Evening star., 1926-12-09

necessary 1OT ran TO ASK DUIleIly 10
divide part of his territory, he re-
lated. This request was made in &
letter from the then Secretary of the
Interior, and Doheny in reply said he
would be glad to surrender any part
of the land Fall desired.
Both letters, dated July 8 and 16,
1921, respectively, were read to the
jury, and Falls communication
stated that President Harding had
been advised of the "patriotism" dis
played by Mr.. Doheny in the matter.
Doheny's letter thanked Fall 'for the
way you mentioned me to the big
chief" and closed with these words:
BE good, God bless you, adios. Your
friend, Edward l.. Doheny."
AS Mr.. Hogan undertook to take up
the Pearl Harbor storage tank con-
tract Justice Hoehling adjourned
court for lunch.
Inquiry About Fuel Oil.
When court reconvened after lunch
Mr.. Hogan asked Doheny when he
first knew about the Government
wanting fuel oil in the tanks at Pearl
Harbor.
The witness related that in October
or November of 1921 he had been ask
ed by FAN to get him information and
bSlluldltS OII Lie COIlSL1 uCllOIl OI td1lhS.
Fall had explained how much more eX-
pensive it was for the Government to
do this work than private company.
Later in November Doheny obtained
various estimates and data and trans
mitted them to Fall, but received no
reply.
Hogan at another point asked him
about conferences he had had with
Robson. He said he had seen Robson
about the Pearl Harbor project be-
fore leaving for his home December
20, 1921.
He visited Robson in January, 1922,
and the admiral told him that the
Navy had decided on fuel tanks at
Pearl Harbor, and tried to interest
him in the project.
Not Interested at First.
Doheny said he was not interested
in storage facilities though he had
given estimates to Fall, nor was he
keen about the negotiations at Pearl
Harbor.
Seeing this attitude, Admiral RObi-
son then appealed to his sympathies,
Mr.. Doheny said. He related that
Robson told him about the report
Of Admiral Gleaves, commander of
the Asiatic Fleet, and that orders al
and maneuvers.
Admiral Robson explained to him
that the naval board of strategy had
recommended these to offset any step
Japan might make. "OtherWise, we
would be at the mercy of the Jap
anese navy" Mr.. Doheny said he was
told
With the possession of Pearl Har-
Dor and an adequate supply Of fuel
oil there, Admiral Robson had told
him that the Navy would be able to
prevent any fleet from reaching the
Pacific Coast bent on invasion, the
witness said. Doheny then said that
Robson told him an invasion would
be a repetition Of the German in
vasion in Europe and that a menace
actually existed" And If the Navy
was not in preparedness an inva-
sion would result in reign of ter
rorism."
"Fe got me all worked up over
this. He got me to give assurance
that at least my company would
make a bid"
Refers to Arms Parley.
The fact that the arms conference
was meeting in Washington at that
time was brought up by Mr.. Hogan.
Mr.. Doheny said that Robson told
him about the disarmament confer
ence and that it had been called
by the President and Secretary
Hughes because of the existing
emergency caused by the gestures
and conduct of the japanese in the
Pacific.
Mr.. Doheny mentioned Admiral
Hughes when he referred to Secre-
tary of State Hughes and was correct
ed by Mr.. Hogan. The oil man de-
clared that he had been given to un-
derstand by Robson that the arms
conference had been called to get
Japan and other nations to. stop the
.Japanese maneuvers in the Pacific
and to otherwise relieve the tension
there.
His talk with Robson took more
than an hour, he said, and the admiral
appeared very urgent and earnest.
"He told me the oil supply would
more than double the value of the
fleet. and, more than that, without
the oil reserve at Pearl Harbor the
ships couldn't move" Doheny related.
Admiral Robson stressed, he. said,
that the allies had put victory on the
side of oil and that our security also
depended on oil.
81 told him I would not figure on
any profit in connection with the
proposition" Mr.. Doheny said. He
then added that he put J. j. Cotter
of his company in charge of matters
connected with Pearl Harbor.
DENLY Cross-Examined.
Former Secretary of the Navy Ed
win DENLY occupied the stand for 2
hours and Is minutes yesterday aft,
ernoon, most of which time was
given over to cross examination by
Mr.. Roberts.
The Government counsel launched
into an attack on Mr.. Denby's mem
ory of the negotiations leading up to
his signing the two contracts with
the Pan-American Petroleum and
Transport Co. for the construction OF
fuel storage tanks, in return for
which that concern was granted leases
on the naval oil reserves Nos. and 2
N California
The former cabinet officer showed
some familiarity with dates, which
causes Mr.. Roberts to sarcastically
ask when he had learned of them.
Upon Mr.. Denby's persistent replies
that This knowIHd0a came to him AT