Oil's End

Last week the Oil Scandals of the Harding Era passed finally into history. Swept from the docket of the District of Columbia Supreme Court in a five-minute session were the remaining three conspiracy indictments against the three principals-- Albert Bacon Fall, Harry Ford Sinclair, Edward Laurence Doheny. Their dismissal was requested by Atlee Pomerene, special government prosecutor, on the ground that the charges had already been tried in earlier criminal cases. Before making his request, Lawyer Pomerene conferred with President Hoover.

With the criminal cases closed for good, last week's whereabouts of those whose names made thousands of big black headlines after the Senate began unearthing the dirty facts in 1923. were as follows:

Warren Gamaliel Harding, U. S. President under whose nose graft & corruption flourished, lay monumentally entombed at Marion, Ohio. Albert Bacon Fall, released last month from the New Mexico State Penitentiary, was a sick, broken old man at his Three Rivers (N. Mex.) ranch. He is sitting up a few hours each day.

Edward Laurence Doheny idled at his Beverly Hills, Calif, home where he collects fine paintings, grows tropical plants. One day he went cruising on his yacht. Edward Laurence Doheny Jr. who carried "the little black bag" was killed by his secretary in 1929.

Harry Ford Sinclair, now chairman of Consolidated Oil Corp., was in Los Angeles on business. Thomas James Walsh, relentless investigator of the oil leases, still serves as Montana's Senior Senator.

Owen Josephus Roberts, special oil prosecutor, sits on the U. S. Supreme Court bench.

Atlee Pomerene, special oil prosecutor, practices law in Cleveland as a member of the firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey.

James E. O'Neil, once head of Prairie Oil & Gas Co., died last year at Cannes, France, whither he had fled in 1924 to escape telling the Senate and the courts about Continental Trading Co. Ltd., the corporate dummy through which the $3,080,000 Mexia Field swag was collected, $230,500 of which went to Fall.

Henry M. Blackmer, onetime head of Midwest Refining Co., was still self-exiled in France for the same reason. Last month he paid a $60,000 fine for contempt of court growing out of his refusal to return to the U. S. and testify. He also settled income tax irregularities for $3,670,000, but still pending against him were conspiracy charges for tax violations. Last week in Manhattan, George E. Holmes, one of his swarm of attorneys, flumped in the subway, was killed.

Frank Joseph Hogan, "million-dollar" defense counsel for Doheny and Fall, returned to his Washington office from California where he secured dismissal of the civil suit to make Doheny personally liable for the Elk Hills fiasco.

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