Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-03-20

A FEW FACTS FROM THE RECORD
IT comes to light that Mr.. Doheny was
very popular gentleman with Pres
ident Wilson'S administration. Here's
a clipping that explains conditions i'll the
year 1917 while the World war under
way:
august IS, 1917, during the Wilson ad-
mfnistration the senate committee on pub
lie lands said in its report Ono. 10 on the
petroleum situation: No man in the United
States understands the oil situation better
than Mr. Edward l.. DOheny. He is prob
ably the largest individual oil operator in
the world. He is in no way personally in
terested in any Of the provisions of this bill.
BY reason of his vast knowledge Of the sub
ject, his unquestioned integrity and his un-
biased and sound judgment, he made
chairman of the committee oil of the
state council of defense and by Bernard M.
Baruch chairman of the committee on oil
of the council Of national Defense The
author Of this tribute was Senator Thomas
j. Walsh, of Montana"
If il not my province to comment on this
report. made in the senate in the summer
of 1917, but l desire to say that billions
Of American money were being sent across
the Atlantic at that time (Which has never
come back to the United States), and it is
we'll known that oil leasngs in various Eu-
rOpean countries were engineered by Messrs
Sinclair and Doheny, and their oil interests
were we'll protected by the authorities in
Washington City. Mr.. Doheny a we'll
known Democrat Allow me, in a sincere
desire to give only the undisputed facts to
the country home readers, the Wilson ad-
ministration did authorize the leasing of
oil on the naval reserve lands under the
direction OF Hon. JOSephuS Daniels secre-
tary OF the navy during the Wilson admin
iStration.
l take the following from the New York
Times Democratic newspaper and good
authority.
about it:
"The still small voice Of the Congressional
Record in 1919-1920 proves to the hilt
what has been asserted before. The policy
Of leasing oil in government lands was de-
liberately entered upon. 1t was approved
by both parties. The leasing act of Feb
ruary, 1920, was unanimously agreed to on
both sides Of the chamber There was no
special dispute about the amendment of
June 4, 1920, giving authority to the sec
rotary Of the navy to extract oil from the
lands held for the naval reserve. Oil, I'M
foreground, was in no sense an emergency
reserve for the navy. 1t had to be pumped,
pped refined and made quickly accessible
to storage tanks, if it was to be at all in
the nature of reserve in case Of sudden
war. Furthermore, the oil in the naval
reserves was being steadily drained by the
outside wells One of the experts who tes-
titled to the danger of depletion and who
was grayely cited by Senator Walsh himself
was Mr.. Doheny"
I call attention to these facts, which are
proven by the Record, to show to the coun-
try home readers that while the court will
indict bribery, it will sustain Secretary
DENLY acting in an official capacity to
save the oil, which underground, and
being drained away by private oil wells,
and the lessees did build oil tanks and spent
thousands of dollars in their erection and
at their own expense, and did give, the gov
eminent a royalty that amounted to a good
sum on what would be otherwise a total
loss to the navy.
1t was a simple question of getting con-
siderable amount Of oil for the use of the
navy which would have been totally lost and
drained off into outside oil wells, and the
navy could not drain or save it. | am try
ing to collect these facts for your consd-
Grafton, and to clear away the smoke screen
which has been erected for political aim
and purpose in the good year 1924.
Let me set down a few more facts and
without comment I'll leave the subject
with you.
Senator Walsh, of Montana, has been the
active prosecutor of Mr.. Doheny during the
months of January and February, 1924. In
a telegram just before Christmas, 1928, a
little over eight weeks ago, Mr.. Doheny
wired Senator Walsh he would like to dis
cuss the suggestion with the senator and
his brother, John, looking towards an en-