New Britain herald., 1928-03-29

which he wrote, and which the dem- ocrat senators in this body support ! d. operative, than he began 10 per init the nayy's oil to be taken out Of the reserves by private oil cor porations.
 He did this without advertising for or permitting competitive bids He did it merely by holding private . conferences with representatives ot private corporations. just as the thoroughly discredi,ed Secretary Fall did later, and giving them leases in the oil resolves
 ASsails Daniels
 rting that Daniels had given leases for fifty-fye wells to the Bos- ton Pacific Oil company and the Consolidated Mutual oi company in reserve number in California, Rob- inson declared that 1T this We're de fensible. Daniels should have admit ted his course and defended f. in stead of assuming the role Of injur- od. honor and righteous indignation and proclaiming that he had fought every proposition 10 permit the oil in the naval reserves to be taken out by anybody"
 i So far as the official record shows Robinson continued, Franklin Lane. secretary of the in j"rior. in thn democratic a5minist ra- tlon, was the originator Of the pro- posal to lease naval reserve oil 1gnAS n int plotted by them.
 Quotes Record
 The record shows that on August ], 1917, Secretary Lane comnuni- cated with other members Of the cabinet, namely. Secretary of the Navy Daniels. Secretary Of War Baker, Secretary of Labor Wilson. Secretary of Commerce Redheld, and Secretary of Agriculture Houston. 10 the effect that Naval Reserve No. . was being drained by private oil WellS located just outside its hor- dtrs, and as an offset territory with in the reserve ought to be leased at once to private corporations This communication was in the form of ;t formal letter which exists in the files Of all these departments.
 "The late Senator LaFollette made the charge that the leasing act, of which the senator from Montana was the leading advocate. was a measure in the interest of the Stan dard oil and other private oil cor porations,
 Tt was in an attempted answer to this direct and serious charge of he late Senator Latollette that the senator from Montana, Walsh, di- Nulgcd the fact, offered in defense Of his attitude at that time, that the whole scheme of turning public oil lands over 10 private corporations was tathcred by the leaders Of the democratic party. with Secretary Lane as the head of the movement, Robinson continued.
 Robinson read from a former speech ot Senator Walsh, Montana, on the senate floor and said that President Wilson had demanded the resignation of Secretary Lane, who is now dead. as result of q con- troversy over loasings ill naval oil reserve number in California. Raps Payne.
 Turning his fire on John Barton Payne, who succeeded Lane as in- terior secretary, the Indianan de clared that Immediately after enact ment of the Daniels leasing act, Payne began making leases to private corporations to drill oil wells on public lands just outside the naval oil reserve.'
 While Payne Was in the cabinet for less than year, Robinson said he had granted 150 leases 10 private oil interests on lands immediately adjacent to Teapot Dome, ombrac- ing an area 5000 acres greater than the Wyoming reserve itself.
 50 We have the vicious circle of exploiting the navy's oil completed by the action Of the democratic cab inet officials Robinson said, "one leasing land just outside the naval reserve by which the naval reserve es are uldllltI dllu llIt otlitl Slfll ullStl ously leasing land within the naval reserves to offset the drainage of the wells just outside the reserve.
 Thus the record shows that in" conspiracy of private oil interests to 1 grab the oil within the naval re- serves of the nation was entered in- to and consummated long before the republican national convention in 1920"
 Recalling that Senator Walsh Of Montana. had Introduced Edward l.. Doheny into the picture" in 1919 as his authority in support of lcas ing naval reserves to private cor porations Robinson asserted that this wealthy oil operator had sub sequently employed many high off cials Of the Wilson administration, including Lane, William C. Me Adoo, former attorney general Greg ory and George Greet, whom he des- cribed as the publicity director of the democratic administration" Discusses DOheny.
 He said Dsheny had paid Nari- ous former democratic officials at the combined rate of s1,ooo q day and given s75.o0o to the democratic campaign fund and asked just how much it took ito corrupt q demo- cratic administration
 Charging that McAdoo had ram med cool quarter of a million dol lars of Mir. Doheny's money into his pockets and never yet has made restitution Robinson said that both | McAdoo and Greet arc on the Walsh slate of delegates i'll the California democratic presidential primary.
 Can it be possible Mr. McAdoo 1 ,,s,;p,r enp,o cf tho rac;J,,s of e