The Washington times., 1924-01-30
TEAPOT ROW IS
CENTERED ON
DENNY
Evidence Shows He Handed
Over oil Reserves Against
Opposition Of Experts.
l0ITF0NnTI0IIHI NevlS nRel


Continued from First Page.l
then and thereafter allowed Mr..
Fall to do precisely what he pleased
with the naval oil reserves without
any detailed check nom Mr.. DENLY
himself.
Was Ballinger's BacIker.
This is the sum Of the matter. Mr..
DENLY, as q member of Congress,
had sided with the anti-conservation
list Richard Achilles Ballinger, Sec
retary Of the Interior, in the admin
istration OF William Howard Taft.
Mr.. DENLY at that time had defended
and excused Mr.. Ballinger when Mr..
Ballinger subsequently was forced
out Of office by the agitation against
his policy in relation to public lands.
Mr.. DENLY himself, therefore, was
regarded as an anti-conservationiet.
Becoming Secretary Of the Navy. he
entrusted the navy's public lands to
that still greater anti-conservation.
list, Mr.. Fall, and then accepted
whatever FAN did.
Fail and DENLY both have testified
that the idea Of handing the pAbliC
lands of the Navy Department over
to the Interior Department was origi
mated by DENLY. FAN, in q letter Oi
June 8, 1922, to President Harding
said that the trnasfer Of these lands
from the Navy Department to the
Interior Department was made by
the President "at the request Of the
Secretary Of the Navy"
Mr.. DENLY himself, In testimony
before the Senate Public Lands
Committee on October rs OF last
year. said:
IT simply want to inform you
how those lands got into the In
teriore Department. It was wholly
my initiative
An Advice Rejected.
Thus it is claimed and admitted
on both sides that the originating
force in this matter was Mr.
DENLY.
It is further both claimed and
admitted that in the act Of trans
ferring these lands from himself
to Mr.. Fail there was absolutely
no experienced technical naval ad
vice whatsoever on which Mr.
Denby could or did rely. He pro
ceeded against all such advice tc
follow his own personal preference.
The testimony proving that point
Is overwhelming and undeniable.
Mr.. DENLY himself was askd by
the Senate Public Lands Commit
tee to say II anybody in the Navy
Department except himself had. ap
proved the transfer of the naval
bill lands from himself to Mr..
Fall. His answer was: "No."
1t was further shown on a sub
sequent day before the Senate Pub
lie Lands Committee that the chief
naval officer in supreme charge of
the naval oil reserves was Admiral
Griffin and that Admiral Griffin's g
views were expressed in the follow.
ing words:
II told Mr.. DENLY that In all the
controversies which had taken
place regarding these naval oil re.
serves we had always met with
opposition from the Interior De-
partment and that If he turned the
administration of them over to the
Interior Department we might lust
as well say good-by to our OIL"
Officers Stood Opposed.
1t was additionally shown that
the principal other naval officers
concerned with naval oil matters
were Halligan, Richardson, Landis,
and Stuart. Each and every one
of these officers held that the
naval oil lands should be kent
within the dominant power of the
navy. Their views to that effect
were thoroughly exhibited before
the Senate Public Lands Commit.
tee on October 26 last. They OBJ.
posed the transfer from the Navy
Department to the. Interior Depart.
ment and they also opposed the
policy of allowing anybody to drill
wells all Ger the naval oil reServes.
The next step thereupon by Mr..
DENLY, as the testimony shows,
was to bring into the Navy Depart.
ment as chief Of the Bureau OF I'm.
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