The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-08
MILAN EDITOR SAYS EMPLOYER
 WAS SHIELDED
Was Assured, He Says, Daugherty Was Attend
 ing To Things
SENATOR CURTIS NAMED
 AS MESSAGE PRINCIPAL
Code Messages Of Washington Henchman Occupy Full Alt
 tentiOn Of Committee

WASHINGTON, March 7.-Testi- mony directly linking Attorney General Daugherty with the effort to prevent the recalling of Edward B. Mclean to the witness stand was given today be- fore the oil committee.
 Ira E. Bennett, an editorial Writer on the Washington Post, testified the attorney general had told him the day Mclean was summoned to Washing ton to tell the publisher mot to worry" Mir. Daugherty was quoted as saying that he was attending to things"
 Bennett also told the committee that Senator Curtis, Kansas, the assistant republican leader in the Senate, was the man mentioned as the principal" in one of the telegrams sent to Me Lean at Palm Beach. Large Senator Curtis issued statement, however, con- tradicting sveeral points in that story and declaring he had had no com munication with the Mclean agents which would make it possible for them to refer to him as "the principal" or in any other way than in his own name.
 To Make Sworn Denial Tomorrow the Kansas senator will take the witness stand to make his denial under oath. Behnet then will be recalled and asked fof 8 further explanation.
 In his testimony today the witness insisted that reference to the ''prin- cipar' did not relate to President Cool idge, as suggested by some democratic l senators, and it was announced at the White House that Mir. Coolidge did not recall any conference with Ben- nett since the oil situation became acute.
 Under the questioning the wit ] ness made varied explanations of other features of his direct testimony, but he insisted to the ned that the "principap' was Senator Curtis.
 Bennett himself declared there was nothing to conceal about his con. ference with Senator Curtis and there was reason why the senator's name should not have been used in the mes age. He did not say that the Kansas senator had asked him to convey any message to Mclean, other than per sonal greetings.
 Quizxed Regarding Message s.ASacll sof tha Qssestionine Of Benneti I -4tlie only witness of the day--revolved around code message which he said he had directed be sent to Mclean February IA, a few hours before the formal subpoena for the publisher was issued by the committee. This message as decoded by a cipher expert said:
 Saw WYFGE for nearly an hour. His direct message to you is, I am at WYCGO elbow and standing at the guns. All that is possible to do will be done by us so you should worry delay selection prosecutor. Give WYHOL my love. don't want WYHOL to be disturbed so long as 1 am on the job. You know what to de- pend upon. The fight is on me and 1 am ready for them and feeling fine (Signed) COUNT"
 Identifying himself as the Count Bennett first said that as nearly as he could remember his intention was to re- fer to Wilton J. Lambert of counsel for Mclean. He explained that the publisher had sent him a message to find out if Lambert was diligently and ably watching his affairs.
 After conference with Lambert he said he had told John F. Major, another of McLean's employees, to "send down a message to Mir. Mclean and say that MT. Lambert says, quote his words if you want to, that he is attending to this matter very closely, on the job you might say, or something to that (coutinusd on Page I've, Column Thrse)