New Britain herald., 1927-10-17
Veniremen Quickly Chosen, Several Ad. hitting Little Knowl- edge of Nationally Discussed Case.
Former Secretary of the Interior, Suffering From Cold, Appears Bored His Partner. However, Shows Great Interest.

| hoIiONS NIedt interest. Washington. Oct r lPs-.,lbert
 B. Fall and Harry F. Sinclair took i their places today before the bar
 of the District of Columbia supreme
 court and watched wearily the mo-
 notonous task Of selecting the jury [ which will try them on charges of
 criminal conspiracy in connection
 with the leasing 10 Sinclair Of the
 Teapot Dome naval oil reserve. 1 The former secretary of the in- terior suffering from cold show
 ed plainly his distaste of the dull
 routine of the court. and once dozed in his chair. but Sinclair fol- | lowed the proceedings closely as.
 within two hours. two-thirds of the prospective jurors were accepted
 tentatively, among them two wom- l en.
 There was some surprise among | spectators at the speed with which the jury box was being temporarily filled. Whether later challenges by government or defense will empty it was a question for the opposing attorney to decide.
 Notwithstanding the world wide
 prominence given the case and the decision of the superior court re- gently which denounced the lease of the reserve 10 Sinclair the jury panel called to hear evidence con-
 talned many persons who declared they knew little about it. These
 professions facilitated the work of | choosing the 12 who will say whether Fall and Sinclair shall go to prison. Both defense and gov ernment have ten peremptory challenges with which to remove
 from the box jurors with whom they may be dissatisfied.
 Mrs. Bailey First Juror
 As tentatively accepted. the first to qualify were Mrs. Annella l.. Bailey, formerly of Colorado; Miss Bernice Heaton, a telephone in- structor; Charles r. Hennessey, @ retired postal employe; N. T. Dent, bank teller; Conrad J. Herzor, an automobile salesman: Armand Fonderville, native of France; George Grazer. clerk, and Brad I ay-ty floor manager.
 Although today's proceedings in a District of Columbia court con- stituted only the criminal phase of the long drawn out fight of the government 10 cancel the oil leases negotiated by Fall as secretary of the interior, the supreme court week ago in cancelling the Teapot Dome transaction expressed the opinion that the two defendants had conspired together. That opin- ion. however, was rendered in the civil suit and did not relate directly to the indictments under which Fall and Sinclair are being tried.
 jury of l2 men. selection of which began immediately, will de- eide as to whether the two men shall go free or be imprisoned up to two years
 Defendants in Court Early
 Fall and Sinclair were in the lit- tie court room early. They presented sharp contrast. Fall. a tall grizzled veteran Of the stirring pioneer days of the southwest frontier. bore the stamp of experience as a prospec- tor
 Sinclair, short stocky and dap per. was once small town store clerk who found his start in the Virginia oil fields Of Oklahoma and quickly rose to place as one of the leading oil operators Of the country and later as the owner of famous race horses.
 Wearing dark blue suit of per- feet fit, Sinclair was first to enter the court. He seated himself be- tween his chief counsel. George P. Hoover Of Washington. and Martin ". I'lttlttOu cl Nt" brh. W llie waiting for Justice Siddons he talk ed with his lawyers and shook hands with friends.
 Fall had on gray suit and worA his familiar black somhrero to which he stuck through his long public service in Washington. As he removed his hat. his rapidly whit ening hair was slightly awry. He pushed his way through the throng to his place beside William Leahy, of Washington. and Mark Thomp- son. Of New Mexico
 The women were among the first le veniremen called to the jury box. One of them. Mrs. Amelia l.. Bail- ey, was the first examined by couu- gel. She said she had read only the headlines In the newspapers about the oil cases and had formed no conclusions regarding the cases.
 Mrs. Bailey. who Is a native of Colorado, qualified temporarily with out counsel asking her directly she had read the opinion or any newspaper accounts of the opin- court holding that the Tea Pot Dome lease was a result of ''collu-