papers the amazing story of another national oil scandal that will rival the Teapot Dome revelations. Mr. Kelley will tell a story that is full of dynamite for high officials in power in Washington and will undoubtedly lead to certain resignations and a congressional investigation. By Ralph S. Kelley, former chief field division, General Land Office at Denver (October 1, 1930: Newspapers telegraphed) F. W. Eldridge, Examiner, Los Angeles, Calif L. S. Levy, Tribune, Oakland, Calif_ W. H. B. Fowler, Chronicle, San Francisco, Calif. Walter P. Plummer, Knickerbocker Press, Albany, N. Y__ W. F. Wiley, Enquirer, Cincinnati, O---. Moses Strauss, Times-Star, Cincinnati, O.... F. W. Huntress, Express, San Antonio, Tex___. $500 500 300 300 500 200 300 300 200 OCTOBER 1, 1930. Kelley, who resigned in new oil scandal, has written 15 articles exposing theft of oil lands that will rival Teapot Dome. It will be news sensation and lead to congressional action and resignations. Mailing first proofs to-day for release beginning Monday at price dollars. Giving you first chance and must have immediate wire decision as soon as you pass on proofs. NEW YORK WORLD SYNDICATE. FRANK B. KNAPP, (October 1: Williams to Knapp) OCTOBER 1, 1930. New York World Syndicate, New York, N. Y.: Papers here refuse oil story at any price. Consider too dull and lacking in public interest. Your message just received and am leaving for Detroit. If any pictures available mail to Chicago. Regret Hearst decision. Write me his reaction. Interior lands [seal]. W. H. WILLIAMS. (Check cashed October 1) DENVER, COLO., September 15, 1930. 82,804. TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES Pay to the order of Ralph S. Kelley $144.75. The sum of exactly one hundred forty-four dollars and seventy-five cents. Services. F. A. LEWIS, Special Disbursing Agent. 61-391. (Indorsement on the reverse thereof:) Ralph S. Kelley. Mr. W. H. WILLIAMS, (October 1: Knapp to Williams) OCTOBER 1, 1930. Congres Hotel, Chicago, Ill. DEAR WILL: At 4 o'clock this afternoon Knox's secretary phoned me that Hearst was not interested in the oil series so I wired you to go ahead to Detroit, Chicago, and so forth. Inclosed are six sets of corrected proofs. These proofs are all corrected for libel, and can be left with papers for publication. There will be some photo stats with the first three articles, including a letter from Wilbur, and telegrams, and also pictures of the principals. Ray has sold the stuff to the Philadelphia Record at $550 and is going to Washington to-night. (Not signed.) (October 2: Richardson to Kelley) ОСТОВЕК 2, 1930. Mr. RALPH S. KELLEY. Ambassador Hotel, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR KELLEY: The Secretary of the Interior having requested the Attorney General to investigate the matter of your charges against the secretary and the Department of the Interior with reference to certain oil-shale land conditions, the Attorney General has requested me to make such an investigation. As you are aware, in order to expeditiously make such an investigation it will be necessary for you to lay before me in as much detail as you possibly can the elements and substance of the matters generally referred to in your letter of September 28. This I have no doubt you will be perfectly willing to do and may I therefore suggest that you advise me immediately when, where, and how we can get together and take your statement in full? You will, of course, desire a full stenographic report of such communications as you see fit to make to me and I should be glad to furnish a reporter for that purpose, with the understanding that we may furnish you, without charge, a full transcript of your statement. I should also be very glad to furnish an office in the Department of Justice where your statement can be taken, together with any other arrangements or conveniences which may be deemed advisable. Will you not cooperate with me in expediting matters by arranging for an immediate conference along the lines above suggested? DEAR BILL: Under this cover I am mailing you two sets of matrices of the illustrations for the first three articles in case you make a sale and can leave the stuff. I am afraid it is going to be a terrible flop. Hearst turned it down, so Wheeler tells me, because he thought it was not worth paying the price and he could get all he wanted out of the news. Boston Post turned it down. So far the only acceptance we have, outside of Philadelphia at $550, is $100 from the Scranton Times, but do the best you can. There is no need of going to Minneapolis. Dillon turned it down, and I have offered it to Williams, of the Pioneer Press. Advise me what you will do after you get through with Chicago and Milwaukee. To-day Paul Palmer dropped in. He and Carroll are living in a cottage of a novelist, Bellow, and he is on trying to sell a story to Liberty. He has only got $11 left and may have to take a copy-reading job, so he says. Had a very pathetic note from Snevily. He has the pleurisy too, and the indications are that he is in pretty bad shape. That's all the cheering news I can send you. Mr. R. E. MOYER, (October 2: Knapp to Moyer) OCTOBER 2, 1930. Pittsburgh, Pa. DEAR RAY: I am giving John proofs of the cuts of the first three articles and two sets of mats in case you make a sale and want to leave them. You received the corrected proofs at Washington. The Scranton Times has come in at $100 and the Syracuse Herald at $150. Minneapolis turned it down; also Boston Post. Bill is in Detroit to-day, and I have not heard from him. I offered the stuff by letter to the Cincinnati Times-Star and the Enquirer at $300 each; so if you should go there, you will know at what it was offered. I am here doing my best to hold the bag and have not as yet passed the bad news around. Bill reports that papers say the stuff is too deadly dull and they do not want to attack the administration. DEAR MR. WATSON: The news now coming from Washington concerning the Colorado oil scandal that promises to rival Teapot Dome will be officially confirmed and amplified in a series of 15 articles by Ralph S. Kelley, chief of the field division of the General Land Office at Denver. Mr. Kelley made his sensational charges in a letter of resignation to Secretary Wilbur September 28. The World has contracted with Mr. Kelley for this story, which will be full of dynamite for certain high officials and will probably lead to a congressional investigation and probably some important resignations. We are inclosing proofs of the first few article whic are released beginning Monday, October 6. The price of this story is $200. Please wire your decision immediately, as the time is short before publication date. Very truly yours, Manager New York World Syndicate. (Attached to the letter is the following list of prospective purchasers of the Kelley story:) Charles A. Fell, Age-Herald, Birmingham, Ala. W. F. Prisk, Press-Telegram, Long Beach, Calif_ F. W. Eldridge, Examiner, Los Angles, Calif $200 100 500 500 300 100 500 500 500 150 150 200 100 200 100 Lew C. Ellingham, Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind_ 100 150 150 Gardner Cowles, jr., Register-Tribune, Des Moines, Iowa. Walter P. Plummer, Knickerbocker Press, Albany, N. Y.. 200 100 John S. Knight, Beacon-Journal, Akron, Ohio---. 