The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-02-04
HOLDO|L KING
PR|SONERFO
SENATE QUIZ
Robert Stewart Arrested for
New GriIIing by Dawes
Today.
OBSTINATE ON STAND
Refuses to Reveal Details of
Big Coup, Despite Jail
Threat.
OBSTINATE ON STAND
By PAUL II. MALLON
United Press Stan Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4.-Under
arrest in a f1ve-room suite of an
exclusive Washington hotel, Col.
Robert w. Stewart, designated as
the best trader in the oil business"
prepared today to face a court of
ninety-six United States Senator's
for failing to tell all about his 1921
oil deal with Harry Sinclair.
The wealthy prisoner of the Sen
ate breakfasted with a deputy SER
geant-at-arms and talked with his
attorneys about possible legal steps
to defend himself against "incarce-
ration in a common jail" which the
law provides for witnesses obstinate
in refusal.
Unless Stewart applies to a Fed
eral court for writ of habeaS cor
puS, he will be haled before the bar
of the Senate at noon and Vice
! President Dawes will ask him the
same questions he declined to an
Swer when he was on the stand
before the Teapot Dome committee
Thursday and Friday.
May Answer Questions
The United Press was informed
that Stewart may answer the de-
sired questions and tell all he knows
about the deal if the Senate re-
quires it. His attorneys are under
stood to have advised him to seek
stay in the courts, but he has in
dicated he may not follow their
advice.
While he pondered the question
in his case-the first of its kind to
arise in just this fashion in nearly
sixty years-his former friend, Sin
clair. once the greatest single In
fiuence in the oil business, paced
the floor Of his suite in another ho-
tel few blocks away, waiting to
face the district court in contempt
proceedings, brought against him in
connection with jury-tampering
charges.
Stewart and Sinclair together
guaranteed the mysteriouSly organ
lied Continental Trading Company
in a $50,000000 oil deal shortly
after President Harding was elected.
Their companies bought from the
mysterious concern several million
barrels Of oil at a price 25 cents
higher than the Continental paid
for it
Roll DroEkoJ H.,
The Teapot Dome Committee has
learned that Sinclair gave former
Secretary of Interior Fall S233 900
in bonds from the $3,000O0O profits
OF the Continental company. They
want to know where the rest of the
profits went-particularly whether
they went to any political party or
public official.
Stewart, chairman of the board of
the Standard Oil Company of Indi-
ana, has declined to tell the COM
mittee if he knows any one to
whom those bonds went. All Stew
art would say was that he never
made dollar personally out of the
strange deal, and that he never
gave any bonds to any political
party or public official.
The Senate committee members
publicly have stated they think
Stewart knows more about the deal
than he has told. Rumors have
spread that the profits went to GER
tain prominent persons.
Sought for Three Years
Stewart had been wanted as
witness for three years. Three
others who might tell of the deal
have fled to Europe, Now the pub
lie lands committee thinks it can
force Stewart to talk or send him
to Jail.
BY unanimous consent the COM
mittee decided to cite Stewart to
/ the Senate late yesterday for his
refusal to answer its questions.
If Stewart persists in his refusal,
the Senate may hold him in con-
tempt and send him to Jail for at
least one year and perhaps longer.
In recent years it has been the
custom to cite obstinate witnesses
for grand jury action through the
Federal courts. This procedure has
been found to be tedious. Sinclair
himself now is appealing a court
sentence of three months in Jail for
questions he refused to answer be-
for the Teapot committee four