New Britain herald., 1926-12-02
DEFENSE REFUTING
 OIL SCANDAL TALK
Lawyers for Fall and Doheny
 Presenting Evidence

TItStLlll8 EYlutnCG
 Washing gton, Dec. 2 R-The de- fense today began its frontal on- slaught on the massed accumula- tion of evidence submitted by the government in an effort to prove that Albert B. Fall, former secre- tary of the interior, and Edward l.. Doheny, the oil man, were guilty of conspiracy in the famous naval re- serve oil leases.
 After having gotten from the prosecutions own witnesses every vestige of testimony they believed would aid their clients. the lawyers for the two defendants turned to- wards their own store of testimony.
 Walsh Is Quizzed
 The prosecution wound up early in the day with a brief questioning of Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana. whose prosecution of the oil Investigation before a senate committee brought to light the de- velopments on which the present trial is based Senator Walsh iden- tified the summary of a letter in the senate record written by him to Fall in January, 1924, seeking in- formation about $100,000 which had come into Falls possession while the negotiations were pending for the lease of the Elk Hills, Cal, na- val reserve, which later was turned over to Doheny's company.
 Falls reply said the money came from Edward B. Mclean, publisher of the Washington Post, but later 1t was developed that it came from Doheny, who has described it as a friendly loan.
 Govt. Wins Point
 The government won another point when the court admitted in evidence over defense objection, a 1922 contract between the Pan American company and the Associ- ated Oil company of California, un- der which the Pan-American sold oil to the Associated. The prescott ton offered the contract in support of it's contention that the oil ob tained through the Elk Hills con- tract was immediately sold to the Associated company at premium of fifteen cents a barrel.
 Before the first defense witness was called, Wilton J. Lambert, coun- sel for Fall, made an opening statc- I,n ho ernment had presented poor case. The defense might well rest without further procedure, he said, but would go on until every available bit of supplementary evidence was presented.
 Lambert pointed out that Secre- tary Denby of the navy, in October, 1921 appointed Admiral J. K. Rob- inson special representative of the navy to cooperate with interior de- partment officials in the administra- tion of naval oil reserves.
 "We will show that Secretary Fall was out of the capital continuously between July 31, to Oct. 25. 1921, and between Oct. 20 and Dec. 1, of the same year." he said.
 He left again, this time for his Three Rivers, New Mexico. ranch, on April 13, 1922fi and did not return to Washington untii May 16."
 The Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, oil storage contract was awarded Do- heny's company on April 2S, 1922.
 Navy Knew Facts
 Lambert said the defense also would show that the navy depart ment was in contact with every step in the leasing negotiations and that such an arrangement between two independent departments prevented any act of collusion between Fall and Doheny.
 Fall left everything to tl1e navy" said Lambert. eve will also show that from the time Fall took office in March, 1921, there ran through his policy, constantly and unvaried, like a thread of gold, one great and all important policy-to conserve in the ground every barrel of oil and every foot of gas which could pos sibly be kept there."
 The defense lawyer repeated the contention that the government was forced to lease the remaining naval reserves in 1921 and 1922 because the public domain was being "bled" of it's petroleum resources by the wells of private companies set along the edge of the government reserves.
 Touching upon the long, friendly relationship between Doheny. and Fall, which began when both were frontiersmen and prospectors 40 years ago, Lambert said no conspir- acy could have been founded upon such relationship. He recalled to the jurors that Fall was appointed a federal judge in the New Mexico territory by President Cleveland, and thereafter served In the United States senate before he was appoint ed secretary of the interior.
 The defense began it's testimony hy presenting character testimony to show the standing of Edward l.. De- heny in his community. Carl Leon- ard, president of the Southwestern Portland Cement company, Los An geles, was the first witness.
 Leonard said he had known De-