Evening star., 1927-10-22
OIL TRIAL HALTED
AS S|DDONS PLANS
TESTIMONY RULING
Statements of Sinclair Before
Senate Committee Are
Basis of Argument.
EVIDENCE is CONSIDERED
VITAL BY GOVERNMENT
Case Hinges on Meeting Of De-
PENDANTS at New Mexico
Ranch.


morning, Justice Frederick L. Sid.
dons, presiding at the conspiracy trial
of Albert B. Fall and Harry F. Sim
clair, today had under advisement the
question Of admitting as evidence
against Sinclair statements made by
the defendant before the Senate's oil
investigating committee bearing di.
rectly on one of the jor charges
IN the Governments indictment.
The most important turn in the
trial thus far hinges on the admission
Of this piece of testimony, which de.
Iense attorneys are seeking to bar.
When court recessed yesterday, with
the question still hanging fire, Justice
olddons announced that he would take
a day or so" for reflection before
rendering his decision.
Slnclalr's celebrated visit to Fall
tnen Secretary of the Interior. durins:
tne christmas holidays of 1921 at
Three Rivers, N. Mex, was in
VOWED in Sinclair's testimony before
the Senate committee. 1t was during
tnls visit that the Government charges
Ihe conspiracy was actually hatched.
beiore the Senate investigators, Sin.
~ Hinue the ADMISSION that the pur.
pose OF his visit to Fall on that oc.
cdsion Oh was to discuss the leasing Of
the teapot Dome oil reserves.
Justice Hoehling's Ruling,
Since that time and during the
present trial, Sinclair's counsel have
contended that the oil magnates visit
10 1hree Rivers was for other nur.
poses. To refute this claim. Owen T.
Roberts, of special Government coun.
sci, sought the right to read Sinclair'a
testimony to the jury and by doing
SO to lay the foundation for the Gov.
ernments charge of conspiracy,
For more than two hours opposing
counsel fought over the question. the
oe1ense obJectfng on the ground that
testlmony given before congressional
committee may not, under the law. be
introduced as evidence against the
witness at any subsequent court pro-
ceedlng. To this the Government re.
pied that in order to take advantage
OF this provision, the witness must
make declaration of such intention
when appearing before the committee.
In the FallDoheny conspiracy case
last year, similar question was raised
by the Government in offering the
testimony Of Edward l., Doheny be.
AOAO SAAO 0cNhAC 0CALdlG d8
evidence. The two incidents, how
ever, are not identical, for in the case
of Doheny, the California oil man ap-
peared voluntarily before the commit.
tee and announced that he wanted
the whole. world to know his story"
Justice A. A. Hoehling, who presided
in the earlier trial, rendered decision
upholding the Governments conten-
ton and Doheny's testimony was read
in full to the jury.
Lawyers Cite Precedents.
If Justice Siddons permits the in.
PRODUCTION Of Sinclair's testimony it
will knock a prop from under the
defense case, for the Government re-
CARDS the oil magnate's statements
as highly pertinent to the conspiracy
charge and to bolster up the claim
Of secrecy in the awarding of the
lease.
Justice Siddons asked the lawyers
on both sides to present him with
further precedents on the subject in
volved. and this they did this morn.
ing. It is not altogether certain that
the court will make it's ruling Mon.
day morning, when the second week
of the trial commences. Or is it
essential, for Government counsel
have other witnesses ready to testify
in the meanwhile.
These witnesses will offer testimony
planned to back up the Governments
contentious that there was no immi.
nent danger of oil drainage from Tea
pot Dome at the time the lease was
made. Despite the efforts Of Martin
w. Littleton, chief Of Sinclair coun-
sci, to discredit testimony along this
line yesterday, the Government sue
the testimony of DR.. George Otis
Smith, director Of the Geological Sur
vey. The meat of this evidence
showed that Fall was informed before
he made the lease to Sinclair that
Teapot Dome was not IN actual
danger from drainage, as the defense
SO stoutly maintains. Littleton made
an effort to prove that the report In
question was erroneous and that Fall
gave it no credence when negotiating
the lease. In this, however, he was
for Justice Siddons ruled
that the burden shifted TO Fall to ex-
plain why he was not guided by the
report in the transaction that followed,
Offers Evidence Of Secrecy.
Except for the fight over the ad.
mission of Sinclair's Senate testimony,
fraught with so much meaning for
each side, the first week of the trial
has passed without any particular
Public interest was stirred
when Fall arose in court to make a
statement in his own behalf, but the
issue involved. had no real signifi-
canoe.
While lacking the elements of the
spectacular, however, Government
succeeded in laying much Of
the foundation to the charges of con-
spiracy and secrecy involved in the
leasing of the naval oil lands, both in
California as well as Wyoming. This
was produced mainly through the
of letters and documents
passing between Fall and Edwin F.
Denby, then Secretary of the Navy,
and the testimony of Edward c. Fin
ney, First Assistant Secretary of the
This evidence was enough to enable
the Government later to build up its
case Of secrecy involving the leases,
and bore effectively on the charge
that Fall had taken the reins in his
own hands and had declared that he
would not further consult with the
Navy with regard to the leasing.
The jury of two women and ten
men who are sitting in judgment OF
Fall and Sinclair were excused Fri.
lay during the legal arguments pre-.
,ipitated by Roberts move to offer
The Sinclair testimony in evidence.
Unlike the jurors in the Doheny trial,
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