Evening star., 1926-12-14

demand note he held the whip hand
over Fall. Absolutely. He could de-
mand that money any time.
Roberts declared that Doheny had
"spurned' Falls ranch offered as
security.
WAS it Il gift?" the attorney de-
| manded. "Was it ever intended that
| the money should be repaid out of
Falls property or out of Falls assets?
We're we born yesterday? Is that q
loan from an old friend or had Mr..
Doheny something else in his mind?"
Roberts declared that Doheny had
carried the torn note three weeks in
/ his pocket. The reason Doheny had
torn off the signature. he claimed,
was so he could tell the Senate COM
| mittee 1t was not a note at all, when
demand was made on him to produce
/ 1t. THE signature is what makes the
! note" he added. Roberts ridiculed
| Doheny's statement that he had torn
! the note, giving his wife the signature
| for fear that in event of his death
! executors of his estate would press
| Fall for payment.
it before the Senate committee, 1t was
not a note" he declared. Well,
don't know that anybody will ever.
know just why that note was torn.
1t was torn for some purpose.
Refers to Pearl Harbor.
At the very time this personal
transaction was taking place, Roberts
explained, Doheny was taking the first
| steps in the business and the negOtia-
f, tion that led to his company becoming
tn. lessee of the naval reserve. On
November IS, the day before Fall tele-
phoned for the money and got it on
| November 80, Roberts declared that
Doheny wrote the Secretary of the In
terror letter which he said was a
mere estimate of construction, but
which Roberts claimed was actually
the beginning of negotiations for the
Pearl Harbor work. 1t was based.
he declared, on the presumption that
oil production in California should be
cut down so as TO stop the downward
trend of prices.
This letter proves, Roberts con-
tended. that Doheny was having his
confidential agent, j. J. .Cotter."
come to Washington to discuss the
plan with Fall.
Now what is this plan, what is
it all about?" asked Roberts. He
pointed out that Doheny wanted a
refinery. pipe lines and a lease on oil
reserves, out of which he hoped to
make $100.000,000 profit.
"That wasn't q patriotic offer at
ALL" he declared. "He was willing
to do the work at cost TO the Govern
ment, because he could get leases
and profits off royalty Oil. That was
before Admiral Robson told him
about the war scare
MIR. Roberts declared that this let
ter Of November 2S and Falls answer
had been deliberately omitted from
the 5000 pages and documents sent
by Fall to the President and forward
ed by Harding to Congress in re-
sponse to the Senate resolution.
| Asserts Secrecy Was Desired.
With these letters and Doheny's
100000 loan coming directly after, is
it any wonder they wanted to conceal
it? he demanded. "They were a damn
Ing piece of evidence"
Roberts then referred sarcastically
to DOheny's conference with Robson,
later in December, at which the naval
officer appealed to the oil man on pa
triotic grounds" after Dohery had
said he was not interested in tank
construction at Pearl Harbor
HE had already told Fall he would
do the work at cost as early as No
vember 2S," Roberts declared, Sub
ject to his obtaining leases.
iHaL was IL great pdtTIOLlC lHlnS
he was DOING lie added. Giving
something to his country" He de-
clared that it stands uncontradicted
in the, record that the Doheny com
pany, made $791, 900 profit out of the
royalty Oil alone.
Taking up the Pearl Harbor con-
tract again, Mr.. Roberts declared that
from early January, 1922, everybody
In the know knew there would be no
competition" He cited testimony Of
DR.. H. Foster Balm, then director Of
the Bureau of Mines, who went to
the West Coast to talk with oil Off
Gals about the project. This testi-
mony was to the effect that after his
return Balm reported to Fall there
could only be one bid expected, and
that was from the Pan-American Co.
Then, the Government prosecutor de-
clared, Fall knew that the Pan-Ameri-
ran Co bid would be at cost and be-