100 100 Walter Harrison, Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, Okla- 200 200 200 200 100 200 200 200 200 200 100 100 300 100 100 300 George Morris, Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn_. M. H. Creager, Journal, Milwaukee, Wis.--- (Headlines on accompanying page proofs) BILLIONS LOST TO NATION IN NEW OIL SCANDAL AT WASHINGTON-EXPOSURES THAT WILL RIVAL TEAPOT DOME AND WHICH INVOLVE HIGH OFFICIALS Now IN OFFICE, MADE BY RESIGNING GENERAL LAND OFFICIAL A NEWS SENSATION TOLD IN 15 ARTICLES In these exclusive articles Ralph S. Kelley, chief of the field division of the General Land Office, at Denver, who resigned September 28 in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Wilbur, has written for the World and associated newspapers the amazing story of another national oil scandal that will rival the Teapot Dome revelations. Mr. Kelley will tell a story that is full of dynamite for high officials in power in Washington and will undoubtedly lead to certain resignations and a congressional investigation. (By Ralph S. Kelley, former chief field division, General Land Office, at Denver.) (October 2: Knapp to Paschall, Watson) John Paschall, Journal, Atlanta, Ga---- $200 200 OCTOBER 2, 1930. Kelley, who resigned in new oil scandal, has written 15 articles exposing theft of oil lands that will rival Teapot Dome. It will be news sensation and lead to congressional action and resignations. Mailing first proofs to-day for release beginning Monday at price $200. Please give immediate wire decision, as soon as you pass on proofs. NEW YORK WORLD SYNDICATE. (October 3: Knapp to Bovard) OCTOBER 3, 1930. O. K. BOVARD, Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo.: Herbert agrees to your proposition to print a digest of Kelley articles over one week, for which we will bill you $350. Air mailing to-night proofs of first eight articles corrected for libel and some illustrations. F. B. KNAPP. Mr. O. K. BOVARD, (October 3: Knapp to Bovard) Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo. OCTOBER 3, 1930. DEAR MR. BOVARD: As I wired you to-day, Herbert agreed to your proposition on the Kelley series. You can use a digest of the articles in one week if you want to and we will access you $350. After my talk with you I took the matter up with Mr. Pulitzer and told him exactly what we had done in trying to sell the series and what a flop it was, and I do not think he attaches any blame to the syndicate department. You expressed exactly what other editors had expressed to me by letter and to our salesmen who are on the road. We did sell it to the Philadelphia Record at $550 and to a paper in Scranton and a paper in Syracuse and there may be some more sales, because we have two men out, but I do not expect very much more. Under this cover I am mailing you the first eight articles, with prints of illustrations of the first three. These are about all the important illustrations we have, but if we get any more that I think you will want to use I will send them to you. This is important. Please destroy the proofs that you read and only use the proofs that I am mailing you for your purpose. These are proofs that have been revised by our lawyers to avoid libel. With best regards, I am Very truly yours, Manager New York World Syndicate. (October 3: Kelley to Richardson) Hon. SETH W. RICHARDSON, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 3, 1930. Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. RICHARDSON: Shortly before 5 p. m. yesterday I received your letter of the 2d instant, in which you stated that the Secretary of the Interior, having requested the Attorney General to make an investigation of the charges outlined in my letter of resignation, you have been directed to make such an investigation. You request to be advised whether I wish to cooperate with you in this matter. In a morning paper you are quoted as complaining that you telephoned me "at least 10 times yesterday." I received but one call from your secretary, who said you were not in the office then. In referring to your investigation. You have been quoted in many newspapers as follows: "Richardson said, 'It was his understanding that Secretary Wilbur had been, if anything, more severe than lenient in handling oil leases. Several court cases have resulted from Wilbur's strict rulings,' he said. The most recent suit was filed in Denver by the Government to recover 200 acres of oil shale land in western Colorado.' "It is a fact that not an acre of Government land can be lost without a record being made,' he said. 'If no great transfers of land have been made during this period, some one has become unduly excited.' Are you here referring to me? "Richardson said, 'I thought the former Denver official had acted “queerly' in making his charges against the Interior Department. He explained Kelley had been "invited" to Washington by Secretary Wilbur to take charge of oil shale matters, but had left suddenly without conferring with any of the officials. If there is basis in what he says,' Mr. Richardson said, 'then almost any action of his might be justified.' In my opinion the public interests require an investigation of these charges by an impartial body. May I be pardoned for saying that the statements attributed to you, in criticism of my action, and in support of the Secretary of the Interior, made before you have had opportunity to form independent judgment from an investigation of the evidence, indicates that you have prejudged the case, and have already disqualified yourself? Your statement referring to an alleged invitation' of Secretary Wilbur that I come to Washington is quite incorrect. These and numerous other |