The Washington times., 1924-06-05
WALSH IS FAIR
IN FIXING
BLAME
Hard Declares Teapot Dome
Oil Report Of Senator Ex-
traordinary Document
By WILLIAM HARD.


separated the sheep from the goats
in the whole naval oil reserve
scandals.
On behalf of the Senate Commit.
tee on Public Lands an Surveys,
he issued a report in which the
guilty are put into clear class by
themselves and in which the tnno-
cent are at last exonerated.
1t Is thought in Washington that
seldom has there been a completer
or franker exhibition Of discrimina-
ton than by Walsh today.
Walsh says outrightly that the
committee felt called upon to. fol-
low certain lines Of inquiry which
yielded nothing"
He exonerates the following:
The Republican National COnveEl.
ton Of 1920.
President Coolidge.
William Gibbs McAdoO.
He says that ii has not been
proved that in the Republican ma.
tional convention Of 1920 there was
any conspiracy between oil opera.
tors and Republican politicians to
exploit the Federal public domain.
Coolidge Is Ignored.
AS for President Coolidge and Mr..
McAdoo, Senator Walsh does NOT
even mention them. He totally
leaves out Of his report all the
mere lnslnuations and vague form.
less suspicious growing out Of
legitimate association with oil in
terests and out of personal teIe.
grams between friends
ne confines his criticisms to the
actual behavior of men ACTUALLY
concerned in the doing of the
thlngs that led to the leases under
inquiry.
lie crlticises the following:
The late President Harding.
secretary Of the Navy DENLY.
Secretary Of the Interior Fall.
Admiral RObistsn.
Mr.. +. l.. DOIIeny.
Mr.. Harry r. Sinclair,
he maintains that President
Harding should have been able to
perceive the illegality of the order
by which he transferred the detailed
control OF the naval oil reserves
from the navy department under
Mr.. DENLY to the Interior Depart.
ment under Mr.. Fall.
Roosevelt BIameless.
Senator Walsh maintains that
this illegality should have been
perceived also by everyone con-
cerned In its PRONUNCIATION"
he mentions Assistant Secretary
OF the Navy Roosevelt's connection
with the PRONUNCIATION of IL Nlt
fr1lfR
carried out the orders of his SUI
periors and does not load him with
| any special blame.
Senator Walsh then strongly as.
sails the leases granted to Mr..
Sinclair and Mr.. Doheny on the
following points:
They were granted without com.
petitive bidding.
They were granted to cover more
territory than WA actually in dan.
| ger OF losing oil by drainage into
neighboring wells
| They included Admiral Robison's
idea OF exchanging oil in the ground
for storage tanks without getting
any appropriation Of money from
Congress for buying the tanks.
| No attack is made on Admiral
Roblson's character but it is point,
ed out that Secretary of the Navy
DENLY put him in charge Of the
navys oil reserves when he had
had no former experience in such
matters and soon showed that his
| policy was one of taking the oil
out OF the ground as soon as nos
sible.
Foes of Conservation.
The gist of Senator Walsh's
criticism of the whole matter in
the end is that the Harding Admin
istration reversed the conservation
policy laid down by Congress and
proceeded. without consulting Con
gress, to adopt the policy Of TAX
ing the navy's reserve oil out al
the ground and of storing it on the
surface contrary to the spirit of
enactments by Congress.
On this point Senator Walsh is
emphatic. On the point of people s
characters he does not fin.l any
proof of moral turpitude in the case
of any public servant except Mr..
Fall
Senator Walsh's report IL re.
garded here as an extraordinary
document for combined firmness
and fairness. He demands con.
'structively and positively that here
after there shall be the four follow
ing reforms:
ALI leases shall be connective
and shall be publicly advertised.
2-NO lease shall be granted eXCeDt
on land which is actually SUFFERING
from the drainage of its oil.
oil sv.