Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1922-05-05
NAVY OIL LEASES
HIT BY SENATOR
1t Is Said President Also Is
Disp!eased by Deal.
LA Toilette CRITlcIZES FALL
Declares Cabinet Member Has Re-
verssd Policy Advocated by For
mer President Roosevelt and
Taft-Investigatio Sought.

Washington, April 29.-An advance
"tip" given spectators on the New
York Stock exchange, that the govern
ment had leased the Wyoming naval
oil reserve to a private company,
caused trading in the company's stock
to jump to more than $30,O00,OO0 in
three days, while official information
was withheld from the newspapers
and the public, Senator La Toilette,
Republican of Wisconsin, charged in
the senate.
An investigation by the senate pub
''Oil DEAL" in which the Wyoming Tea
pot Dome field was leased, and of all
the circumstances surrounding the
leasing of naval oil reserves in Califor-
mia and Wyoming to private interests
was proposed in a resolution offered.
President Harding and his admins
tratiOn, Senator La Toilette said, had
''repudiated and reversed the policy
of protecting the naval oil reserve
which former Presidents Roosevelt,
Taft and Wilson had maintained lover
an unbroken period of more than
decade"
President Asks Data.
While Senator La Toilette was max
ing his charges in the senate it was
understood in administration circles
that the White House had sent to the
Interior department for all available
10 %I0
action. Some administration senators
admitted having been tipped off" at
the White House that the President
was mot entirely satisfied" with the
way the Sinclair deal was engineered
by Secretary Fall.
Senator La Toilette accused Secre-
taries Fall and DENLY of having used
their influence not only to turn the
naval oil reserves over to private in
terests, but to have naval officers OPP
posed to that policy ordered to sea
or to other parts of the world for
duty"
81 have been reliably informed" he
said, land upon very high authority,
that these changes in the navy's per-
sonnet were made after the present
secretary had begun his campaign to
transfer the natural reserves from the
Navy to the Interior department"
In REPUTATION of the statement by
Secretaries Fall and DENLY that they
were forced to lease the Teapot Dome
reserve because it was ''menaced by
outside drainage" Senator La Fol
1ette read a telegram he said he had
received from Governor Carey of
Wyoming, a Republican.
Denies Drainage Risk.
"From such information as 1 have
been able to obtain, 1 believe there is
ling Teapot DOME" it said. Regard
less of all other objections to agree
ment, great wrong is being done
Wyoming to rob it of one of it's most
valuable natural resources and give
ft nothing in return.
Further, the reserve was created
to assure the navy a supply of oil at
some future time when oil might not
be available from other sources To
use this oil now may mean that at
some time this country may be seri-
Ously embarrassed in war for lack
of fuel for it's navy"
Senator La Toilette said geological
experts he had consulted also had
refuted the outside drainage plea.
AT the conclusion of Senator La
IFollette's address, Senators McCum-
Der of North Dakota and Poindexter
of Washington both said they favored
"a senate investigation of the Sinclair
deal, and Senator McCumber, as chair
man of the finance committee, signi-
fed his willingness to allow the tariff
bill to be put aside long enough to
permit the passage of the resolution.
He said that, after listening to La
Follette's speech, he thought it "alone
Justified a thorough investigation"
~vRsx,n snnIInNrnro nrnsn 49,