Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-02-13
Text Of Ickes' Letter to Truman
Giving Reasons for Resiqninq


for Resigning
/ initiate any opposition to Mr.. Pauley
i or to, splant" anything with respect
to him. Mr.. Pauley's name was
thus brought definitely into our
conversation. Still you did not ask
me what objections, If any, i had
to him.
Late Thursday afternoon, January
81, received telegram from Sena-
tor Walsh, chairman of the Naval
Affairs Committee of the Senate,
asking me, at the request Of Senator
j Tobey, to appear before his commit
tee on the nomination of Mr. PAuley
the following morning at 1890 The
cabinet met at 10 o'clock that day.
At almost exactly IL. as we were
about to adjourn, / left my chair so
as to reach you first and showed you
the telegram from Senator Walsh
However, you still refrained from
asking me If had any objections to
this nomination.
Il
j Began on False Scent.
j proceeded to the meeting of the
Naval Affairs Committee ana
think that the record will show that
I did everything that could in be-
half Of Mr.. Pauley except to FORE
swear myself. The committee, it
seemed to me, had gotten of on a
false scent by considering evidence
about Mr.. Pauley's interest In build
ing and operating a 100-octane
gasoline refinery in Mexico.
I could not see that this had any
bearing upon his qualifications to
become Undersecretary of the Navy.
However, this presented an occasion
to criticize sharply Mr.. Max Thorn
burg. at one time petroleum adviser
to the State Department. When
Senator Tobey asked me whether, in
any conversation with me, Mr..
Pauley had ever linked the PROPOSE
ton OF campaign contributions from
oil men in California with the pos
sibility Of abandoning any claim of
Federal title to the offshore oil lands
Of that State, my answer was yes
At that time Senator Tobey did
not pursue the matter further than
to ask whether any one was present
at this conversation and whether I
had made q memorandum of it. MY
answers were that Undersecretary
Fortas had been present and that I
had made memorandum.
Mr.. Pauley followed me on the
stand. Senator Brewster asked him
whether he had heard my evidence
that morning to the effect that he
had suggested to me that If he could
be assured that the tideland bill
would not be filed, he could raise
$500 900 or $500, 900. Mr.. Pauley re-
piled, that statement is not true. ;,
Subsequently I received another
telegram from Senator Walsh in re-
Spouse to which ! attended a further
meeting of the Naval Affairs Com
mittee on the afternoon of Tuesday,
February 5.
This summons required me to take
with me all memoranda relating to
conversations with Mr.. Pauley with
respect to campaign contributions
and Federal title to odshore oil
lands In California. OF course, re-
sponded to this summons. On this
occasion, under questioning from
Senator Tobey, I read my memoran-
da--there were several of them on
the subject-to the committee and
introduced them into the record.
|. Position Made Untenable.
|. I followed your press conferences
on Thursday, February 7. at which
lyou definitely aligned yourself with
Mr.. Pauley as against me, thus
| making my position as member Of
your cabinet untenable. OF course
this was your privilege but If may,
I should like to question the propri-
ETY. of your saying that ] had not
consulted you in advance Of my tes-
ftimony with respect to Pauley ana
particularly Of your statement That
"IckeS can very well be mistaken a.
well as the rest of us"
1t seemed to- me clear from what
you said at this press conference
that you had prejudged this. case
without giving me q chance to be
heard. In any other circumstances
that can conceive of would have
considered 1t my duty to continue
In my present post until the issues
had been finally determined. In the
circumstances ] see no such duty.
On the contrary, I feel that as q
matter of principle 1t Is clearly my
obligation to submit my resignation
now.
AS to your statement that might
have been mistaken in my testimony,
my feeling Is that, since you were
not present at the hearing and pre-
sumably had not read the record,
1t was not proper for you, even al
though you be the President Of the
United States, to pass Judgment on
q question of veracity. between Mr..
Pauley and myself.
| After all, am q member Of your
cabinet at your own request and ]
do not have reputation for dealing
treck1essly with the truth. On the
issue of veracity as between Mr..
Pauley and myself. am ready to
appear before any competent tri-
bunal at any time, although, OF
i course, I should want one that would
not announce, or even form, its
opinion In advance OF q full and
careful consideration Of all Of the
Eevidence.
Was willing to Talk.
/ As to whether / had or had not
consulted you in advance OF my
testimony on the rauley nominal
ton, my reply Is that you had full
notice Of the probability Of my EN-.
! barrassment, plus several opportu-
mites, in addition to those that you
might create at will, to ask me the
reason why I might oppose him.
4 After all, one may not thrust his
unasked advice upon the President
of the United States and I did moi
!, feel that I could 90 further than tx
indicate to you, as I clearly did
that was willing to talk to ,.yor
!. about Mr.. Pauley, although, O
course. you did not need such al
: affirmative assurance.
Even at the risk OF making thi