Evening star., 1924-01-29

OO OH lV1ONC y
| dent, Chairman Lenroot of the Senate
Oil committee and Senators Lodge OF
| Massachusetts and Curtis of Kansas,
| the republican leaders.
From the sick bed of former inte-
rior Secretary Fall word went out
that he not only would be unable 10
| appear before the oil committee 70
| day, as planned, but might not be
able to testify for some days to come;
| An attack on Attorney General
| Daugherty was made in the House
| by Representative Garrett OF Ten
| Eessee, the democratic leader.
Walsh Reviews Lease History.
| Senator Walsh. in an address of
four hours. reviewed the history OF
| the oil leases and the investigat ton
| of them made by the Senate commit
! tee He laid emphasis on that por-
ition of the evidence relating to the
financial transactions OF Mr.. Fall.
who, 1t has been testified, received
as yet unpaid loans OF 100000 from
z. l.. Doheny and $4,000 from Henry
If. Sinclair.
| The secrecy attending the Teapot
| Dome lease also was cited by the
Montana Senator, as were the CON
ditions of the contracts under which,
! he argued the Navy would receive
only about 31.50o,o00 barrels of
/ storage oil. as against the 41,000.o00
| barrels which naval officers have con
| tended is the minimum necessary in
a time of grave emergency. He also
attacked Mr.. Fall for his ismissal
OF proceedings under which the gov
iernment was seeking to regain rich
! oil deposits In California now held
i by the Standard Oil Company.
| Senator Walshs colleagues paid
him the unusual compliment OF fol-
, lowing with closest attention his
summarizatlon of developments in
connection with the oil reserves Sell
/ dom in recent years has SO large an
J throughout the day. Many members
! of the House also occupied places on
the Senate floor and the galleries
were overfowing.
| When Senator Walsh had concluded
! Chairman Lenroot suggested that the
/ original Walsh resolution, which ap-
| piled only to the Sinclair Teapot Dome
i lease. be broadened SO Is to take in
! the DohenyCalifornia contracts. Pre-
| viously Mr.. Lenroot had presented to
| the Senate the offer from Mr.. DO
| Eeny to cancel voluntarily the con
| tracts held by his company. The SEN
! ator explained that he was not salts
! fed with the offer because of the
| provision that the company would
'agree to settlement" which, he
| said. was too indefinite.
Lcnroot scores Democrats.
| Turning to the political aspect of
| the subject, Senator Lenroot declared
that some democratic senators seemed
! to be much agtated indeed. angry.
I at President Coolidge for doing the
| very thing they were seeking to COM
| pei him to do through the adoption of
| a Senate resolution. He asserted that
! this was too important subject to be
! and that senator's, irrespective of
| party, ought to commend the Presl-
I dent for the action he had taken.
] Adverting later to this statement by
the committee chairman. Senator Rob
| inson declared that the President :
statement, ION its face, is designed
! for political purposes" He added
| that Mr.. Coolidge lin a desperate
| but futile effort to shield his party
from the political effects of the sick
| ening disclosures in the Teapot Dome
| invest CATION" had asserted that no
| one was shielded for any party or
/ political reason. and that he under
stood many were involved who be-
! longed TO both political parties.
| BIames Both Regimes.
Senator Robinson asserted that the
; simple truth" was that the blame for
! the transaction, which he declared
| had become a national scandal, rested
wholly on the administrations of
| President Harding and President
| Coolidge He argued that Mr.. Hard
ling had acted without authority of
/! law in transferring control of the re-
serves from the Navy TO the Interior
| Department. and demanded to know
| how IL could be said that no one had
| been shielded for political reasons Ill
! view of the failure of the present ad-
! miniStration long ago to move in the
| public interest"
I Before the Senate reached an agree
| ment to meet tomorrow an hour car
! lier than usual TO continue its de-
! bate, Senator Walsh submitted sub
stitute resolution directing the Presi-
/ dent to move for the cancelia ton of
! all OF the Doheny contracts as we'll
; as all Of those held by the Sinclair
| interests. The resolution follows:
! Joint resolution to procure the an
| nulment of the lease to the Mammoth
I Oil Company.
: 'Wherea as it appears from evidence
| taken by the committee on public
lands and surveys of the United States
| Senate that that certain lease OF na-
val oil reserve No. 8. in the state of
Wyoming. bearing date April :. 1922.
made in form by the government of
the United States, through Albert =.
Fall. Secretary of the Interior. and
Edwin DENLY, Secretary of the Navy,
as lessor, to the Mammoth Oil Com
pany as lessee, was executed under
circumstances indicating fraud and
corruption; dndy
Whereas the. said lease was en-
tered into without authority on the
part of the officers purporting to act
| in the execution of the case for the
United States and in violation of the
laws OF the Congress; and,
Cites Conservation Policy.
Whereas such lease was made in
defiance of the settled policy of the
government adhered to through three
successive administra tions, to main
tain In the ground great reserve
supply of oil, adequate to the needs of
the Navy in any emergency threat
enfng the national security;
Resolved, That the said lease is
against the public interests and that
the lands embraced therein should be
recovered and held for the purpose to
which they We're dedicated; and.
Resolved, further, That the Pres
ldent OF the United States be, and he,
hereby is. authorized and directed i'm
mediately to cause suit to be insti-
ruted and prosecuted for the annul-
ment and cancellation of the said
lease, to enJoin the further extraction
or oil from the said reserve under
said lease. or from the territory COW
cred by the same, to secure any fur
ther appropriate incidental relief, and
to prosecute such other actions of
proceedings, civil and criminal, as
may be warranted by the facts in re-
latfon to the making of the said lease.
AND the President is further au-
thorlzed and directed to appoint by
and with the advice and consent of
the Senate. special counsel who shall
nave charge and control of the prose-
cutton of such litigation, anything in
the statutes touching the powers of
the Attorney General or the Depart
ment of Justice to the contrary not