The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-10-19
ATTORNEY RELATES
OIL CASE HISTORY

washington, OcC. 10. - Af) -
Harry +. Sinclair first approached
Albert b. Fall regarding the lease
Of the Teapot Dome naval oil re-
serve during his celebrated Christ
mas visit to the then interior secre-
tary's New Mexico ranch in 1921,
Martin w. Littleton, counsel for the
wealthy oil operator, declared today
before the jury hearing the criminal
conspiracy case against the two men.
Resuming his opening statement
to the jury of two women and 10
men, which was begun yesterday,
Mr.. Littleton said that during the
latter part of that visit, Sinclair
asked Fall if he intended to lease
Naval Reserve No. 3 (Teapot Dome).
Fall replied that he was having an
investigation made and that so far
as he was concerned he would make
no determination about lease until
the investigation was complete, the
attorney asserted.
Wanted Indian Land leases
Sinclair went to see Fall about
Usage Indian land leases in Okla
homa, he continued. The purpose of
the visit was not to take up the
lease of Teapot Dome that Sinclair
finally obtained, leading to the
charge that the two men had con-
spired together against the govern
ment and that Fall had received
large sums Of money as a result of
the transaction.
Referring to the plan for the ex-
change of naval crude oil for fuel
oil in storage, which is entwined
with the whole oil lease tangle, Lit
Teton told the jury that Captain
John X. Robinson, the navy's repre-
sentative in oil reserve matters,
would testify that the first sugges-
ton for such exchange was made by
him.
The New York lawyer also assert
ed that the war plan of the navy be-
fore the Harding administration
came into power called for the
storage Of 45,OOO,OOO barrels Of oil
on the Pacific and Atlantic coast to
be held for the use Of the navy only
in the event Of a national emergency.
Littleton asserted that the propo-
sition Of exchanging crude oil for
fuel and storage came up in the navy
in November, 1921, before the lease
of Teapot Dome, and during discus
sion of crude oil from leased wells
in the California fields.
Action Approved
Secretary DENLY refused to take
any action until he could find out
whether there was legal authority
for it," counsel said. 1.-THE Judge
advocate general of the navy held
such exchange to be legal and not
until then did Secretary DENLY APP
prove"
The letter of approval is the celc-
brated one on the margin of which,
IN Denby's handwriting, is the no.
tation:
do this, Ed"
Littleton told the jurors that the
pollcp of secrecy in the oil negotia-
lions originated not with Fall, but
with the navy and to support this
contention he recalled that the let
ter written to the interior DEPART
ment by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., as
assistant secretary of the navy on
december 8, 1921, relating to naval
oil storage at Pearl Harbor, which
said that because of national de-
Tense the plans as to this storage
should be held strictly confidential.
The attorney then took his listen
ers to the conference of January /,
1921, at Washington at which the
leasing of Teapot Dome was first
taken up and which he declared was
the most important conference oil
all in connection with the lease.
Present were Fall, Robson, H. Fos-
ter Balm, chief of the bureau oil
mines, and A. w. Ambrose, govern
ment geologist. Balm and Ambrose
held that offset wells would not
protect Teapot Dome from drainage
by wells on adjacent fields.
Tracing the results of the confer
ence, Littleton insisted that Robson
had urged lease of the whole re-
serve and use Of the oil to obtain
fuel oil storage on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts. Robson, he said, took
the position that the lease should
60 to a company that could and
would build pipe line to the dis
tant Wyoming field.
"That, ladies and gentlemen, was
the foundation of this lease which
you have been told was corruptly|
executed by u.s." the attorney as