The Teapot Dome inquiry is an effort to restore to the United States government the naval oil field reserve at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and the two reserve oil fields in California.
These were "leased" to Harry Sinclair and E.H. Doheny by Albert Bacon Fall, when Fall was secretary of the interior.
May 31, 1921, President Harding transferred the oil fields from the naval department to the interior department. This was after Congress had declined to authorize such action.
July 12, 1921, the government, represented by Fall, leased oil reserve No. 1 to Doheny. April 7, 1922, Fall leased Teapot Dome to Sinclair, representing the Mammoth Oil Co.
Later in 1922 other leases between the government and Doheny and Sinclair were entered into.
The inquiry now on is to determine where Fall, known to be impoverished, suddenly came into possession of money. If it is revealed that the money came from Sinclair the Teapot Dome oil deal can be broken.
The oil tank contract in the oil lease gives the government only six barrels out of 100 of its actual share of oil under the lease.
