Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-03-06
Ickes Reveals
Giving Warning
Against Pau|ey
Declares He Told
Roosevelt He Feared
Political Scandal

Harold L. IckeS testified today
he told President Roosevelt in
1914 that sooner or later you
are going to have scandal on
your hands" if an oil man re-
NAMED as Democratic National
Committee treasurer.
The statement by the former Sec
rotary came as he and Senator
Iydlngs, Democrat, of MARYLAND
claShed over procedure in the Senate
Naval Affairs Committees hearings
on the nomination of Edwin w.
Pauley for Undersecretary of the
Navy.
Mr.. Pauley. a California oil man,
formerly was Democratic national
treasurer.
Mr.. Ickes told the committee. I'M
der questioning by Senator Tydings,
that he did not remember making a
statement in an interview with Sam
Shelton, printed in the ST. Louis
Post Dispatch July S, 1945, that
"Pauley was within his rights" and
did not resort to improper meth
ods' in opposing court settlement
of Federal claims to tidelands oil
areas.
Says 1t Was Mistake.
If he said that, Mr.. Ickes testified,
1t was mistake because Improper
methods had been used by Mr..
Pauley and used constantly by him"
When Senator Tydings said the
former Secretary of Interior was
contradicting himself, the witness
interrupted him to assert:
Now you don't have to shake an
admonitory finger at me. I hope
your record is as clear as mine"
Senator TydingS referred to Mr..
Tckes' previous testimony that Mr..
Pauley in 1914 made the rawest
proposition ever made to me-" This,
Mr.. IckeS said then, was suggestion
that 100000 in Democratic cam
paign funds could be obtained from
oil men if the Government did not
press the tidelands issue.
why didn't you tell President
Roosevelt and the American people
that they had a Democratic national
treasurer who was going around
soliciting campaign funds from oil
men who might beneft?" Senator
demanded.
Predicted Scandal.
II said to President Roosevelt on
one OCCASION" Mr. Ickes replied:
mo oil man should be treasurer of
the Democratic National Commit
tee, and sooner or later you are 60
ing to have scandal on your
hands.
Why hadn't Mr.. Ickes. told Presi- |
dent Truman about Mr.. Pauley, Sen
ator Tydings wanted to know.
II did lead up to it two or three |
times Mr.. Ickes replied. He asked
me no questions. 1 supposed that
he didn't want to know"
Senator Tydings demanded to
know why he kept the alleged con-
versation with President Roosevelt
to himself when funds raised while
Mr.. Pauley was treasurer were used
to finance Mr.. Ickes' campaign
speeches.
Mr.. Ickes denied that he took any
speaking assignments from the Ma
tional committee.
The Maryland Senator wanted to
know why he didn't tell President
Truman about the incident when
Mr.. Pauley was being named Amer
lean member of the Preparations
Commission.
Police Court Examination.
Mr. Ickes said Mr.. Pauley was not
going to handle Oil lands in that
position.
Senator Tydings observed it was
odd that Mr.. IckeS was so outrs ned |
by Mr.. Pauley's reported convelsa-
ton and did not take it to his chief. |
and added: Il am one man you
can't bamboozle"
I'm one man you can't bam- |
boozle," Mr.. Ickes retorted. The
witness said this was the first time |
before a congressional committee he
had been subjected to a police court |
examination, and suggested that in |
court many of the questions would |
have been ruled out as argumen-
tative.
At the height of the exchange. |
Senator Tydings objected to Mr..
Ickes' son Raymond sitting beside
him and giving his father informa-
ton. The son said his father had
asked him to come to the hearing
as counsel. but if the chair told him
(See PAULEY, Page A-40
L nfIas