Seward daily gateway., 1925-04-27
TEA POT DOME
 CASE WEARS END
iBy Associated Press)

tempest of Teapot Dome had it's in ception in Washington early in April 1922, when reports became current that the then secretary of the inte-- rior, Albert B. Fall had leased the big Wyoming naval oil reserve to Har- ry F. Sinclair's Mammoth Oil Com pany. Reports of the leasing were confirmed by MT. Fall himself after the senate, at the instance of Sena- tor J. B. Kendrick, of Wyoming. had demanded of the interior secretary the facts in the case.
 It was April 21 of that year when MT. Fall reported the lease had been given MT. Sinclair. The next step of consequence was the creation of the Senate Oil committee, headed by Sen ator Walsh, of Montana, which probed long and deep into the transaction, giving the government information upon which it based it's suit for an nulment on the ground of fraud and illegality.
 The suit was prepared by Owen J. Roberts, Philadelphia lawyer, and At lee Pomerene, former Ohio senator, who were appointed by President Coolidge as special government coun- sel. It was filed in March, 1924, just year before being brought to trial
 In the year intervening between the filing of the suit and the trial Mr. Roberts and MT. Pomerene obtained information which they said indicated an exchange of liberty bonds between MT. Sinclair and Mr. Fall shortly af- ter the lease was executed, and their hunt for evidence led them to TOron- to, Canada, to the threshold of the Continental Trading company, which they later charged was an organiza- tion fostered by Mr. Sinclair and oth- CT oil men.
 One of the functions of this compa- ny, the government charged, was the passing of securities to MT. Fall from Mr. Sinclair The government at 1 tempted to prove that $230,000 in 1 bonds bought by the trading company were given to Mr. Fall H. S. Osler, head of the company, refused to an .swer questions in Toronto when ask ed for deposition by representative of the American state department. | After three relays ill the starting March 3, last. Mr. Sinclair and his small army of attorneys, among them Martin W. Littleton of New York, Geo. P. Hoover of Washington and J. w. Lacey of Cheyenne, were on hand to fight the governments charges with every means at their command.
 F. c. Finney, assistant secretary of the interior, was the first wit ness called by the government in it's attempt to prove that the negotia- tion and execution of the lease were carried out in secrecy and that it had been granted without competi- tive bidding MT. Finney testified that he had not been informed of the signing of the lease until some time after it had been executed.
 Senator Kendrick also was called to testify as to a flood of inquiries by his constituents as to prospects for leasing the oil reserve, and of his unsuccessful attempts to get def mite information from the interior department. Then the government plunged into it's attempt to estab- fish that Mr. Fall had received liber- ty bonds from MT. Sinclair. It call ed to the stand bank officials and employees from Pueblo, Col, Fl Paso Texas and Carrizozo, M M, where MT. Fall had banking connections, and produced records of MT. Falls bank accounts
 The defense objected vigorously to the introduction of these records on the ground that no evidence had been introduced to connect either MT. Sin clair or MT. Fall or the Mammoth Oil company with the transactions. Federal Judge T. Blake Kennedy took the objection under advisement over the weekend and on the following Monday upheld the objection on the ground that the government had es- tablished no connection between MT. Sinclair and the bank accounts. The government then reversed it's order of the testimony and called bank clerks from New York, who testi- fled as to bonds bought there by the trading company. Then through witnesses and records the govern ment traced the bonds by their se- rial numbers to M. T. Everhart, of Pueblo, a son-inlaw of MT. Fall, who was called to the stand. MT. Ever