Evening star., 1927-04-03
COOLIDGE REVOKES
HARDING OIL ORDER
President Acts in Keeping
With Decision Voiding
Doheny Leases.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
President Coolidge has revoked the
Executive order issued by President
Harding on May 81. 1921. under which
Albert B. Fall, as Secretary of the In
terror, negotiated the naval oil re-
serve leases with Edward L. Doheny
and Harry F. Sinclair, which led to
both civil and criminal actions in the
Federal courts.
The order of revocation was dated
last March II and it was stated at the
White House that il was issued in
keeping with the decision of the
United States Supreme Court revoking
the contracts and leases made with
Doheny covering the Elk Hills, Calf.
reserve and oil tank storage at Pearl
Harbor.
Public I'm Routine Way.
Made public at the State Depart
ment in the usual routine way of
publishing executive orders, 1t reads:
Executive order, No. 3474, of May
81, 1921, committing to the Secretary
of the Interior the administration and
conservation of all oil and gas bear
ing lands in naval petroleum reserves
Nos. i and 2, California, and naval
petroleum reserve, No. 3, in Wyo-
ming, and naval shale reserves in Col
orado and Utah, under the provisions
of the acts of Congress approved Feb
ruary 25, 1920. and June 4, 1920, is
hereby revoked"
BY this order Jurisdiction over all
Of the reserves save that in Wyoming
the celebrated Teapot Dome-is left
exclusively with the Navy Depart
d.,
I'm dispute, with Sinclair appealing to
the Supreme Court from a Circuit
Court decision revoking the lease.
Harding Order Attacked.
Both during the Senate investiga-
ton and the hearings of the civil suits
for the recovery of the reserves, Presi-
dent Harding's order was attacked as
illegal because it, in effect, set aside
an act of Congress placing jurisdic-
ton in the Navy Department.
In deciding the Doheny case, how
ever, the Supreme Court did not pass
judgment on that proposition. Jus
tice Butler, who read the decision, de-
clared the transaction evidenced by
the contracts and leases with Doheny
was not authorized by the act of
June 4, 1920. under which Fall and
,, Edwin DENLY as Secretary of the
Navy, contended they had authority
to revoke the time -honored policy of
keeping a great naval petroleum in
the ground.
Evidence before the Senate Oil com
mittee was that the executive order
which Harding signed was drawn in
the Interior Department and the
charge was that the plan Of leasing
the reserves originated with Fail, who
accented 500, 900 from Doheny during
the negotiations covering the Elk Hills
reserve.
Secrecy of Leases Cited.
The executive order was approved
at the Navy Department and it was
taken to the White House for
Eardsng's signature by Theodore
Roosevelt. then Assistant Secretary of
| the Navy.
After the order was signed. negotia-
tions for the leasing of the two prin-
cipal naval reserves were entered into.
| frst with Doheny's company and later
with Harry r. Sihclair's Mammoth Oil
! Co. They extended over a period
| OF more than a year, and in holding
! that the Doheny lease and contracts
were tainted with fraud the Supreme
Court cited the secrecy which attend
| ed their negotiation.
| Fall has faced one jury with Doheny
on a charge of criminal conspiracy.
| Both were acquitted, but the former
| Interior Secretary is charged Jointly
| with Sinclair with criminal conspiracy
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