The Washington times., 1932-05-09
GIVES AMAZING
ITEST|MONYA At
OIL QUIZ
oil Probe of 1924 Found the
Great SIeuth Conducting
lessons in Detecting"

The latest sensational ven
fure of CASTOR B. Means
an alleged promise to recover
the kidnapped Lindbergh baby
for $100,00O-today brought
recollections on Capitol Hill
of the startling testimony
Means gave eight years ago
when a select Senate commit
tee was investigating the
regime of Harry NJ. Daugherty
as Attorney General.
Means told the Senators how
to be a detective; said he would
investigate anybody or anything;
bluntly explained how he'd shad-
owed and investigated Congress
members and other officials; how
he'd collected large sums Of
money which he turned over to
one of the close associates Of the
attorney general, for what pur-
pose he didn't exactly know; re-
lated the operations of bootleg
rings; how he was employed by
several foreign governments and
several American millionaireS;
and enunciated detectives pol
icy of working for the side that
showed the most money.
In Teapot Scandals.
Means was on the stand before
the Senate committee for many
hours and his testimony was a
highlight of that period when the
Teapot Dome oil scandals and
the Department of Justice were
under steady congressional fire.
Here are random extracts from
the published hearings of early
1924, conducted by five Senators
-Brookhart. Iowa; Moses, New
Hampshire; Jones, Washington;
Wheeler, Montana. and Ashurst,
Arizona.
At the outset Senator Wheeler
asked Means if he had ever been
convicted of felony and Means
replied:
"T have been accused of
every crime in the catalogue,
but not convicted so far. Oh,
I have been convicted once or
twice for minor fights; / have
been in the mayors court for
hitting some fellow. or some
fellow hitting me. and licking
me, perhaps, but never called
that anything"
Senator Wheeler asked if
Means had not gone through"
the offices of Senator La Toilette
(the elder and Senator Caraway.
He said:
81 saw that it was done las
to La FOllette's Offices, but we
didn't 20 through Caraway's
that way at all; handled it diff
ferentIy."
Ready To Do 1t!
Wheeler asked if Means had
"goNe through my offices" after
records and Means snapped:
eff somebody will assign me
to it 1 will do it, though"
Means testified that he was
assigned to m.' an inveStiga-
tion Of certain Senators by Jess
Smith, friend of Daugherty, who
had a desk, but no title in the
Justice Department, and a Mr..
Underwood, another friend of the
then Attorney General. Other ex-
tracts from his testimony include:
TN investigation with me the
man is a number; never ask
who he is. l would just as
soon investigate tramp as
anybody else. 1 designate the
number and get the facts, if
can. It doesn't mean anything
about investigating Senator.
Thousands of people have been
investigated. Bishops have
been investigated without know
Ing it, and clergymen. means
has used Number IL" in the
Lindbergh caSe).
GET THE FACTS, HE SAYS
SEARCH his offices. find out
all the mail that comes in; all
the papers, anything that he's
got laying around. IF you
found something damaging on
. man you would quietly get
word to him through friends,
or otherwise, that he'd better
put the soft pedal on the sit
uatiOn. Use it afterward if
he attempts to do anything else.
"Oh, would work for any
body if they had the money.
Just like a lawyer. would
first ask him how much money
he has got.
81 could look at Jess Smith
and tell he had money"
Means later testified that after
he ceased to be a Department of
Justice agent. he was retained
individually to do certain de.
tective work for Jess Smith, who
committed suicide during the
Harding administration, and that
Smith was a better friend of
the then President than Of the
Attorney General.
Means resumed his testimony:
''The Attorney General told
me he liked me because ]
didn't let my right hand know
what my left hand was doing;
I knew how to investigate. He
told me anything Jess Smith
AANE 20 10 I mos IN do Il