The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1924-02-13
LaFollette Trails Lobby

Fred W. Parks"
LaFOllette Trails Lobby
Mr.. LaFollette in answer to Mr..
Walsh's question as to why the bill
was considered a Standard Oil meas
IRE. said, on page 4741 Of the Congress
sional Record:
MIR. President, I should be glad to
nave any senator here stand up on the
floor OF the senate and say whether
any of the numerous representatives
Of Standard Oil who are about the
senate chamber and in the galleries
have solicited the opposition of any
senator to the passage of this bill. l
think that might shed a little light
on it. They are here. There is not
any doubt about that"
To this Senator Smoot, of Utah. re-
piled:
Mr.. President, as chairman of the
public lands committee, I will say that
as far as I know no person interested
IN the Standard Oil company in n
way has either asked for the legis-
lation or protested against it. I will
say that they have never done it so far
as I am personally concerned"
Senator LaFollette's argument was
that the bill was so framed that the
Standard Oil company was satisfied
with it, and expected TO secure large
benefits through it.
Senator Walsh, on page 477O of the
Congressional Record, speaking to the
amendment offered by Senator LaFol-
lette to cut out the naval oil reserves
from the leasing bill, said:
MIR. President. the section Of the
bill to which the motion now pending
is directed contains a provision with
! relation to the naval reserve"
Discussing the testimony of experts
and the opinions of others upon the
question Of whether or not the naval
oil reserves would be drained by wells
inside and outside their boundaries,
Senator Walsh lines up with Mr..
Doheny in the view that there was
danger of such drainage. Senator
Phelan had been quoted by Senator
Walsh as favoring the view that the
wells would be so drained. An engi-
neer named Latham opposed that view.
( Coo,A1. n LNo11o&&. LII AA--1--l
Phelan as an agent of Standard Oil.
The Congressional Record, page 1910,
quotes Senator Walsh as follows, and
it will be observed that the Montana
senator agrees, in this matter, not
only with Doheny, but with Fall and
Secretary of the Navy DENLY.
DOheny Un~interested, Says Walsh
Il attach very great Importance tC
the testimony Of Mr.. A. L. Doheny t.
the same effect. 1t is we'll known that
Mr.. Doheny is one Of the most exten.
six and one Of the most successful
oil prospectors and operators in th'
world. 1t appears that he has NJ
|, interest whatever in any Of the prop
I erty within the naval reserve or il
; any of the withdrawal areas, and tina
? he has no interest in any of the land
) that would be patented. He does
= however, own profitable and producin.
= oil wells throughout the state of Cali
!. fOrnia. If he has any interest in tn
e bill at all of an individual or pei
e sonal character it would be to see IN
il bill killed, because thus the volum
d of oil would be restricted and limitet
g if not reduced, and the value of h.
product would be prOportionately il
o creased. l can not believe. howeve
It that he IS influenced either one va
or the other by that consideration; b,
# he tells US, after his long experien,
as an oil prospector and an oper;
is tor in oil, the fact is that the vel
which now exist upon the reserv,
are continually draining the supply
oil and reducing the oil pressure, al
LG NCiluIGU lne OplItlOl lIidl III
years the gas pressure would be
far reduced as to make it neXt to il
il possible to extract any further
n from the reserves.
v, In that situation of affairs, y
Dill President, it occurs to me that t
e. committee has acted wisely in prov:
Oil ing that the wells already upon t
m, naval reserves should be leased a
lg, that the president should have the q
lg, thority to direct other wells wheney
lc- in his judgment il became necessa
ID to svb serve the public interest. I
ng not believe, therefore, that those D
ge visions of the bill are open to any Sc
IN Gus election"
on DOheny Sidesteps Walsh
he 1t will be Ot-orved that in [
ish statement Sena..r Walsh is of
~ opinion that Nj. Doheny had no
- terest in the navel cl reserve. It
%anDarent his iudor-ent of OOhe7