The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-03

referred to thlS committee and in duo course the Senate discharged this com mittee of January A, 1924, and, the Senate thereafter on January 31, 1924 agreed to that resolution and completed its consideration thereof, the resolution being so amended 7 as to deal in tht Senate in plenary way with the leases upon naval oil reserves which were be- fore this committee under Senate reso, lution 2S2 and Senate resolution 294 and thatr this committee has no further authority to deal with Senate joint res olution 54."
 Advances Other Reasons.
 Resolution 54, since it has been dis. charged by the Senate and the Senate itself, has finally acted upon the reso. lution.
 Il decline to answer on the ground that Senate joint resolution 54, as passed unanimously by the Senate, re, cites that it appears from evidence taken by this committee that certain lease of naval reserve number 3, in the state of Wyoming, bearing date of April z, 1922, made in form by the government of the United States through myself, Albert B. Fall. Secre. tary of the, Interior, and Edwin Denby Secretary of the Navy, as lessor, and certain lease of naval reserve nu1be, 1 in the state of California, bearins date December Il, 1922, made in form by the government of the United States, through myself, Albert B. Fall Secretary of the Interior, was executed under circumstances indicating frauf and corruption, that said leases were entered into without authority on tbs part of the officers purporting to acl in the execution of the same for ths United States and in the violation of laws of Congress and that in the same resolution it is resolved that the Presi dent of the United States be authorized and directed immediately to cause suit to be instituted and prosecuted for the annulment and cancellation of tbt leases and to prosecute such other ac tlons and proceedings, civil and crimi nal, as may be warranted by the fact, in relation to the making of said lease, and the President is further authorized and directed to appoint special counse to have charge and control of the prose cution of such litigation, and I declin, to answer on the ground that my an swer may tend to incriminate me.
 Fedrb lncr1m1natl0n.
 Tn declining to answer and in stat ing these reasons, I wish to expres, full respect for the committee and fo, the Senate, but to remind the commit tee that on October g and 24 last. while this committee was sitting in recess ot Congress and dealing with Senate reso iution 2S2 and Senate resolution 294. appeared before the committee and dis cussed at length the negotiations of tn, leases, including the lease of April 25 1922, signed by Edwin c. Finney acting Secretary of the Interior, anf Edwin Denby, Secretary of the Navy relating to construction of oil tanks al Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and ,thereafte, was prepared to appear again befor, the committee; but since the Senate o the United States has passed the Sen ate resolution 54 that action being con cured in by the House of Represents tives and the Congress of the JJnitef States has adjudicated by that resolu tion it's finding that the leases wer, executed under the circumstances indi cated fraud corruption and has di rected the President of the IJnitei States to prosecute such proceedinps civil and criminal, as may be warrantef by the facts in the making of the said leases, k decline further to answer any question of this committee on th, ground that it may tend to incrimi nate me, and on the further ground first above stated"