Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-13
AIDED FALL AND
GOT DAUbED WITH
OIL, WORD MCLEAN

Washing On, March 12-EdWaru Is.
Mclean, publisher of theSWashing-
ton Post, told the oil committee to-
day that he had been drawn inwit-
tingly into he oil scandal hrough a
well intentioned effort to aid his
trusted friend. Albert B. Fall.
He insisted that the true story of
his 100000 loan to the former sec
rotary was that, which he told Sem
ator Walsh, of Montana, at Palm
Beach in January; that he had given
Fall checks for that amount in Nov
ember. 1912 and that they had been
returned to him uncashed.
His previous statement that the
loan had been in cash, ne said, was
made because Fall requested at a
conference in Atlantic CRY last De-
cember that he make that explana-
ton if it became necessary. He
testified that Fall, ill and a broken
man. had assured him that his wor-
rics and embarassments had moth
ing to do with Sinclair or Teapot
Dome"
1t was not until after he had testi-
fed in Palm Beach, Mclean de-
clared, that Fall told him he had OBJ
tanned 100000 from Edward L. Do
heny on November 80. 1921.
Declaring he had no other con-
nection with the whole subject under
investigation; did not know either
Sinclair or Doheny: and never owned
stock in any of their oil companies.
the publisher summed up the situa-
ton thus:
Il was trying to gosdow the line
as far as could for a friend. l have
never done a dishonest thing in my
life financially. have never had
anything to do with this darned Tea
pot Dome thing. This is really the
truth. You can decode kilograms,
you can look through them for the
next year, and you can never find
anything dishonest have DONE"
This statement came near the end
of more than two hours of question
ing. during most of which time the
publisher leaned across the table to-
ward the committee with head bowed
and forearms resting on the little
table before which he sat.
Although hailed las one of the more
important of the witnesses in the
inquiry. Mclean shed little addition
al light on the situation, and his
testimony was anything but thrill
ing. Despite this his every word
was followed with tense interest by
the crowd which damned the COM
mittee room and overlooked into an
ante chamber. Scores of the curious
were unable to gain admittance.
The publisher was direct in his an
swers and was not subjected to Wig
orous cross examination. Time and
again he told the committee he
wanted 70 be frank with it and tell
it all he knew. The only variation
from his Palm Beach testimony was
that he fixed the time of giving Fall
the checks as the last week in Nov
ember. 1921, instead of the last week
of December of that year.
Mclean followed to the stand sew
eral White House and Washington
Post employees. His attorneys, Will
ton j. Lambert and William Leahy,
accompanied him into fhe committee
room and remained seated nearby
him throughout his stay on the
stand and when the committee had
finished its examination, Mr.. Lam
bert questioned his client briefly to
emphasize certain points of his testi-
mony.
Mclean emphatically declared that
he had had no connection with any
slush fund, rumors of which have
reached the committee. He was un-
able to aid the committee materially
in translating some of the still mys-
ferrous kilograms. explaining that he
could not recall details as he had re-
ceived and sent hundreds of them
while at Palm beach.