The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1924-02-01
CONGRESS MAY CANCEL
OIL LEASES
The Mayfield Case Takes a
Peculiar Turn.
xxx
-K-K-K-

Inc MayuelQ Ease IdhcS q
Peculiar Turn.
XXX
The Democrats seem to have CEN
tered their attacks right now on what
former Secretary of the Interior AL
bert B. Fall did or did not do, etc.
The investigation of that 100000
loan is still going on before the
Senate Public Lands committee and
the secretary himself will be on the
stand next week, if he is physically
able to be there. He is in Washing
ton a sick man at the present writ
ing.
To Cancel Both Oil Leases.
Many members of the Senate and
House are attending the sessions now
of the Public Lands committee and
ARE listening in on the testimony
with view of taking steps to cancel
the leases given on naval pill reserves
to Harry F. Sinclair and to Edward
L. Doheny by former Secretary Fall.
1t is said the House Democrats will
take this action if it's leaders decide
that cancellation is within Congress
sional power.
Inquiry in the Senate shows that a
similar state of mind exists in that
body. Congress seems to be convinc-
ed that altogether aside from any
wrongful behavior by Mr.. Fall the
leases in themselves are against pub
lie policy and also fatty contrary
to the mandate given by Congress
to the Navy Department for oil con-
servation.
Leaders in the House and in the
Senate Irrespective of what may hap
pen to Mr.. Fall, are on their way
toward calling Secretary of the Navy
DENLY on the carpet for a strict
accounting and responsibility for the
leases to Sinclair and Doheny. They
point out that the naval oil reserves
were confided by Congress not to Mr..
Fall, but to Mr.. DENLY and that the
present fate of the reserves is not
Mr.. Falls but Mr.. Denby's RESPONSE
bility from the Congressional and
legal standpoint. So we may have
an impeachment of a cabinet officer
if the Democrats can bring it about
The Mayfield Case.
The Mayfeld contested election case
has taken a peculiar turn. A short
time ago the Senate ordered 40 de-
putty sergeant-at-arms sworn in to GO
over the state of Texas and collect
up the ballot boxes and ballots, tally
sheets, etc., of the senatorial cleo
ton held last year and ship them
under registered seal to Washington
for counting by the subcommittee of
the Senate committee on Privileges
and Elections. Each side in the case
picked 20 men and most of them
were residents of the Lone Star state
Now word comes from Texas that
the deputies are having their troubles
down in Texas. One county, Dexar
county, it is said refuses to send
it's ballot boxes to Washington for
the reason that some other kind of
an election has been held there since
the senatorial election and that a
special road election or some other
kind of an election is about to be
held and that the ballot boxes are
needed down there. It is said that
court action will be necessary to get
the ballot boxes up to Washington.
Ballots Burned.
Word also comes from Texas that
in another county the senatorial cleo
ton ballots were burned by mistake,
therefore are not to be had. It is
reported that an employee was told
to destroy by fire certain election
ballots and that he got the wrong
ballots and burned those of the SEN
atoria election. That will prove an
other handicap for the senatorial COM
mittee.
And in one or two other counties
in Texas it is reported that special
elections of various kinds are about
to be held and that the official do
not want to send the ballot boxes to
Washington fearing they will not be
returned in time and those counties
do not want to buy new ballot boxes.
Supposed To Resume February II.
The subcommittee of the Privi-
leges and Elections committee was
scheduled to begin counting the Texas
ballot in Washington on February IL.
Now it is said that the ballots will
not be here in time and if it takes
court action to get some of the bal
lot boxes goodness knows when the
ballots will all get to this city and
those that have been burned are gone
forever. Just what bearing this will
have on the Mayfeld case is hard to
cell right now.
said that the Marines understood they
were to receive SIS and their expenses