"GOING TO SPEND REST OF HIS LIFE HIDING OUT"

FORMER INTERIOR SECRETARY SAYS HE IS THROUGH WITH POLITICS

New Orleans, Louisiana (JFK+50) On January 18, 1924, former Interior secretary Albert B. Fall* stated he is through with politics.  He said...

"I'm going to spend the rest of my life traveling around and hiding out..."

Mr. Fall denies charges that he received compensation from Standard Oil Company in connection with the lease of the Teapot Dome** oil reserve.

*Albert Bacon Fall (1861-1944) was born in Frankfort, Kentucky & served in the US Army during the Spanish-American War.  ABF served in US Senate (R-New Mexico) 1912-1921 & as Secretary of Interior 1921-1923.  He was the only person convicted in the Teapot Dome scandal.

**Teapot Dome is a bribery scandal of President Harding's administration.  It was considered "the greatest and most sensational" political scandal of US politics before Watergate. 

SOURCE

"Fall Is 'Through' With Public Life," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., January 18, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Albert B. Fall

Harris & Ewing Photo

Library of Congress

"FOUND GUILTY OF BRIBERY & CONSPIRACY"

SECRETARY FALL RESIGNS DUE TO INVOLVEMENT IN TEAPOT DOME

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 2, 1923, Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall* resigned as a result of his involvement in the Teapot Dome** scandal.

Secretary Fall, appointed by President Warren G. Harding, was charged with taking "loans" of nearly $400,000 from oil companies in return for allowing them to exploit public lands in Wyoming.

Found guilty of bribery and conspiracy, Fall was sent to prison for a year becoming the first former cabinet officer to serve time for misconduct while in office.

*Albert Bacon Fall (1861-1944) was born in Frankfort, KY & settled in the territory of New Mexico where he practiced law.  ABF lost two children to the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.

He served in the NM House of Representatives (1891-1892) & as associate judge on the NM Supreme Court.  ABF was a captain in the Spanish-American War. 

**Teapot Dome is a scandal involving secret leasing of federal oil reserves in California & Wyoming in the early 1920s.  The name came from a rock formation in Wyoming.  The scandal revealed extensive corruption in the Harding administration. 

 

 

Albert B. Fall

Swearing-in 

March 1921

National Photo Company

Library of Congress Image

 

Weavers Refuse to Sign Loyalty Oath

WEAVERS APPEARANCE ON JACK PAAR SHOW CANCELED WHEN GROUP REFUSED TO SIGN LOYALTY OATH

New York City (JFK+50) The folk singing group "The Weavers," scheduled to appear on the Jack Paar television show, were canceled when every member of the group refused to sign a loyalty oath 52 years ago today, January 2, 1962.

Founded in 1948 by Pete Seeger, "The Weavers" were responsible for a resurgence in American folk music in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Members of the group came under suspicion in the "Red Scare" of the 1950s because they supported pacifism and communist ideals.

SECRETARY ALBERT B. FALL TAKES FALL

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) 91 years ago today, President Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, resigned as a result of his involvement in the infamous "Teapot Dome" scandal.  

Fall, appointed in 1921, had taken "loans" of $400,000 from oil companies in return for allowing them to exploit public lands in Wyoming.  

A rock formation located on this land resembled a tea pot.

Harding, discredited by this as well as other scandals, died in 1923 while Fall died in near poverty in 1944.


INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEED LIMIT REDUCED

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) 42 years ago today, January 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law a bill calling for the reduction of the SPEED LIMIT on the nation's interstate highways from 70 miles per hour to 55 miles per hour. 

This law came on the heels of a major oil crisis resulting in a spike in gasoline prices.  The law was based on the evidence that slower driving results in reduced fuel consumption.



VC SCORE VICTORY OVER SOUTH VIETNAMESE 

Saigon (JFK+50 Viet Cong or VC forces inflicted heavy losses on the South Vietnamese Army (SVA) at Ap Bac, 50 miles SW of Saigon 51 years ago today, January 2, 1963. 

This defeat symbolized the weakness of the South Vietnamese Army in opposition to the communists in Southeast Asia.