Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-11-11
Another Black Page.

Inc oisCiosureS indicating an attempt
TO tamper with the jury in the Fsll-Sin-
clair conspiracy trial. growing out Of the
Teapot Dome oil lease, is another black
page in the darkest story Of infamy in
government in the history of this country.
says a statement issued by Congressman
VIM. A. 0ldfeld. Chairman OF the Demo-
cratic National Congressional Committee.
Yet doubt if the country was as sur
pfised as it was shocked at the sensa-
tional disclosures as a result Of which the
presiding judge ordered a mistrial and It
will again be necessary for the govern
ment's case to be presented to a jury in
its entirety. 1t is hardly surprising to learn
that interests which resorted to the meth
DDS employed in negotiating the oil leases
would resort to shadowing jurors. or at
tempts to tamper with the jury in an effort
tU defeat justice.
Evidence which has been developed
leaves no reasonable doubt that agents for
some Of those interested in the outcome of
the trial were seeking by whatever means
they might find available TO either torrorize
the jury or find some other means Of forcing
a mistrial. The mere employment of a
squad OF detectives to shadow members of
the jury was an outrage upon the admins
tration OF justice. We shall now see il those
who would have deprived the government
OF invaluable oil properties. had they not
been blocked by few members of the
Senate, under the leadership Of Senator
Walsh. OF Montana. can escape paying the
penalty for this outrageous attempt to
defeat the ends Of justice.
The oil leasing cases. which have twice
been stamped by the Supreme Court as in
famous, have become a test as to whether
the criminal laws can be made to apply to
very rich and very powerful men. 1t has
been said that you cannot convict a mil
lion dollars We shall see whether or not
that is true. Unfortunately. il has held
true for entirely TOO long a period. for al
though the civil cases have been settled,
the government winning every point and
the Supreme Court declaring the leases
tainted with corruption. collision, etc., not
q single person connected with the con-
spiracy has yet been punished, and now
this latest effort to bring them to Justice
results in mistrial because of Infamous
methods that ought to result in somebody
going to the penitentiary.
"Deplorable as it is, 1t is nevertheless
true that In the effort to prosecute those
guilty of the infamous oil transaction, the
present Republican. Administration has
never lifted finger to help the cause of
justice. From the beginning to the pre-
sent. the President has neither said nor
done anything to aid the governments
case. What he has done, he has done at
the request OF the Senate. He was viz
tnally forced to act because of a resolution
adopted by the Senate. And instead Of
the cases being turned over to the Depart
ment OF Justice to be prosecuted, public
distrust of the Department had become so
great that it was deemed necessary to
employ special counsel and permit the
Department to have nothing to do with
the case. These things are a terrific re-
Election upon the Coolidge administration,
but they are undeniably true and now
comes these latest charges of jury shadow
ing and jury tamperins to add another
black chapter to darkest record in the
history Of any administration since the
beginning Of the government. If the oil
scandles, the Veterans Bureau scandlc
the Alien Property scandle and the re-
cord Of the Department of Justice are the
normally to which we were to return when
the G. o. P. was restored to power, it
is high time the people of this county
faced In another direction and put some
body In Office who is alert enough to pre-
vent lootins and has the courage to con-
denim IL when it is practiced and prose-
cute those guilty when they are discovered