Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-18
The Blackmer Case.

Harry M Blackmer, called the miss
ing link" in the trials of Albert B. Fall
and Harry F. Sinclair in the Govern
ment's oil lease cases, must stand the
loss of $4,000, imposed as fine for his
failure to return to this country to ap-
pear as a witness, if the decision of
Justice F.. L. Siddons of the District Su-
preme Court is upheld. Blackmer's
counsel plans to carry the fight to the
Court of Appeals of the District and to
the Supreme Court of the United States,
II necessary.
Blackmer fled to France soon after
the famous Teapot Dome expose took
place. He has resisted the efforts of
the Government to bring him back to
this country to testify. According to
the Government counsel in the oil cases,
his failure to appear and testify has
made it impossible to complete their
cases against Fall and Sinclair.
The Government attorneys believe
that Blackmer and James O'Neill, a
former president of the Prairie Oil e.
Gas Co.. who also disappeared" possess
important information regarding $780,
500 in Liberty bonds, which, it is al
legged, found their way from the Cont
mental Trading Co., Ltd, of Canada
to the accounts of Albert B. Fall after
the leasing of the Teapot Dome naval oil
reserve to Sinclair. Fall was Secretary
of the Interior at the time the lease was
made. Blackmer, Sinclair and O'Neill
were interested, it is contended by the
Government, in the Continental Trading
Co. The implication has been that the
Liberty bonds which went to Falls &C
count represented profits made by Sim
clair in the Continental Trading Co.
The Government has sought in every
possible way to have Blackmer produced
in court to testify regarding the matter
Three years ago Congress enacted a
law proposed by Senator Walsh of
Montana, who conducted the Senate
inquiry into the Teapot Dome oil
scandal, providing that an Ameri-
can citizen should be subpoenaed
abroad to appear in lawsuit brought
in the United States, and that if he
failed to respond to the summons of
the court he could be fined up to $780,
600 for contempt. The Government
then seized 100000 in Liberty bonds
owned by Blackmer and has held the
bonds ever since. If the 500, 900 fine
imposed by Justice Siddons in the case
of Blackmer holds, that amount will
be permanently deducted by the Gov
eminent from the Blackmer bonds now
held by the Government.
Blackmer, according to reports, is liv-
ing in luxury abroad. It is said he
will not come back to the United States
at all. Possibly the loss of 100000 may
be of little importance to the oil man
from financial point of view, though
that is matter that time alone can
tell. He has def1ed his own Govern
ment. His passport issued by this coun-
try has been revoked. He is in a meas
ure man without country" Mr..
Blackmer evidently prefers to accept the
position in which he has placed him
self rather than to return to the United
States and face court.
Ills counsel mas attacked the Walsh
law as unconstitutional. This Govern
nlent is entitled to bring back essential
witnesses to appear in court trials, even
though they may be in foreign lands.
1t is a revolving thing that justice
should be thwarted by the expedient
adopted by the oil man to prevent his
being questioned in court.