Business & Finance: Doheny

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Edward L. Doheny must realize that American politics as well as placer mining, is a fickle pursuit. Four years ago he contributed $75,000 to the Democratic national campaign, was Second Vice President of the Democratic Central Committee of California, and was known as the "Boss of the Southwest." He had in his employ four retiring or retired members of Wilson's Cabinet: W. G. McAdoo, Secretary of the Treasury; Thomas W. Gregory, Attorney General; Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior; and Lindley M. Garrison, Secretary of War. California politicians even urged his nomination for the Vice Presidency to run with James M. Cox.

The "Teapot Dome" explosion has changed all this, and now nobody wishes to claim connection with Mr. Doheny. The master of Pan-American Petroleum, however, has gone ahead with his naval reserve contract and built the oil storage tanks at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, despite the fact that the contract is now under attack and in fact in litigation. The tanks are ready, but just who will fill them has not been decided. Under the contract, Pan-American was to furnish 2,500,000 barrels of oil for this purpose. But because of court procedure, Pan-American need not go ahead with this clause of the contract.