The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-04-04
pOHENY OIL LOSS
OF TEN MILLIONS
WILL Be DEFENSE
Attorneys Will Argue Friday
Against Conviction of
Bribery.
Times Wastim0toM Bureau.

I0SS " co I OTb dECHHF
WASHINGTON, April 4.-The
$10000,000 loss Edward l.. Doheny
sustained when the Supreme Court
voided his lease of Elk Hills naval
oil reserve may be the means of saw
ing him from Jail. His defeats will
form the bulwark of his defense
when his fight to avoid conviction
on a charge of bribery begins this
week.
His attorneys will come into court
Friday when arguments on a de-
murrer to the bribery indictments
will be heard and make assertions
which they have denied in the past
and which Government counsel have
stoutly upheld. Doheny and his son
are charged in the indictments with
giving a bride and Albert Fall with
accepting a bride.
Defense Theory
But Doheny's counsel will tell the
court that there could have been no
bribery because you can't bride a
man to do a thing he has no power
or authority to do. They will say
the executive order signed by Presi-
dent Harding in May, 1921, trans
ferring to Secretary Fall power to
lease naval oil reserves was illegal.
\ If Fall had no power to make the
] contracts, they will claim then the
100000 in a little black bag, whether
a. loan, as Fall and Doheny contend,
or corrupting gift as the Govern
ment asserts, had no significance and
could therefore not be a bride.
Arguing the Doheny-F'all con-
spiracy case before jury, defense
counsel were at great pains to prove
the innocence of the 100000 tran
saction. In this argument before
Justice Hitz of the District Supreme
Court they will rely on the techni-
cality.
Used Harding Letter
In the jury case the defense used
as one of their telling weapons a
letter Warren G.. Harding wrote to
the United States Senate, approx
ing and upholding the actions Of Fall
under the executive order.
Government counsel questioned the
validity of the order and intro
duced testimony Of former Attorney
General Daugherty that he had
never given it legal approval.
Judge Paul Mccormick of Los
Angeles, Cal, first to rule on the
Pan-American Petroleum Company
lease Of Elk Hills, ordered cancella-
ton of the leases on two grounds:
First, because of fraud and con-
spiracy; and second, because "of the
Illegal and invalid trasnfer Of
power
The recent decision of the Su-
preme Court, while asserting that
after the executive order of May,
1921, Fall dominated the adrninistra-
ton of the naval reserves" goes on
ITO state further that not even the
tsecretary Of the Navy had the
power, under ex ing acts Of Con-
gress, to enter Into the sort of con-
tract he did with the Doheny COM
pany for exchange and storage of
fuel oils, and the lease was an off
shoot of this contract.
Based on Decision
1t was the sweeping condemnation
Of the Fall-Doheny transaction by
the Supreme Court which deter
mined Government counsel to at
tempt to convict Doheny of bribery
in spite of the failure to get a con-
viction on the conspiracy charge.
But the new defense policy gives
an interesting twist to the case-re.
solves it into battle to determine
who shall WELD the weapon forged
by the courts for protection of the
country's property.