Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-13
Lack of Recommendations
From Judge and Prosecutors
Cited by Mitchell.
DECISION FOLLOWS
DEPARTMENT POLICY
Papers to Be Filed Away Without
Being Sent to White
House.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Executive clemency today was deniHd
to Albert 3. Fall, former Secretary of
the Interior, now serving a sentence of
a year and day in the New Mexico
State Penitentiary for accepting bride
from Edward l.. Doheny.
Attorney General Mitchell announced
that the application for clemency would
not be granted by President Hoover.
The reason given for the denial was
that none Of the three prosecutors and
judges whose opinions were asked on
the petition mad advised clemency.
These men were Justice William Hitz
of tine District of Columbia Court of
Appeals. who sat in judgment on Fall:
Atlee Pomerene, special Government
prosecutor in the oil trials. and United
States Attorney Leo A. Rover.
Not Sent to President.
A recent executive order signed by
both President Hoover and Attorney
General Mitchell p. Divides that when
none of the persons so consulted adj
vises clemency the papers shall not be
sent to the President" except in excep-
tional cases.
The Attorney General said he had
determined there was mo reason to
make a special order submitting the
papers to the President" and thus the
plea in behalf Of FAN automatically was
denied.
1t was said this application never
theless had been given the careful
and complete consideration required
by the rules governing applications for
pardon"
A brief statement handed to news
papsrmen by Mitchell today pointed out
that the application for elemency had
not been made by Fall himself. as is
ordinarily required, but had been sub
mitted in his behalf by number of
officials and citizens of New Mexico
BESIDES the year and q day sentence,
Fall was fined Sloo.0 900. He began
Scrving his sentence at Santa Fe sew
t-sl weeks ago.
Jnst;ce Bailey Not Consulted.
Justice JENNINGS Bailey Of tbs DistEict
of Columbia Supreme Court. who re-
Gently added day to the years sem
his home because of his health, was not
consulted on the application.
The Attorney General concluded his
br' ef statement with these words:
Under the rules the papers will be
automatically filed away without fur
ther action. This course amounts 20. a
denial Of the application
Justice Department officials pointed
out that Fall would De eligible for pa
role under the rules APPLYING to all Fed
eral prisoners.
Thus his case could come before the
Federal Parole Board after serving one
third of his sentence. or four months
after the day he entered the New Mex
leo penitentiary.
Fail entered the penitentiary July 20
after repeated efforts to escape serving
the sentence had proved futile.
The T0-year-old former Senator was
convicted Of accepting 500 900 bride
from Doheny, California oil million
aire, for leasing the Elk Hills naval
oil reserve when he headed the In
terror Department in tIes Harding ad-
ministration.
Review of Cases Opposed.
Shortly before the Fan application
was denied, Pomerene and Rover act
ing for the Government. filed a brief
with the Supreme Court opposing re-
view of two cases filed by Harry NJ.
Blackmer. Colorado oil operator, seek
ing to set aside fines of $4,000 for
contempt in refusing to return from
France to testify in the oil trials
They declared in the brief that, as
there WIS no question of the authority
of the Unitcd States TO compel citizens
temporarily residing abroad to return TO
this country for military service, there
cgu'd be no substantial ground for con-
tending that Congress and the courts
could not require them to return as
witnesses in criminal proceedings in the
FEDERAL courts.
They s2id Blackmer had been legany
served by American consuls end his
deliberate refusal TO obey had unques-
tionably placed him in contempt of
court
Congress and the courts" they held,
ought not to be and are not power
less 10 serve process upon their citi-
zens when abroad. or to subject their
property within the United States to
the payment Of a fine which may be
assessed because Of a fsgrant viola
zion of the viii Of the sovereign"