Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-02-09
oil would have heen drained away

oil would have Eeen drained away
from it:
"(2). TO endeavor to create the
machinery for handling tn situa-
ton under the navy department by
governmental drilling, etc; or
'(5). TO lease the right to drill
under proper conditions to private
enterprises. In the execution of this
last course, / had two alternatives,
one to lease the drilling privilege
and have paid into the treasury the
value of the royalty oil belonging
to the navy under such leasing con-
tract, or to retain and preserve the
oil above the surface, since it could
not be preserved below for the use
and benefit of the United States.
'"The interior department has un.
der its jurisdiction 1922 500 acres of
public oil lands already leased TO
private enterprise. The total naval
oil reserve lands now under discus
sion amount to 81 ,623 acres. The
policy of the administration was co,
ordination of governmental actiVI-
ties and not duplication. Therefore,
l took up wit hthe secretary of the
interior ana the president the qGes-
ton of transferring the adminiStra
ton and custody of these naval pc
troleum reserves to the department.
of the interior, reSerVing to the
navy department the general policy
as to drilling on such lands. By
executive order, dated May 81, 1921,
the president made these recommen-
dations effective.
Storage Facilities Obtained
"The interior and navy depart
ments thereafter entered into agree
ments with the Mammoth Oil com.
pany and the Pan-American PetrO-
leum and Transport company to
drill when necessary and to con
serve for the use of the navy the
petroleum products under terms and
conditions favorable and beneficial
to the government of the United
States. They provided for great
storage tanks filled with oil at
points where naval experts thought
they should best be located. These
tanks were to be paid for out OF
naval reserve oil. Not a dollar in
money came from the treasury. The
contractors built tankage and other
works by direction of the navy and
under navy specifications and navy
control as to expenditure. No profit
but only bare cost was allowed in
the construction of these tanks.
THE royalties and other con,
sideration are believed to be the
best the government could possibly
get. Under these leases the navy will
be provided with fuel oil to be used
in an emergency. which means war.
in a quantity readily accessible which
will probably last the fleet one year.
"Oil does lot deteriorate to an
appreciable extent in storage. The
defenses of the United States were
made greatly more secure by this
action.
"These facts have been well-known
to the public ever since the transfer
to the interior department was made
and the leases were executed.
The basic questions are:
First Did the secretary of the
navy act within the law when he
asked for the transfer of the admin.
istration Of the oil lands to the de-
partment of the interior which had
control Of all the other oil lands of
the public domain? AS to this ques-
ton | emphatically assert that the
transfer was legal
Second: Was the execution of
the agreements with the Mammoth
Oil company and the Pan-American
Petroleum and Transport company
legal and done with due authority?
1 affirm that the leases were legal
and did carry out the expressed will
Of congress.
Beneficial, He Insists
Third: Were these leases benefit
cIal to the United States? I answer,
they were beneficial They prevent
ed the further loss of millions of dol
lars worth of oil. They placed oil
on the coast and in the Hawaiian Is