Evening star., 1924-02-18
SENATE CONFIRMS
ROBERTS FOR OIL
LEASE PROSECUTOR
Vote Is 68 to 8 in Favor of
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. De-
fends His Nomination.

Organization of the legal ma
chinery to handle the oil lease suits
was completed today by Senate con-
frmation Of Owen j. Roberts of
Philadelphia as special government
counsel.
Mr.. Roberts will serve with Atlee
Pomerene of Ohio, whose nomination
was confirmed Saturday. 1t is ex-
pected that legal proceedings to stop
further work on the Teapot and
California oil reserves will be taken
in the near future, while prepara-
tions go forward for separate civil
and criminal actions to permanently
set the leases aside and punish any
one guilty of wrongdoing in their
negotiation.
The vote on Mr.. Roberts was 6S
TO :. Both he and Mr.. Pomerene had
| been opposed by Senator Walsh,
democrat. Montana, the dominant fig
ure in the oil inquiry, but both re-
publican and democratic party lead
erS voted for confirmation. Those
recorded in opposition were Senators
Brookhart, Iowa; Frazier, North Da-
kota. and La Toilette, Wisconsin: re-
republicans: AShurst, Arizona: Shep-
pard, Texas, and Wheeler, Montana,
anu SnIpSltdQ ana JOhn-
son. Minnesota, farmer-abor. Sem
ator Walsh was absent.
Backed by Pepper.
Senator Pepper, republican, Penn
! sylvania, who recommended Mr.. Rob-
erts to President Coolidge, described
the nominee as a fighting Welsh
| man." eminently qualified by training
and the intensive experience OF
| twenty-five years practice.
| He is in no sense a representative
! of large interests" said the senator.
! AS a case in point. ! will say he
! won recently the largest verdict ever
| recorded against railroad. 1t was
for $4,000, and came in personal
| injury case"
Inquiry on speech.
! Senator Norris, republican. Ne
! braska, inquired about statement
| made by Mr.. Roberts a year ago in
New York which, he said, appeared
| to criticize the Senate oil committee
and to ridicule the idea of the Senate
! investigating Standard Oil"
| Not by the widest stretch of the
! imagination" replied Senator Pepper,
! can that speech be interpreted as
critical of the present inquiry"
Will Ask Injunctions.
The first move in what has come
to be regarded as one of the most
important legal battles to which the
federal government ever has been a
party Will be applica tions in Wyo-
ming and California for temporary
iniunctiOHs to stop further extrac-
tion of oil from the naval reserves in
those states operated by the Sinclair
and Doheny interests. respectively.
liminary step in what must neces-
sarily be long -drawn-out court
fight is expected. Counsel has an
enormous work ahead in studying
the record in the case as developed
by the Senate oil committee. and it
is unlikely that the annuIment suits
and criminal prosecutions will be in
stituted until this has been com
plcted and some Independent fnves-
LEGATIONS made.
Money for Counsel.
Having disposed of the nomina ton
of Mr. Roberts, the Senate will adopt
the House resolution appropriating
100000 for special counsel. This
measure was approved by the House
more than two weeks ago and has
been reported favorably by the Senate
appropriations committee.
Accountants of the Federal Trade
Commission will continue their work
on the books of w. b. HibbS & Co
and other Washington stock broker
age firms in an effort to ascertain
whether there were dealing by pub
lie officials in oil stocks of the Sim
clair and Doheny companies subse-
quent to the granting Of the leases
by Albert b. Fall, as Secretary of
the Interior.
The oil committee desires also to
go into the records of firm members
Of the New York Stock Exchange,
but as yet it has taken no action on
the letter of President Cromwell in
which he proposed an examination of
the records in the same manner as
was adopted at the time of the leak"
investigation. At that time the board
of governors Of the exchange adopted
a resolution asking the members to
submit transcripts of their books for
the period determined upon by the in
vestigating committee.