The Washington times., 1924-02-11
CANDIDACY
HANGS ON
REPLY
May Be More, Embarrassed
Than by His Employment
!. As Doheny's Counsel.

AS Doheny's Counsel.
William Gibbs McAdoo, shoulc
he be called again by the Senate
Public Lands Committee, will b.
asked "a question, the answer tx
which may prove even more EN-
barassing in, his candidacy for thu
Presidency than the disclosure o1
his employment by Edward L
Doheny, made by that gentleman
OF the committee some days ago
Question ON British Oil.
Mr.. McAdoo in his letter of Feb
ruary to Chairman Lenroot, de
manding a hearing, asserts thai
his employment was solely in con
nection with Mr.. Doheny's Mexi
can interests, which statement Mr.
Doheny confirms in a letter of the
same date to Senator Lenroot
Mr.. McAdoo in his letter says thai
his employment required his ap
pearance before various govern
ment departments, including the
State Department, in the interest
Of his client.
Mr.. MoAdoo will be asked what
he knows of the extent and char
acter Of the control exercised by
British interests over the oil pro
duced by the Mexican Petroleum
Company Of Delaware. the holding
company for all of Mr.. Doheny's
Mexican and one Of his Californis
companies during the period Of his
service as counsel; and further, = dur
ing Mr.. McAdoo's representation or
the War Trade Board, when, soor
after the entrance of the United
States into the war, the subject Of
Mr.. Doheny's commitments to a
group of big British ship owners
became the subject Of rather en-
phatic representations between agen
cies of the two governments before
the situation finally was resolved
In favor OF. the British.
Records in u. s. Files.
The wartime record Of Mr.. Do.
heny's Mexican companies is in the
Government files. The later devel.
0pments as disclosed by data in
possession of at least one member
Of the Senate Public Lands Com.
mittee and two other Senators
active in promoting the investigar
ton are these:
The wartime arrangements by
which the Mexican Petroleum Com.
pany disposed Of the vast bulk Of
Its products to a group, of big
British shipping interests having
proved profitable, presumably, and
agreeable, there was organized in
1918 a company through which
these arrangements, with some
notifications, could be made more
permanent.
This company, the British Mexican
Petroleum Company Limited, was
registered as a private corporation
under the English laws on July Is
1919, with an authorized capital. OF
5000 900 pounds, one-hah of which
was subscribed by the British in
terests and the other half by Mr.
Doheny's Pan American Petroleum
Company.
It is noted by those in possession
Of the data that the organization
Of the British. Mexican Petroleum
Company was completed betweeI
the date when Mr.. McAdoo en-
tered the New York law firm O
McAdoo, Cotton and Franklin earl!
in 1919, and the date Of Mr.. Do
heny's first 100000 payment t
that firm on November 20. OF tn
same year, according to Mr.. DO
heny's revised statement.
2O.Year Contract.
With the British-M Mexican Pc
troleum Company, Mr.. Doheny'
Mexican Petroleum Company, con
trolling all his Mexican interest,"
and one California subsidiary, con
tracted for the delivery OF all IT
oil. except for some short term en-
Ragements, for a period of twent!
years, the contract terminable afte
that period on five years notice
for distribution in the Eastern
Hemisphere.
The organization Of the British
Mexican Company created quite {
stir in British financial and ship
ping circles and was the subject o
elated comment In the London pres
of that period which openly sug
gested that the deal marked thu
final surrender of Doheny's Mexican
interests to the Shell Compan!
which long had been fighting stand
ard OH for the rich prize. However
Doheny, through the Pan American
Company's ownership Of half th'
stock in the ritish-Mexicani re
tanned, for time at least, a veto o
any undertaking by the new com
&. pany which might conflict furthe
with his own or other American
companies.
Hold Most Of Oil Reserve.
The British organizers and d
rectors of the British Mexican Pc
troleum Limited, aside from tn
affiliations of some of them witt
the Government controlled, or sur
ported, Shell, Anglo-Persian an
Pearson oil groups, which are SAL
to have acquired over 20 per cen
Of the worlds reserve petroleum
supply, was as powerful an aggrt
cation as well could be conceived
Lord Pirrie, made chairman of tn
new company, was head Of tn
great shipbuilding firm of Harlan
q Wolff. which built the olympi