Evening star., 1924-01-27


several reasons" especially because
Of his brother Theodore's connection
with the Navy Department, Roosevelt
related his visit to Wahlberg's office,
had previously testified, especially
! with reference to the Cancelled checks
for $685. loan. and Mr.. Wahlberg' s
suggestion that If he was called he
had complained to him several times.
| the witness. said, about his general
/ hard times"
Did he say anything about Sim
clair helping others and not helping
him." Senator Smoot asked.
II do not think so.'
| You are quite sure he said the
| Cancelled checks We're checks sent to
the manager of the Fall ranch?"
That is what | understood"
You do not think you could be
mistaken"
II do not see how could be-"
| -, He did not say foreman of the
| Sinclair rancho"
Il do not think he mentioned that
at ALL"
Did Not See Checks.
! The witness declared that he had not
seen any checks during his talk with
Wahlberg, explaining that the CONVEX
sation had been held at a window. Led
| oy the questions of the committee the
witness repeated his former testimony
'
berg At 80 and o'clock last Monday
| morning, the day of their previous ap-
! pearance before the committee
The witness maintained that during
| the earlier talk Wahlberg had made no
! denial of Roosevelt'S statement that he
had told of having or of having seen
! Cancelled checks drawn to the order OF
! the foreman of Falls ranch, but that
during the later telephone talk Wahl-
berg had denied that he had made any
such statement concerning Cancelled
| checks
Roosevelt repeated his former testi-
mony about sending his friend Crandall
70 md Wahlberg to have the latter call
| MN on the long distance phone, and Of
discussing with Crandall his intention
| had decided to write his brother Theo-
| dore in Washington. explaining the dis
closures which Wahlberg had made.
Roosevelt stated that in the last tele-
phone conversation with Wahlberg he
| had asked him whether he was scared
| and that Wahlberg had replied he was
told him l, too, was scared" the
witness added.
Several times Roosevelt repeated
! In reply to questions from members
nave been mistaken that Wahlberg
/ mad told him OF Cancelled checks for
$oS.0oO drawn to the order of Falls
, ranch foreman.
Met WnhIbers in Baltimore.
Roosevelt said he had gone by
automobile from Washington to Bal
ttmore last Monday to meet Wahl-
oerg. who was on his way to Wash
ington to appear before the commit
! tee. His wife accompanied him.
Roosevelt said, and they with Wahl-
Derg occupied a drawing room on
the trip from Baltimore to Wash
! fngton.
The purpoco of ,,,oI.; .,.
he explained. was to discuss again
with Wahlberg the matter of the
| canceied checks, and see If he could
not refresh tfI, latter's memory.
asked him if he was sure that
ne hao not referred to the Cancelled
and Wahlberg replied that he was,
said that l was sure that he had,
ana he asked me what / was going
to do about it. said I think must
say that 1t was the case"
DO you remember conversation
about cattle on the Fall ranch"
asked Chairman Lenroot
remember he mentioned cattle"
What did he say about them?' the
chairman continued.
Il do not know, because bava
things oi
Did Not Tell Of Loan.
Wahlberg had not told him about
the $4,000 loan to Mr.. Fall which
Zevely testified to yesterday, the wit
ness said.
Replying to inquiries by Senator
walsh. the witnessdeclared the first
Information he had of the Teapot Dome
lease was obtained from the news
papers. He said he was Immediately
Interested because Ted was in the
not stockholder in the Sinclair Com
pany at the time the Teapot Dome
lease was made
After another series of questions he
with the Sinclair Company was rather
nominal. In his opinion the Teapot
Dome lease was most advantageous to
the government. 1t had not caused
nim' M, however: he said, to buy stock of
the Mammoth Company, which owned
the lease. Pressed by Senator Walsh
as to whether he considered himself
an expert in the valuation to be
paced upon oil leases, Roosevelt re-
piled that he did not
With the permission Of the COM
mittee, Grafton T. Stanford submitted
roosevelt to croSs-examinatfon. The
witness denied that during his con-
versation with Wahlberg on the train
from Baltimore he had sought to per-
suade Wahlberg to testify according
to his recollection of the cancelled
checks. He said that he had told
Wahlberg that if there was anything
wrong IN tne testimony the commit
tee would find it out.
Il think / used the word 'suspi-
cion.'" Roosevelt explained. Wahl-
berg told him. he said. that he could
not agree with him about the can
celled checks.
You or your wife said that you
would have to testify that he did
say it?" asked Stanford.
"Yes. sir"
"And that if you said it the public
would believe you and not him?'
mo, sir; my wife said something
about the public would not believe
me-" -
"Then your wife had some suspi-
cion about you?'
"She always suspects me-
az trust the suspicion is not Justl-
Had Little Work to Do.
IT always do my level best"
Now, as a matter OF fact. you
have not had much to do with the
Sinclair business for the past year,
mo sir, nothing except the Russian
company"
Roosevelt denied that he had told
friends that Sinclair had sailed for
Europe incognito. What he had done
was, he said, to call up his brother,
the assistant secretary Of the Navy.
and that his name was not to be put
on the passenger list. He told one
or two other persons, he said. after
it began to be talked around the
office that Sinclair had sailed.
You are quite sure that Wahlberg
did say that the checks were payable
to the foreman of the Fall ranch?"
Yes sir
He might have said they were
payable to the foreman of Mr..
Sinclair's rancho"
Not the way I understood, him."
Roosevelt told the committee in
reply to inquiries by members that
Montgomery & Co., of New York were
bankers for the Sinclair Company with
whom his brother Theodore was at one
time connected.
"My brother. Ted said there is a