Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-01-26
ALL GOT 100000 i
LOAN FROM HIM. =
DOHENY TEST|F|Es
Personal Matter Only, No
Oil Company Concerned
Witness Tells Senate In
vestigating Committee

WASHINGTON, Jan. "a. - E. l.
Doheny, the California oil magnate,
whose interests leased a naval oil re.
serve while Albert e. Fall was Sec
rotary of the interior. told the sem
ate public lands committee Thursday
that he loaned Mr.. Fall 100000 in
cash in 1921.
The transaction, Mr. Doheny said,
was "a personal matter" and had
nothing to do with oil leases.
All the negotiations leading UP to
the contracts were conducted for him
with subordinates of the interior and
navy departments by j. j. Cotter,
his Washington attorney, and J. c.
Anderson, head of a subordinate COM
pany, Mr.. Doheny said. He added
that if there were any charges of
collision they would involve seven
subordinates in the two departments
as well as two Of his own employees.
When the negotiations were cons
cluded, he said, he brought the mat.
ter to the attention of Secretaries
DENLY and Fall, and the contracts
were signed.
MIR. Doheny gave the date of the
loan as November 80, 1921, or sew.
eral months before the interior sec
rotary signed the contract leasing
the California reserve to the Doheny
interests.
Mr.. Fall had told him, Mr.. Doheny
!, u, 70 1r~,1
and that he had expected to get the
money from "Mr. Mclean" This the
witness said, he took as a hint to
him, and he replied that he would
be glad to loan the money.
Meant Little to Him
81 felt that L was Falls only friend
who had money which could be
spared" Doheny said.
The loaning of 100000 to Fall
was, with him, he added, nothing
more than loaning $40 or $50 by an
ordinary man. But he added he was
aware that "Mr. Fall, because of his
friendly feeling, may have favored
me-"
The oil operator went on to say
that he intended to require Mr.. Fall
| to repay the loan. Unde repeated
questioning, he insisted that the only
! thought he had when he made the
! loan was a desire to help an old
4 friend, who had met with many prrsf-
ness setbackS.
Fall gave q note, he continued,
which is in the Doheny offices eli.
Their in New York or Los Angeles.
The note will be located, he said, and
also presented to the committee.
Regrets Reticence
'I have been following the re-
ports of the proceedings before your
committee" said Mr.. Doheney's
statement, land have concluded that
Notwithstanding my authorization to
eX-Secretary Fall early in December
to state the full and complete facts
in connection with a personal trans
action had in 1921 between Mr.. Fall
and myself, Mr.. Fall has been maxi
ing an effort to keep my name out
of the discussion for the reason that
u full statement might be misunder-
stood.
whether there is possibility Of
such misunderstanding or not / wish
to state to the committee and to the
public the full facts, and may say
here that I regret that when was
before your committee L did not tell
you what L am now telling you.
81 did not do so for the reason that
such statement was not pertinent in
answer to any of the questions ask
cd me by members of the commit
tee, and to have done so would have
been volunteering something in no
way connected with the contracts
made with the Pan-American Petro-
leum and Transport company.
when asked by your chairman
whether Mr.. Fall has profited by the
contract, directly or indirectly, + an
swered in the negative. That answer
l now reiterate. M
81 wish first to inform the COM
mittee that on the Goth day Of No
vember, 1921, / loaned Albert 3. Fall
100000 on his promissory note to
enable him to purchase a ranch in
| New Mexico. This sum was loaned
to Mr.. Fall by me personally. 1t
was my own money, and did not be-
long IN whole or in part to any oil
company with which / am or have
been connected. In connection with
this loan, there was no discussion
between Mr.. Fall and myself as to
any contract whatever.
Friends for Thirty Years
'The reason for my making and
Mr.. Fall accepting the loan was that
we had been friends for more than
80 years. He had invested his saw
! ingS for those years in his home
| ranch in New Mexico, which I un-
derstood was all that remained to
him after the failure of mining in
vestemnts in Mexico and nine years
of public service in Washington, DUR
| ing which he could not properly at
| tend to the management of his ranch.
His troubles had been increased
| in 1918 by the death of his daughter
and his son, who, up to then, had
taken his place in the management
Of his ranch"
| The lease on naval reserve num-
! Der one was the direct outgrowth Of
the contract which the Pan-Ameri-
can Petroleum and Transport COM
pany made with the navy as a re-
suit of competitive bids, in which
! that company was the lowest bidder,
for the construction of certain stor-
age facilities and the furnishing OF
fuel oil at Pearl Harbor, r. H., and
in the absence Of that contract, the
lease would never have been exc
cuted. The navy department, through
it's representative, took up with us
| the question Of constructing the i'm
provements and facilities at Pearl
Harbor and Of paying for them with
the royalty oil which tho navy was
then obtaining from the various
leases in naval reserves numbers
one and two, and of filling the tanK-
age constructed with large Quanti-
ty Of fuel ell.
Il was entirely in sympathy wrrfi
the purpose of the navy, the reasons
for which have perhaps been better
explained to your committee by the
navy's representative. Admiral Robbie
son, than I could hope to do"
Responding to questions by Sena-|
tor Walsh, Democrat, Montana, Mr..
nnhenv sai he had cnnferred only