Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-04
oil PROBE GOES ON
DESPITE REFUSAL
/. OF KELLEY TO HELP
Wilbur Declares Former
Land Agent Is Being Ex-
plotted by Others.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
The Department Of Justice today
continued its investigation Of charges
by Ralph S. Kelley that the Interior
Department had erred in its handling
of Colorado oil shale lands, while KEEL
ley remained silent.
Assistant Attorney General Seth w
Richardson. conducting the inquiry
into the claims of the former General
Land ONCE chief at Denver, said in the
absence of speciffc charges he was
checking all recent oil shale cases one
by one.
If amy appear questionable, he will
take them to the Interior Department
and trace them through.
Chairman Nye of the Senate Lands
Committee, who yesterday said he be-
lieved Kelley thoroughly justified" in
his actions, said today he would follow
the Department of Justice investigation
and offer whatever cooperation he
could.
Waits for Inquiry.
"There is nothing I nor any Senator
can do until this investigation is COM
pleted," the Senator said. st have every
reason to believe full and complete
inquiry will be made"
Nye has discussed the case with Rich
ardson a fellow North Dakotan and a
personal friend. He said yesterday If
the Department Of Justice did not make
complete inquiry he would introduce
resolution in the Senate calling for an
investigation.
Kelley, whose resignation submitted
to Secretary Wilbur last Sunday was
declined, indicated today he would
answer a statement by the Interior
Secretary yesterday directed against
him.
wilbur stated only so patents had
been issued from the Denver Office and
approved by the Interior Department
during his administration. He said all
these had been approved by. Kelley
himself, adding that for each patent
issued more than 100 similar patents
had been repossessed by the Govern
ment as defaulted.
False Impression"
He commended also Kelley had given
a false impression" concerning the
value of Colorado oil shale lands. Al
though capable of producing 40,000,-
900 900 barrels of oil worth ST. barrel,
he said, the cost of its extraction would
be around So barrel, thereby making
extraction uneconomic at the present
time.
Secretary Wilbur, who had been
charged by Kelley with failure to end
alleged favoritism to large oil companies
displayed by Interior secretaries during
the past five years in the disposal of
the Colorado lands, in statement later
expressed belief that Kelley had fallen
into designing hands of those who
could use him to their advantage"
Wilbur's Statement.
Ralph S. Kelley, in charging me
with attempts to placate and appease
the oil interests at the expense Of the
rights of the public must base his
charges on my official acts, more than
three fourths of which were taken upon
his recommendation" Wilbur said. "Of
the 50 claims that have gone to patent
since March 4, 1929, when this admin
istration came into Office, so had come
from the Denver Office and had been
passed on by Kelley himself. These 81
patents, according to a summary sup
piled by the General Land Office, plus
two now approved but not yet issued,
cover $4,000 acres. All were issued in
accordance with regular Land ONCE
(Conttnlled on PAGE 3. Column n