Evening star., 1927-10-26
FALL CONCEALED
SINCLAIR OIL DEAL,
WITNESSES AGREE
Denied Plan to Lease Teapot
Dome While Negotiations
Were On, They Testify.
OFFICIALS OF THREE
RIVAL FIRMS ON SHND
Col. Roosevelt Called to Show He
Knew Nothing of ex-secre-
tary's Transaction.

Link by link, through the testimony
of former applicants for leases on
Teapot Dome given today at the oil
conspiracy trial. the Government
forged a chain of evidence to support
It's charge in the indictment that AL
bert B. Fall had misrepresented facts
so as to protect Harry F. Sinclair
from competition. thereby defrauding
the United States of property useful
to its Navy.
Through this testimony. Owen J.
Roberts of special Government coun.
sci, brought TO the attention of the
jury that while negotiations with Sin.
clair actually were in progress, and
even at the time when the lease was
in the final stages of execution, Fall
had informed certain of the applicants
that the Government was rot consid.
ering the leasing of Teapot Dome.
Three Witnesses Heard.
Before the morning session had
closed the jury had heard three such
applicants for Teapot Dome. These
were F.. F.. kistler of the Producers
and Refiners' Corporation; Amos l.
Beatty, president of the Texas Co. at
the time of the leasing, and Ber.
Helms of the Pacific Coal and Oil Co.
Immediately after Roberts had pre-.
sented the evidence Of the competing
oil men and firms, he called to the
stand John G. Shaffer, prominent
Chicago newspaper publisher, who
testified that Fall told him during
conference on the subject of Skaters
getting a lease on Teapot Dome In
March, 1922, month before the lease
was signed, that he had requested
Sinclair to reserve 200 acres" in Tea
pot Dome for Shaffer.' Shaffer then
saw Sinclair and a contract was
drawn up whereby Shaffer was to get
400 acres, but was never executed be-
cause of certain conditions that were
not fulfilled, the witness declared.
Shaffer had applied for GAO acres or
Teapot Dome on behalf of himself and
the Marland Oil Co., and on June
II, 1921, Fall wrote him that there
"are no developments in this reserve
and under present conditions this de.
partment does not feel warranted in
leasing the reserve at the present
time" according to documentary
evidence which Roberts fired into the
record. The letter added that if the
situation justified the leasing of the
reserve Shaffer's application would
be given consideration.
After arranging with Fall for a
conference early in March, 1922.
minded him of his application for the
lease in Teapot Dome. Fall said he
had requested Sinclair to reserve zoo
acres for me-" he declared. Roberts
interrupted to inquire how Shaffer
knew at that time that Sinclair got
the contract, and, as the defense
stormed objections, Shaffer said he
read it in the press" He was per-
mitted to continue his story of the
conference, and quoted Fall as saying
with respect to an arrangement with
Sinclair: 'You see Sinclair, as I am
sure he will adjust matters for YOU"
Visits Sinclair i'm New York.
Shaffer visited Sinclair in New York
and on March %, 1922. wired Fall that
he had agreed with Sinclair for Ger.
tain amount of acreage" and that he
was very grateful "for your help in
the NATTER
Shaffer was still on the stand when
recess was taken for luncheon. At
between counsel over the admissibility
of the carbon copy of letter Shaffer
wrote to Sinclair under date Of Octo-
Der 16, 1922, the original of which
Sinclair was to have received is not
in court. The letter was a continu.
alton in chronological order of the
barrage of documentary evidence
which Roberts laid down in connec-
ton with Shaffer's testimony.
Col. Theodore Roosevelt, former AS.
sistant Secretary of the Navy, was
called as Government witness at the
outset of the trial today for
the purpose of showing that he knew
nothing at all about the negotiations
under way for the Sinclair lease. He
testified that he first learned of the
lease during the latter part of April,
ls22, after its execution, and had no
knowledge of the intent of the Navy
department to lease Teapot Dome be-
fore them.
The oil men went into explicit de.
tail OF conference with Secretary Fall.
at which proposals We're made to
lease either the whole or portions Of
Teapot Dome.
Conference Opens Court.
Roberts and Littleton approached
the bench this morning immediately
after Justice SiddonS entered court
and indulged in a lengthy conference
in the course of which a glass of
water was upset accidentally, and the
court bailiff, clerk, messenger, and the
two attorneys made vigorous efforts
to prevent the water from further
damaging the courts papers and data.
While the conference was in progress,
the results of which were not made
known to the jury in any form at that
time. Sinclair and Hoover chatted and
laughed frequently hile Fall sat alone
in his chair close by with his eyes
turned on the floor.
AS the principals in the case enter
ed the court room, Roosevelt and Fall
each other at close quar-
ters, but neither showed any sign Of
recognition.
Returning to their respective places
Roberts and Littleton began the
days proceedings. Roberts called
Roosevelt to the stand and after iden.
tifying him with respect to his tenure
in Office as Assistant Secretary of the
Navy, which was from the middle of
1921, until about the end of
September, 1924, Roberts questioned
the witness about his knowledge of the
Nays war plan for storage Of oil.
Roosevelt Describes Plan.
The plan. Roosevelt replied, called
FOR storage capacity for 45. 900 900 bar
rels of oil along the coasts and the
estimate Of cost for the construction
Of tankage and filling the tanks with