The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-06-16
Late President Was
 Hurried Into Grave
(Continued from Page D

In the oil cases, the United States supreme court held Harding had ex- ceeded his authority in issuing the executive order which transferred the naval oil leases from the navy department into Falls jurisdiction in the interior department. There was never however any evidence that Harding acted with knowledge or what was about to happen or that when he sent the Teapot Dome docu- ments to the senate with a letter saving he approved all that had been done he knew of the secret money transactions between Fall and the oil men.
 But just before he died in 1923' Harding began to suspect some as sociates, There were rumors or break between him and one Of ms most trusted lieutenants, Jess Smlth. intimate of former Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty, had just com mitted suicide under circumstances not explained to this day. Harding had learned of the activities or Charles R. Forbes, an intimate friend who had been made director of the veterans bureau and Wno was later sent to prison for ms deeds in office. The elder LaFoliette had forced the senate to order an investigation of the Teapot Dome ai- fair the year before but despite ugiy rumors of corruption in the deal' the investigation dragged. It was some months after Harding died that the real charges of bribery were made. Mrs Harding lived long enough to see the gathering cloud burst and by the time she died, Nov 21, 1924, the story of Falls dealings with p. l.. Doheny and Harry F. Sinclair had been disclosed. Senate clamor had forced Daugherty and Edwin Il. Denby, secretary of navy, to resign. dozens of regulations had been smeared with scandal, and condl- ton of affairs which had not been dreamed of since the period just att CT the Civil war had been revealed. , Both Doheny and, Sinclair were acquitted in criminal trials of con- spiracy charges but the United States supreme court held, in civil cases involving the same evidence that both deals had been tainted by fraud and corruption, and the leases were set aside.
 A development which caused great regret among Harding's friends was the publication of a book in which a former Marion woman, Nan Brit ton, asserted Harding was the father of her daughter.
 There was warning of tragedy even before Warren Harding went into the White House. When the Hardings were in Panama just after the election. this correspondent ac- companied the party. One day a cablegram was received saying that Jake Hamon had passed away" Hamon was a close friend of the Hardings, an Oklahoma oil promo ter who had contributed heavily to Harding's election and who was planning to go to Washington and set himself up in an impressive way. at the time his mistress killed him. When the first brief word came that Hamon was dead, Mrs Harding asked suspiciously of this corre- spondent, Was there a woman mixed up in it?" She always had and several times voiced to this corre- spondent and others who talked with her often, fears of some tragic evil destiny which might blight their career in the White House. Once during the fever of campaign en- thusiasm. when everything was moving Harding's way, and Wilson was at his lowest ebb, Mrs Harding observed, Tt is wonderful, but think where Wilson is to-day"
 Later senate investigators were told sensational stories that Hamon at the Chicago convention in 1920 had made deals by which some oil interests gave the nomination to Harding after extracting promises from him, a story which never re- ceived substantiation by senate in- vestigators.
 Years later the senate found out that the campaign deficit incurred in the election of Harding was partly cleared by advances from Harry r. Sinclair totailing $260,000. advanced to Will Hays. then chairman of the republican national committee. Part of this sum was parcelled out to An- drew W. Mellon. the late secretary of war, John W. Weeks and some other high republicans to be listed as campaign contributions under their names. Though there were lat. or efforts to whitewash any sus- plcions aspect that the oil scandals might give to this deal, Senator WI. liam A. I,orah was SO ineensed that he publicly started n "eonscienee fund" to raise money 10 repay Bin- clalr. Senator Arthur capper. repub. lIonn. Knnsas, declared these dummy contributors were used Co "perfume tainted money" which Sinclair paid In tho belief it would buy him immunity in hIs plot Co loot the Wyoming naval OH reserves"
 Harry N. Dausherty who with Hays had managed tho Harding cafns palsn. was tried on the oharae ol