The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-11-24

slightly dazed gentleman, an 1nno-
cent bystander who signed official
documents without in the least I'M
Outstanding what they were all about
in the days when naval oil reserves
were being bestowed on various oil
companies. is, apparently, to receive
Frank j. Hogan, chief defense coun-
sci for Albert B. Fall.
Hogan talked three hours and
half in making his opening state
ment to the jury, and most of that
time he was talking about former
Secretary Of the Navy DENLY and
his subordinates. Albert Fall was
scarcely mentioned. Mr.. DENLY
shone forth, out Of the maze of
words, as the guiding intelligence,
the directing spirit, behind the trans
fer of naval oil reserves from his
own department to that Of Fall, the
building Of oil tanks at Pearl Har-
Dor. the leasing of rich California oil
reserves TO Edward L. Doheny. He
was made to appear a great and
patriotic statesman.
Burden Shifted Now
Two years ago, when the Senate
was debating the propriety of Den
by's continuance as member Of the
Coolidge Cabinet, the whole burden
Of the oil scandals was put on the
shoulders Of Albert Fall, who was
out of the Cabinet. indicted and be-
Now DENLY has nothing much at
stake and Fall has a great deal. The
Hogan address seemed to shift the
burden of responsibility back to the
broad DENLY shoulders.
OF all this by-play the jury. Of
vealed the day it was selected, that
1t knew nothing at all Of the cases
or the people involved in them or of
politics or of government generally.
For a first lesson in government,
todays court proceedings made a
stiff assignment.
Sitting in the courtroom, It was
hard to shake off the impression
that the twelve youngsters toward
whom the lesson was directed, were
pretty we'll discouraged at the end
Of the day.
When Owen J. Roberts made the
opening statement Of the case for
the Government, the school room i'm
preston was particularly strong.
There were the young faces and
there was the professional manner.
Roberts translated the complicated
oil tangle into elementary words,
and the jury boys seem to under
stand them.
Even Chewing Stopped
It was apparent that they listened
closely. Chewing jaws slowed down
and one pair stopped entirely. If
a written examination on the course
had been given right then the class
would, in all probability, have ac-
quilted itself with credit.
But three and a half hours later,
when Frank Hogan had finished
his opening statement for the de-
Tense, the boys looked dazed.
They had hurled at them mass
of names, dates, titles. conversation,
narrative that exhausted hardended
newspaper reporters and must have
left twelve youngsters who never
read more than the headlines of
political stories, perfectly blank.
They were introduced to several
hundred actors, major and minor, in
tI,a oil drama thew ware told what
these had said to each other and
thought, and known and not known;
they were forced to assimilate geo.
logical facts and terms, world poll
tics, economics and ethics all at
once.
1t is doubtful If the most intelli-
gent body OF men alive hearing of
the oil cases for the first time, would
have had a coherent and compre-
hensive idea Of what they were all
about when the arguments were
ended and the taking of testimony
began
More than that, as it became clear
that Hogan was going to have to
prove all the statements he had
made in three hours and half Of
rapid, incessant speech, the boys
faces fell lower and lower. They
saw their Christmas holidays fade,
possibly even the Easter holidays.
They looked just as any bunch OF
school boys would at such a pros
pect.