The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-04-03
HARDING TOLD
OF SECRET OIL
DEAL SCHEME
Three Members of Cabinet
Also Warned, Teapot
Committee Hears.
LENROOT IS ON STAND
Denies He Advised Former
Interior Secretary to
Conceal 100000.

III tHtcd Press
WASHINGTON, April 3.-The
late President Harding and three of
his Cabinet officers, including Sec
rotary Hoover, had warning in
April, 1922, that there was secrecy
with Secretary of Interior Falls
lease of the Teapot Dome naval re-
serve to Harry Sinclair, according
to testimony before the Senate Tea
pot Dome Committee today.
Birch Helms, former Texas oil
man, testified he protested to
Harding, Hoover, former Attorney
General Daugherty and the late
Secretary Of War Weeks personally
and by telegram against the secrecy
surrounding the lease.
He said he told the officials that
his Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil
Company had wanted to bid on
Teapot Dome, but that Fall mis-
led him.
Hoover is the only one who took
! any action for him, Helms said.
Hoover wrote Fall about the matter
and received a reply from Falls as
SiStant, E. c. Finney, that Helms
was mistaken about the matter.
Il might say I think Hoover did
all he could about the matter"
Helms declared.
LenrOOt Is Witness
Weeks was the only one of the
others who replied to his telegram,
Helms said, and Weeks pleaded he
did not wish to enter the con-
troversy.
Helms testimony preceded that
OF Former Senator Irwin l.. Len
root (Rep) Wisconsin, who denied
that he had counselled Fall to de-
eide the Teapot Dome investiga-
ting committee as to the source of
100000 Fall received from Z. L.
Doheny, oil man.
Defense attorneys for Sinclair
proposed today to seek a five-day
delay in this trial on a charge of
conspiracy to defraud the Govern
ment.
Meantime, the attorneys awaited
copies of a deposition by Former
Secretary of Interior Fall, code
PENDANT with Sinclair, in which Fall
is reported to have said a Senator,
a former Senator and a former
Cabinet officer now in Europe adj
yiSed him to tell false story of the
source of the 100000 loan from E.
l.. Doheny lessee of the Elk Hills
Naval Reserve.
Former Senator Lenroot and Sem
ator Smoot, believed to have been
the men to whom Fall referred in
statements today, denied having
given Fall such advice. On the
contrary they said they had adj
vised him to tell the exact truth.
Want to See Fall
Lenroot, in the hearing today,
told how he and Senator Smoot
went to see Fall, and said Fall mis-
informed them. He told them, Len
root said, that he received 100000
from Edward B. Mclean, Washing
ton publisher, instead Of Doheny,
lessee of the Elk Hills naval reserve.
Lenroot revealed that former
Postmaster General Hays came to
see him at home here some time
later to ascertain what Lenroot, as
chairman of the Teapot Committee,
was attempting to learn from Fall.
Hays agreed with him, Lenroot said,
that it was Falls duty to appear
before the committee and tell where
he got the money.
Helms gave virtually the same
evidence as his testimony today at
the recent Fall trial here.
Lenroot denied statements based
on press reports of Falls deposition
read to the committee.
Some time in November, 1923, a
Mr. Magee Carl Magee, former Al
buquerque, N. NJ, EDITOR, testified
before the committee that Fall had
bought the Harris ranch in New
Mexico" Lenroot testified. eve also
had testimony that Fall was sup
posed to be financially embarrassed.
Tells OF Cash Purchase
II suggested to Senator Smoot
that he wire Fall, and Fall replied
he would send his son-in-law, Mr..
Chase, to explain the matter to the
committe.
It told Senator Smoot I thought
we ought to have Fall himself, and
Smoot so wired Fall,
"The next I knew about it Fall
wired me Il had by that time be-
come chairman of the committee)
from Atlantic City, saying he was
i'll and could not appear.
"The next thing was when Smoot
came to see me and said Fall was
i'll at Wardman Park Hotel here. I
went with him TO see Fall who was
in dressing gown and apparently
sick.
He asked me what we're the sus-
piicous circumstances in his ranch
purchase. 1 told him one point of
the evidence was that he had paid
$4,000 in cash for a part Of the
ranch property whereas in ordinary
circumstances the payment would
have been made by check.
HE said he not only had $4,000
in cash then, but he had 100000 In
cash. He said he made the cash
payment because the nearest bank
to his Three Rivers home was
twenty miles away.
HE then said the man from
whom he received the many was
Edward B. Mclean.
HaUc Wnn'f HononoenF