Oil Money

Two significant deposit items were recorded last week by the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The deposits were to the credit of the Treasurer of the U. S.: from the Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co., $11,092,264.82; from the Pan American Petroleum Co., $1,920,886.94-- Total, $13,013,151.76.

So ended the civil proceedings of the U. S. Navy Department against Oilman Edward L. Doheny to recover values and royalties on oil and gas sold by Mr. Doheny's companies from the Elk Hills, Calif., Naval oil reserves, which were improperly leased to the Doheny interests by onetime (1921- 23) Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall. Last week's final payments swelled the sum which the U. S. recovered from the Doheny companies, together with its oil lands, to a total of $24,237,341.05. The report of the receivership which has been managing Elk Hills since 1924 showed that operating costs had totaled only one-sixteenth of the income from the property, despite Oilman Doheny's insistence that he undertook the Elks Hills leases with "patriotic" motives.

The Government's other civil suit arising out of the oil scandals, against Oilman Harry F. Sinclair who leased the Teapot Dome (Wyo.) reserve, is still before the U. S. Supreme Court.

Still pending also are two U. S. criminal suits against the Messrs. Fall, Sinclair and Doheny.

And last week the U. S. started yet another civil suit against Mr. Doheny, to break three leases he holds on strips of oil land adjacent to the Elk Hills reserve.