San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-12
READS HIS STATEMENT
Publisher Thinks prince
r pal" Wires Refer 10 s. S.
H. Daugherty. - -.
OWNS NO OIL STOcB;
Says He Gave Misleadi1S
Information to Help .sAsGG,
His Friend. e Ct
Washington. d. C. March ,s.--Ets

Washington. ID. C.. March 1e.--E6s
ward b. Mclean told rhe oil commits
tee today that he had given it mislead:
ing information about the celebrated.
100000 loans because he trusted and
desired TO help his friend, Albert Fall. .
The publisher insisted that his Sec !.
ond story about the loan, told to Sem
ator Walsh in January at Palm Beach.
was correct. He said be had loaned
the former secretary 100000 in
checks for q ranch enterprise, but that
the checks were returned TO him IN
cashed.
His preyions assertion that the loan
was made in cash, he said, was made
I at FsiI's request. The latter appeared
to be in trouble. he added. but had
represented to hin that it had nothing
TO do with Oil.
The publisher sIso asserted that he
himself had no interest in the Sinclair
or Doheny companies and knew moth
ing about the Fall oil policies except
what he had read in the newspapers.
Asked about the code messages ex-
changed between Washington and his
cottage at Palm Beach. he was unable
to decipher or explain many of them.
He said William j. Burns had given
one of his employees a Department Of
Justice code but that he himself never
had coded message.
Thinks Daugherty Principal
He became a secret agent of the JUS
tice Department. he continued, shortly .
after the beginning Of the Harding nd.
ministration largely because the ofh>s
cial badge would make it easier foti
him to get through police lines when
travelling with the President.
THE principal referred 10 in ono
of the kilograms sent him by his em~ !:
ployes. Mclean said, appeared to hmm |,
to refer to Attorney General Daugher~
ty and did not refer 10 President Cool !,
idge. He identified the attorney gene
eral as the author Of the message as.j
surfing him not 10 worry because every>7
thing that could be done will be done
by US" 4
Led into long discussion OF his re- |
lations with Mr.. Daugherty. be sand
the attorney general had lived in ono
of the Mclean houses here for seven}
or eight months after coming 10 Wash.3
ington. and that Fall had visited ther9
often. But he added that Daughert
wouldn't do anything wrong for me-
even II he h3u Deen aSkeU.
Call White House Doormsn.
II. Z. McHenna, chief doorkeeper
at the White House. took the stand
and was; questioned about telegram
he sent to Mclean in Florida inform /.
ing him OF Secretary Slemps depar-
ture for the South. He stated that
Mclean had requested him TO send
such notification and that Siempi
had advised him that 1t would be all
right for him to do so.
Z. W. Startling, Of the secret serves
detail. who also communicated with
Mclean. followed Mckenna on the
stand. BE testified that his telegram
related TO the employment OF f. Z.
wilkins Of HopkiDsville. Nv. in the
Mclean household. Starring SAID
Wilkins was his lifelong friend.
n w. Smithers. chief of cOmmuni-
cations at the White House, who
operated the Washington end OF the
Mclean leased wire 10 Palm Beacn.
was called and testified that his duties
we're ..purely mechanical that he
Maid no attention 10 the subject matter
-of the messages handled and that ne
took the lob only because he needed
the extra money.
Reads His Statement.
Ar the outset Mclean read 10 the
committee this prepared statement:
Having in mind the subject OF ,nis
Investigation and having also m nina
the widespread use in the public press
of INV name as one who might hsves
had some connection with the nayst
oil leases. or with the companies. IN
,I;vidrsIs government departments -
nubiic officials who d;d nave eonnee,
lion with the leases Of the naval OF
reserves | want TO make now the TO-
lowing detailed aud emphatic stare
ment of facts
i have absolutely no knowledge r.,
garding any leases upOu BSVal on
Ts>srves made al any time to any pc,
Sor or any company except sucn
knowledge as l. in common with Az
the rest Of the American pubic. nave
received from newspaper reports
As 10 the So-called Sinclair leases
aud companies;
Il never have known anything aheut
an, lease OF any oil land "a the Ssn-