GRAVE SCANDAL

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11739, 29 January 1924, Page 9

GRAVE SCANDAL

AMERICAN OIL LANDS PROSECUTION TO FOLLOW' COMMITTEE'S REPORT. PRESIDENT’S DECISION. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Oab'“ WASHINGTON, January 27. With the oil lands investigation developing into the gravest scandal in the history of America, President G'oolidge’s announcement that he will form a Bipartisan Legal Committee to take over the Senate’s Committee’s evidence and begin the prosecution of all persons found guilty of malfeasance, reveals the existence of an unusual situation. The evidence developed before the Senate Committee now involves a former Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, Edwin Denby, Secretary of Ncvy. M. Daugherty, and the Assist-ant-Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt. President Cbolidge hints that serious corruption exists, and that the testimony given by Fall conflicts seriously especially concerning certain large loans granted by various individuals, who obtained oil land leases. The Democrats are openly gleeful over the situation, and the widely-as-sumed scandal spells death to Republican aspirations at the coming Presidents! election. A message from New York dated January 22nd said: “The appearance of Archibald Roosevelt, -on of ex-Pre-sident Theodore Roosevelt before the Senatorial Committee which is investigating the lease of Government-owned oil lands to private interests promises to precipitate a widespread scandal in, volving two Cabinet Departments. Roosevelt, who is an employee of the oil company, which secured the leases, testified that upon the advice of his brother, Theodore, who is AssistantSecretary to the Navy Department, he (Archibald) resigned his position in order to protect the family name. He intimates that he is dissatisfied with the manner wherein the leases were secured. Roosevelt’s evidence has added further complications, which involve a dase wherein intimations of bribery have been freely made and much damaging testimony adduced. The Tacts briefly are that ex-9eoretary Fall, of the Department of the Interior, having obtained jurisdiction over these oil lands from the Navy Department, which held them as a naval oil reserve, leased them to the Sinclair Oil Company. . Experts estimated that the lands contained 22,000,000 barrels of oil, and the Navy Department had received as payment only 1,600,000 barrels.