The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-09
PUBLISHER GETS A MILLION OUT
 OF OIL LEASE.
Admission By Denver Man That Sinclair Executed
 The Contract :.
tcsn,lss,d rr.a Pass One,

1T SecretSEy DenUy nau sent Indt letter to the ,Prsident and if he had the protest of Admiral Grif- fin this nasty mess probably would never have occurred. But he did not send mem as shall proceed. to show
 Produces Record
 The speaker then read from the record of the oil investigation to show that neither copy of the Denby letter of the Griffin memorandum could be found either in the files of the White House or of the state department. Other records read by Senator Walsh showed that a redraft of the original order was sent to the White House on May 31, 1921, and signed that day by the President. &c. ~.
 Borah Opposes Resolution
 Senator Borahs opposition to the Denby resolution was voiced in pre- pared speech devoted almost, wholly to what he said was the constitutional question involved. He asserted that the constitution left wholly to the pres ident the question of dismissal or re- tention of an officer, and that congress could act for removal only through i'm peachment proceedings. To support his argument, he quoted from statements op the subject by Presidents Madison and Cleveland.
 Interrupting frequently, Senators Glass and Swanson, Virginia, and other insisted that there was no Inhibition against the senate expressing an opinion as to whether an official should remain in office. Senator Borah retorted that there might not be any constitutional inhibition, but that such an act was futile thing.
 Introduction of the La Toilette and Dill resolution came during lulls in the debate. Besides directing investigation of the claims of the Honolulu Consol- dated Oil company, the La Toilette measure directs the oil committee to inquire also into "the conditions sur the reversal by Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall of the de- cision of Secretary of the Interior John Barton Payne, denying the validity of the claims of the Honolulu Consoli- dated Oil company, and including also the validity of the alleged lease dated February II, 1922, signed by E. c. Finney, first assistant secreatry of the 
 Dummy Locations
 Senator La Toilette. told the senate that the companies claims, covering 1 300 acres. were based upon dummy locations" signed by employees of the Chicago Stock Yards who, he asserted, were under the impression they were signing petition for an election.
 Senator DilPs resolution would call on the state department for all diplo- matic communications with foreign gov ernments regarding oil concessions in various parts of the world. Senator Dill called attention to the transmits sion to the Senate of two letters by Mir. Fall giving details of the oil situation in Columbia as reason for speedy senate approval of the ldng pending treaty with that country which was re- quested by the Harding administration in 1921.
 The field of the oil investigation was further broadened today by the adop- tion by the senate of resolution by Senator La Toilette, republican, Wis consin, directing the oil committee to inquire into and report upon the claims of the Honolulu Consolidated Oil com pany to oil lands situated within naval reserve No. ? in California.
 Appearing before the oil committee as voluntary witness, MT. Bonfils tes- tified that Mir. Stack came to him after the Teapot Dome lease to Mir. Sinclair had been executed and asked assistance in efforts to enforce his right under contract he had with the Pioneer, Belgo and other companies which had asserted claims in the Wyoming field.
 Agreement With Doheny
 Frcn MT. Bonfils' testimony and ex- hiDitS read into the record it appeared that Mr. Stack had had an agreement with +. l.. Doheny under which the former was to undertake to obtain lease on Teapot Dome from the gov ernment. Mir. Doheny later withdrew, and Mir. Bonfils said it looked to him as though Mir. Doheny had thrown MT. Stack down" and that there
 nnsht have been an agreement. by these t'To oil kings" by which one was to get Teapot Dome and the other naval oil reserve No. in California. MT. Bonfils told the committee his lawyer had reported that the contracts were valid and that later suit against the Mid Western Oil company, of which the Floneer company was subsidiary, and other companies had been entered. Meantime, he said, there had been ru- mors regarding the secrecy with which the Teapot Dome lease had been ex- ecuted and he had sent D. F. StackeI- beack, Post reporter" to Mir. Falls home to investigate.
 Mir. Stackelbeack, he asserted. had brought back "a shocking and astound- ing statement, and had been directed to return to New Mexico to verify it. After his return, decision was made to publish one story attacking the Sinclair lease. Copies of this were sent to prominent members of Congress, he said. Afterwards Senator LaFoilette introduced his resolution for< the oil inquiry.
 Says Feared Libel
 AS to the matter gathered by MT. Stackelbeack, the publisher said, de- cisionf was had after a conference with W. c. Sheppard, managing editor of the Post, not to publish them because they were libelous unless they could be proven, and that this would be diff ficult to establish, because of the re- luctance of the witness to be identified or known as having given the informa- tion. Mir. Bonfils told of visit to !. w. Zevely, personal attorney to Mir. to-Denver, and of an invita- tion from him to Mir. Bonfils, Mir. Stack. Mir. Tammens and Mir. Schwartz to visit Mir. Sinclair in New York. This was accepted, but the witness said that upon their arrival Mir. Sinclair rather hrtlcnnaIv fold fhonN thain against the Mid-Western and allied companies and did not concern him.
 Some time later they had a second conference with Mir. Sinclair at Kansas City, MT. Bonfils continued. and there the contract was signed. Under it's terms. Sinclair agreed to pay $250.O0O ...a..h