Evening star., 1924-01-30
FALL Al BREAKING
POINT, FOUR DOCTORS
TESTIFY IN PROBE

CONTINUED from Second Page.)
oil reserves. He argued that the
! phrase TO use, store, exchange or SELF
royalty OIL In the act of 1920 was an
! exceedingly broad one, and that Con-
SreSs could not escape some blame.
! rms brought sharp replies from the
! democratic side. Senator Glass said
| ne mad been informed that the naval
comm, committees of Congress- had thor
| onshly understood just what the
Navy Department was to do under
! the request for authority asked by
the then Secretary of the Navy,
JoSephus Daniels.
senator Lodge, the republican lead
! er, said he had been unable to find
! any record of the proceedings before
! the committees in relation to the act.
! senator Walsh. democrat, Montana,
read letter from Secretary Daniels
/ TO the committees in which it was
asserted that the purpose was to
carry out the long -estab ablished policy
or preserving reserves by drilling
offset wells. He called attention
TO another section of the statute pro-
I IhlbitinS an expenditure for storage
purposes i'll excess of 100000.
| Senator Walsh declared the sue
! ceeding administration went far be-
! yond this limitation by embarking on
! Il program calling for the expenditure
OF Sl02,0O0.o00 in oil for the construc-
/ tion of storage reservoirs to hold
! 4i,OOu,OO0 barrels OF oil.
Says &. o. II. Chiefs Informed.
! Reminding Senator CouZens that it
had been well understood a the time
! that it was a policy of Congress and
the government to preserve the re-
serves, Senator Fletcher. democrat.
| Florida, said that both President
| Harding and Secretary Fall were
/ members of the Senate at the time
the act of June. 1920 was passed. and
50 were fully aware of the intent of
| the legislative body in providing au-
! th"rity for the drilling of the offset
| wells.
| senator Norris apparently had not
concluded his address when the con-
! itrov"rsy arose. but before it had con-
! Cludcd he LETT the chamber, Il fact
Ito which President CumminS called
Iattention later i'll determining who
was entitled to the floor.
senator Stanley, democrat, Ken
! tuCky. said he had noticed among
the partisan or apologist portion of
! the press Il dread that the country
imISht overlook the axiom that guilt
lis personal"
| Will Not Be Forgotten.
That is true and will not be for
gotten by an intelligent public" he
continued But the investigation has
shown clearly that three departments
OF this great government are literally
tilled with officials who are either
deaf, or blind, or crooked.
III the Secretary of the Interior had
forged a check and bought a ranch.
or if, in fit of berseker rage, had
killed an enemy on the public high
way, the worst to be said would have
been doubt as to the wisdom of his
appointment. But the mere guilt of
Mr.. Fall is not the entire case here.
Teapot Dome is crucible in which
the world is testing the capacity and
ability Of an administration; IL is
crucible in which a great political
found to be dross. That is why the
elephant is trembling from trunk to
tail"
Theodore Roosevelt, assistant secre-
tary Of the Navy, in connection with
the drafting of the executive order,
Senator Stanley said, should have
gotten the opinions of competent
solicitors in government departments
{ TO advise him as to the law.
If the papers had carried the an
nOunCement that the son of Theodore
Roosevelt says this thing will not
do" said Senator Stanley, that would
have been an end to il.
But the order was issued and then
. the private car was fitted out and
Sinclair and his wife and his lawyer
and his wife went down to Falls
place at Three Rivers for nice lit
tie social visit to talk about Indian
lands or some such thing. Right
after that visit the oil in Teapot
Dome began to leak and spout"
Reading Mr.. Falls statement that
the leases had been entered into to
save the Nays oil from drainage, Sem
ator Stanley said:
The President was induced to be-
lleVe that statement; the ca binet was
induced to believe that statement; Of
fcerS of the Navy We're induced to be-
-ieve that sta tement. and when AnaniaS
reads it in hell he will turn green with
envy"
While the Senate, approached a vote
today on the naval oil lease annul-
ment resolution, Department of JUS
tice officials assembled information
obtained through observation of tes-
timony taken by the Investigating
committee for presentation to the spe-
cial counsel named by President Cool
idge to act for the government in
court proceedings growing out of the
inquiry.
Selection of Silas H. Strawn of
Chicago, republican, and Thomas w.
Gregory of Austin, Tex, democrat. as
the special counsel, announced last
night, bad relieved the pressure on
the White House to some extent, but
Secretary DENLY, who signed the
leases with former Secretary Fall of
the Interior Department, and Attor-
ney General Daugherty remained un-
Ger fire in the Senate.
Resolutions Differ.
A resolution by Representative
Fairchild. republican, New York.
pending in the House, proposes cam
collation. of the leases without court
action. differing in that respect from
the Walsh resolution before the Sem
ate, which requests the Preside mt to
institute proceedings in the courts to
annul the leases and prosecute any
persons found guilty of wrong doing
III connection with the transactions.
Mr.. Strawn, who described himself
as interested" but never active in
politics, and Mr.. Gregory, Attorney
General for four and a half years
during the Wilson administration, are
not expected to begin their work to-
gether until the latter part of the
week, when the latter is due to ar
rive from Texas. Mr.. Strawn came
here yesterday and held "a prelimi-
/, nary conference with the President
late in the day.
Vote Today Indicated.
Senate discussion of the Walsh res
olution,, heavily burdened with polit-
| zeal debate centering Chiefly around
PRESIDENT Coolidge, Secretary DENLY
and Attorney General Daugherty, al
ready had proceeded thirteen hours
When 1T was resumed TODAY but a