Evening star., 1946-03-07
Pau|ey Strikes
Back al Ickes
On GILMAN Ban
Statement Declares
Leaders in Industry
Held VituI War Jobs
BY J. A. OIeory


guage against those who claim
that no oil man should hold high
office in the Navy, Edwin w.
Pauley, nominee for Undersecre-
tary of the Navy. declared today
that during the war President
Roosevelt and former Secretary
OF the Interior Ickes called oil
men to produce. process and dis
tribute the oil so essential to
victory"
In a statement issued to reporters
as the Senate Naval Affairs Com
mittee met this morning Mr.. Pauley
asked:
If men in the oil business were
good enough, experienced, skilled,
energetic and patriotic enough to
hold high Government posts during
the war crisis, good enough to meet
the prodigious and unprecedented
demands of the Army and Navy
for vast variety of petroleum
products, what-will Mr.. Ickes and
all the disciples of fantastic
philosophy please explain in plain,
logical and understandable language
is wrong with them now? Why
should they be acceptable in war
times and so definitely in the dog
house thereafter.
Proud to Be in Industry.
why should their knowledge of
this vital industry, their technical
skill and their years of invaluable
and irreplaceable experience dis
qualify them from peacetime service
with the Navy Department, to which
petroleum is absolutely essential?
I don't mean Ed Pauley. I just
mean any and all American oil men
land / am sure the entire great
industry with which I am proud
to have been identified-would like
to know the answer"
After hearing only one witness for
a few minutes, the committee re-
cessed until 10 am. tomorrow, when
Mr.. Pauley is expected to take the
stand in an effort to refute MIR
Ickes' charge that Mr.. Pauley linked
Democratic fund-raising with the
tidelands oil suit in 1914. Mr.. Ickes
testified Mr.. Pauley said $500, 900
would be raised among oil men for
the party campaign fund if the Gov
ernment did not file its suit claim
ing Federal title to submerged
coastal oil lands.
In this connection, Mr.. Pauley
told reporters today that Postmaster
General Hannegan and Paul Porter.
then Democratic publicity chief,
were present during the entire con-
versation with Mr.. Ickes.
Hearings May End Tomorrow.
Mr.. Ickes has testified it was after
Mr.. Hannegan and Mr.. Porter left
that Mr.. Pauley made what the
former Interior chief called "the
rawest proposition ever made to me. u
Mr.. Pauley is expected to sum up
his answer to this and other issues
when he takes the stand tomorrow,
and has indicated he may call Mr.
Hannegan and Mr. Porter, now OPA
chief.
One reliable Democratic source
expressed belief the hearings would
end tomorrow.
The Pauley statement came amid
renewed reports at the Capitol that
he would withdraw, in the interest
OF party harmony, when the hear
ings are over.
The nominee said the main OBJ.
lection to his confirmation has
been "the strange, mysterious and
utterly unexplained theory that q
man who has been in the oil busi-
ness should not hold Office in the
Navy Department"
Wants to Settle Question.
"Mr. Ickes said that yesterday
Senator Pepper, Democrat, OF Flor
ida, says 1t. Others say and print
it. Nonthinkers. parrotlike, repeat
the same false philosophy. I want
to grab that bull by the horns and
settle that question once and for all" Z"
Mr.. Pauley then quoted from the
testimony of both Mr.. Ickes and
Secretary of the Navy Forrestal to
show that the Navy and Army have
suffered from lack of experienced
advice on their oil supply problems.
He recalled that Mr.. Ickes told the
committee yesterday the Navy has
allowed probably 150,000,OO0 barrels
OF oil over the years to be drained
from the Elk Hills reserve because,
according to Mr.. Ickes, they didn't
have sense enough to put down off,
set wells. ="
Mr.. Pauley said the best estimates
of the Nays own total petroleum
reserves is only 295 5,0O0, 900 barrels.
IF Mr.. Ickes' estimate is cor
rect, which I doubt, then lack of
operational experience already has
dissipated more than half of the
total naval reserves" Mr.. Pauley
continued.
Know-How Emphasized.
Then he quoted Mr.. Forrestal as
saying that when the Navy drew
up a new oil contract for the Elk
Hills reserve, Mr.. Forrestal and the
late Secretary Knox submitted it
to an independent man in the oil
business in whom they had conf
dence.
'The obvious inference is that
there was nobody in the Navy De-
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