NO RECORD OF HARDING APPROVAL OF NAVAL RESERVE OIL LEASES
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On May 1, 1924, the United States Senate oil committee was advised by Assistant Secretary of the Interior Edward C. Finney* that "a search of the records" indicated the late President Warren G. Harding did not approve of the lease of more than 3000 acres in Naval Reserve No. 2** located in California to the Honolulu Oil Company.
Mr. Finney said that Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall*** "had no authority of his own to make such a contract." He agreed with a senator's statement that the lease was not valid unless President Harding had approved it.
*Edward Clingan Finney (1868-1956) served as assistant Secretary of the Interior & as a U.S. aide for 39 years.
**Naval Reserve No. 2, adjacent to Elk Hills, was eventually sold to Occidental Oil Company & is today the largest producer of natural gas in California.
***Albert B. Fall, Secretary of the Interior under President Harding, was convicted on federal bribery charges for having received $400,000 in return for manipulating oil leases.
SOURCES
"Edward C. Finney, U.S. Aide 39 Years; Ex Assistant Secretary of Interior Is Dead at 86," The New York Times, September 4, 1956, www.nytimes.com/
"Harding Approval Of No. 2 Oil Leases Declared Lacking," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., May 1, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Naval Petroleum Reserve #1 & #2, California," The Center For Land Use Interpretation, www.clui.org/
