Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-10-02
Editorial Comment
"A Trail Of Corruption"
Boston Transcript

The gravity of the findings of the
Federal Circuit of Appeals at st.
! Louis in the Teapot Dome oil lease
case, as affecting the proceedings of
! Secretary Albert B. Fail and Secre-
| ta'y DENLY in making the lease OF
| the Governments lands, will not
escape the attention of the American
! people. 1t is certainly solemn mat
| ter when this high court, whose
moral conclusi MS at least cannot be
! set aside, no matter what the SUI
! preme Court may do with its techni-
cal findings, declares in the plainest
words that the proceedings of the
! Government in the making of these
| leases was tainted with favoritism,
| collision ana corruption, defeating
the proper and lawful functions of
I the Government"
The opinion of the court in the
case. which is signed by United
/ States Circuit Judges Kenyon. Van
/ Nalkenburgh and Kent, is a sadden-
! ing as well as a conclusive document
! from beginning to end. The exam
( ination made shows that Fall re-
! ceived important pecuniary benefits
sums aggregating $4,000 are men
/ tioned-frou. Sinclair. the lessee, in
connection with the proceeding, and
! that he brooked no opposition or
! objection from any source in de-
| termining the matter. The Court
| says: That Secretary Fall, as to
this matter. dominated Secretary
| DENLY, Admiral Robson and other
| Government officers. and practically
! controlled the action of the Navy
! Department as to the leasing of Tea
pot Dome is conclusion difficult to
! escape under this record" That all
! others, however, are regarded as alb
| solved from any corrupt connection
! with the case is indicated by the fol-
lowing words from the opinion:
There is no corruption in this case
as to any officer of the Government
except Albert 3. Fall" Secretary
Fall exercised practically unlimited
power to dispose of the lands under
| the order signed by President Hard
| ing.
Incidentally the Circuit Court lays
| down in this decision a moral prin-
| ciple. the statement of which is very
| timely. In referring to the silence of
| several witnesses in the case on mat
| tiers of evidence which it was impor-
4, tant to determine, the Court declares
that the plea Of Standardization
which was invoked by these witness
es, is "one not resorted to by honest
men," This is maxim to be remem-
bered. Again, there is health in
] every word of the following questions
raised by the Court, In presenting
various, suspicious circumstances in
| the case:
| Is a court compelled to close its
eyes to these circumstances? Is it
to assist by nice technicaiities and
| legal blindness the transaction such
as the Government charges took
place and such breach of trust as
the evidence points unerringly to,
if not to absolute criminality?
| Legal blindness" let us note, is
here the language OF high and SOL
emn court and not that of some DEM
agogue who is recklessly attacking
| the administration Of the law.
! In view of the statement in this
opinion that "a trail of deceit, false
hood, subterfuge, bad faith and cor
ruption, at times indistinct, but
nevertheless discernible, runs through
the transactions incident to and sur
rounding the making of the lease"
the public will be impelled to watch
with close attention the criminal
prosecutions undertaken by the