The Connecticut labor news., 1924-03-08

SnaIe CT, ana the generous SlVeT was the Pioneer Oil 6 Refining Co.,, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Go. of Indiana. The amount paid was $125, 1000, and thus again, the second time in a week, was emphasized the potential value of newspapers in the oil business.
 Shaffer owns the Chicago Evening Post, the Denver Times and Rocky Mountain News, the Indianapolis Star the Louisville Herald, the Muncie Star and the Terre Haute Star. He describes himself in "Who's Who" as church member and a Progressive. Tn the political field he has sponsored that sometime Indiana Progress sive," Albert J. Beveridge. He wears the air of righteousness, both on his person and in his newspapers.
 His Denver competitor, Fred c. Bonfls, who testified a week earlier, is totally different type. Bonfils is brazen. Bonfils is bold. His pre- tense of professional morality is transparent and cynical. Anyone who heard him describe the transaction by which he and his associates got S25O,00O and a promise of $1 1,OO0,- 900 more from Harry Sinclair, un- derstood precisely how Sinclair had been made to "come through"
 Shaffer Poses as "Respectable''
 When Bonfils was asked if it was not a fact that the money he had received was the price paid for the silence of the Denver Post, he smiled calmly and cynically and denied it. When Shaffer was asked if the money paid him was the price paid for the support of his new newspapers for the worthless Pioneer claims upon Teapot Dome, he affected great in dignation, and declared that he hoped the committee would not put him in the same class with Bonfils. Whereupon one Senator grimly priced man. 2.
 There was something bitterly hu- morous about the manner in which these two enterprising newspaper oil men tripped each other It was the exposure of the q Bonfils- -Tammen- Stack raid upon Sinclairs pocketbook, published in Shaffer's Denver papers, that drove Bonfils to come before the committee, where his merciless grill ing ensued. But Bonfils did not let his enemy get away. After taking his own medicine, he privately trans mitted to members of the committee information which resulted in the summon1ng of Shaffer, who was una ware that Senator Walsh had got pos session of correspondence between Shaffer and the Interior Department, and Shaffer and the Pioneer. The raking which Bonfils had received, was fully paralled by that which overlook Shaffer
 Conspiracy Matched in 1920
 Aside from the revelation of Shaf- fe's "cut" of the Teapot Dome bounty, ther developments of vital significance marked the hearings of he week. One of these was the testi- mony of Shaffer to the effect that sarly in 1921, almost immediately after the Harding administration took place, Secretary Fall told him that he was negotiating with Sinclair for the lease of Teapot Dome.
 This partially corroborates charges which have been made on the floor of the Senate that Fall and Sinclair had agreed upon the lease before Fall took office.
 Another important disclosure was that made by Oscar Sutro, attorney for the Standard Oil of California, who told the committee that he warned the Interior Department be- for the Elk Hills lease was awarded to E. L. Doheny that it was illegal, and was so convinced of that fact that his company declined to enter bid. He suggested to Assistant-Sec- retary Finney that an opinion be ob- tained from Attorney General Daugherty, but Finney said that Fall did not think it necessary.
 In this connection, Senator Walsh produced letter written to Fall by H. Foster Bain, director of mines, in which Bain repeated Sutro's sugges- tion, adding that he "realized the objections to asking the Attorney Generals opinion" Senator Walsh will call Bain to the stand to inquire what were the nature of those objec- tions, in view of the fact that the Attorney General is expected to rem der just such opinions. If there was some reason that made it embarrass- ing for Daugherty to take any action