Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-02-09

Ing the authority of ats oil commit
tee to proceed with its inVestiGa-
ION. The jurisdiction of the COM
mittee had been challenged by Albert
b. FAN, former secretary of the in
terror, in his refusal to testify be-
fore the committee last Saturday..
Partisan politics was injected
again today into the senate debate on
the oil leases.
DOhGny Nomination Recalled
After Senator Walsh had read a
newspaper editorial suggesting that
President Coolidge ask Secretary
DENLY and Attorney General Daugh.
crty for their designations, Senator
Willis, Republican, Ohio, read from
the proceedings of the 1920 Demo-
cratic nat;Cral convention he
speech in which Edward Ii Doheuy
was placed in nomination for the
vice presidency.
Senator Harrison, Democrat, Mis-
sissippi, declared he knew Doheny
had voted the Republican ticket in
that year because the Democratic
presidential candidate announced
that he would not use the military
forces of the United States to pro-
tect "oil spectators in Mexico"
II would like to inquire" Senator
Glass, democrat, Virginia, said, IF
there was any reference in that
nominating speech to the skill of the
proposed candidate in bribing Re-
publican cabinet officers?'
Secretary DENLY, in telegram to
Row d. Chaplin, of Detroit, replying
to a message of confidence, last night
reiterated his contentious that the
leases were sanctioned by law and
were beneficial to the gOVernmeD
and that the transfer of jurisdictio
over them from the navy to the IN
terror department also was legal.
Secretary DENLY made public last
night an extended statement explain
ing and defending his course in as
senting to the lease Of the naval Oil
reserves.
DENLY Defends Course
Asserting that there are involved
three basic questions the naval se@
retarv answered them all in the at
firmative; that the transfer of ad-
ministration from his department to
the interior department was legal;
that the leases themselves were legal
and carried out the expressed will of
congress; that they were beneficial
to the government, preventing the
further loss of millions OF dollars
worth of oil and greatly increasing
the power of the navy to defend the
country.
The navy secretary made no men
ton of this resolution in his state
ment tonight, which was in the form
of a telegram to Roy D. Chaplin, of
Detroit, in reply to the message Of
confidence received some days ago
from 225 citizens Of Michigan.
Stating that he had received hun
dreds O. elters and tele"f"ms from
Michigan and all parts of the union,
Mr.. DENLY declared that "such a
demonstration of faith requires that
[ shall give you the reasons why
that faith is not MISPLACED"
"When I came into ofticc," his
message continued, Il was very
shortly convinced that the oil r.
serve lands which had been set
aside by congress for the benefit
of the United States navy were be
ing drained by private owned wells
auJOIIlHS tuOSt ISSCL HSo' l ii0'N Ii'N'
were being drained is undisputed.
Congress, under date of June
1920, gave the following powers to
the secretary of the navy,
'' That the secretary of the navy
is directed to take possession of all
properties within the naval petrol
cum reserves as are or may become
subject to the control and use by
the United States for naval pur-
poses: to conserve, develop, use
and operate the same in his discre-
ton, directly or by contract, lease
or otherwise, and to use. store, eX-
change or sell the oil and gas prod
ucts thereof, and those from all roy
atty oil from lands in the naval
reserves, for the benefit of the Unit
ed States"