The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1923-09-14
LIGHT ON THE OIL GRAB

Continued from first page)
plain his low estimate of the opinion
of the naval authorities who were
presumably the best informed men in
the service on the question of the
naval oil reserves. 1t is of course
well known that it is customary for
department heads to have regard for
the technical advice of subordinates
who have been selected for their tech
nical ability
Grab Profits Standard Oil
Harry Sinclair, who secured the
Teapot Dome lease, is in fifty-ffty
partnership with Standard oil in own
ership of the pipe line through which
Teapot Dome oil must reach the east
Thus the most powerful oil interests
in the country profit by the letting
of the navy's richest oil deposits. Tea
pot Dome was set aside as naval
reservoir by President Roosevelt. His
design was that the reserve should
remain as permanent safeguard for
the American navy. Under President
| Wilson Secretary Daniels sent de-
tachment of marines to protect the
reserve against private encroachmnet.
Secretary Fall, since resigned, is said
to have met Harry Sinclair at the Fall
ranch at Three Rivers, N. NJ, where
| III a.,;n1yoI hafnra
the transaction was concluded in
Washington.
The tremendous importance of the
| Teapot Dome reserve to the United
States navy is not generally under
stood 1t is not generally known that
the United States is using its oil sup
of the world and that the visible oil
reserve that can be absolutely con-
trolled by the United States govern
ment and that is not in some sense
under foreign ownership is good for
molly eighteen years The U. S. Geo,
logical Survey is authority for this
statement At present the navy re-
quires about eight million barrels of
fuel oil year and the shipping board
requires about six million barrels.
The attempted raid on the naval
oil reserve made in 1916 assumes a
new Importance in the light of re-
cent events. In that year there was
before congress leasing bill which
narrowly escaped passage.
Two Investigations Made
An exhaustive investigation of the
oil supply was at that time made by
board of naval officers and also by
a committee of the naval consulting
board which was able to command
the advice of the best civilian ex-
perts Both of these boards empha-
sized the necessity of protecting the
naval oil reserves against private en-
croachment and exploitation.
On December %, 1916, the naval
fuel oil board made report of which
the following is significant extract:
"rhe most serious phase of the fuel
oil situation is the insecurity of the
nations tenure of duly constituted pc
troleum reserves In the four
years that have passed since the crea-
ton of the first naval petroleum re-
serves, there has been continuous
attack on the navy's tenure of these
lands by private interests and cor
porations. The strength of this at
tack is sufficient to threaten a change
of existing law in order to wrest con-
troll of these lands from the navy
Legislation now pending intends to de-
stroy the navy's title to the bulk of it's
| oil in the naval reserves. Action of
| the congress in this matter will in
dicate whether it is possible to retain
these or similar reserves, after they
have become commercially attractive.
1t will determine whether, in such
a contest between private interests