused.
BONDS UNCANCELLED.
The Government expects to prove
that Clevenger. who was detailed
at the branch Treasury at 119 ID
street northwest, came across a lot
Of bonds. amounting to $1,744.000.
which had been sent in for can
collation. from Federal Reserve
banks. The bonds made such a
big package. it was claimed, that
the eighteen bonds on the bottom
comprising seventeen $4,000 and
one $4,000 bond-were not perforated
by the cancelling machine. although
the Treasury records show that the
whole lot was perforated and tech
nicallv rendered useless. The eight
cen uncancelled bonds. the Govern
ment claims. were stolen by Clev-
enger. who, it is alleged, enlisted
the aid of Walmsley.
1t was the scheme of these two
defendants, the Government claims,
to take the stolen bonds to Phila
| ldelphia, Pa, and trade them in for
, high-priced automobiles and then
sell the automobiles for whatever
they would bring. This scheme
lfell through, it is alleged. and the
two defendants then sent the bonds
to real estate dealer in West Vir-
ginia for disposal. The real es-
tate dealer. after thinking over the
matter. informed the authorities.
The bonds were recovered.
| The oil and gas land case will
come before the Court of Appeals.
OIL LAND RIGHTS.
| Secretary of the Interior Albert
b. Fall and Attorney General A. v.
Coco. of Louisiana, have disagreed
over the question of Federal con-
troll of an immense area of cut-oyer
and swampy land i'm Louisiana
which contains oil and gas. Sec.
retary Fall lost out in the District
supreme Court, an injunction,
! signed by Justice Hoehling, tying
the secretary's hands and prevent.
ing him from exercising any control
over these lands. The secretary
appealed. The case is a test case
and involves millions of acres of
land in the Southern and South
eastern States which may be under.
laid with gas and oil.
The radio case was brought to the
Court of Appeals by Herbert
Hoover. Secretary of Commerce, who
appealed from a decision by JUS
tice Wendell p. Stafford, Of the
District Supreme Court. who di-
rected that a permit be issued to the
lnter-City Radio Company of New
York. to operate a commercial wire
\ less station.
The renewal of the license was at
first refused on the ground that
the Government was unable to fix
wave length at which the Inter.
City plant might operate and not
interfere with S. o. S. calls from
ships at sea, the Government wire
less stations and stations under
private control which had the same
right to the air as the Inter-City
people.
PROGRESS OF RADIO.
Notwithstanding the seemingly
Impossible job, Justice Stafford di.
lrected Secretary Hoover to reissue
the license on the ground that
there was nothing in the law gov.
erning wireless stations which de
Iprived the Inter-City concern from
securing a permit to operate. Since
this case arose. the radio has made
lenormous strides-receiving sets be
ing installed in private homes all
over the world by the million.
The liquor bribe case arises from
the appeal of William P. Egan, for
mer assistant chief of the legal
bureau of the Prohibition Enforce
ment Unit of the Bureau of Inter
NAL Revenue. from a sentence oi
1.-TWO years in prison on a charge Of
accepting a bribe of $500 to secure
"a permit for the manufacture oil
lsacramental wines for Joseph Du
denhofer. of Milwaukee. Wis. Du
denhofer. it is claimed, having
trapped Egan.
Shortly after his arrest last June
Egan was sued by his wife, Mrs
Esther Egan, for a limited divorce
He filed a cross-bill for an alb
solute divorce and wont out. He is
at liberty under bond.