In light of the incredible posts about LBJ and his circle, I have reviewed Barr McClellan's Blood, Money and Power and my own notes from the 1970's. The Murchison-Ed Clark- LBJ- King Ranch connection stands out most clearly, but an often unexplored link is also to Exxon and all that entails. In the 1960's then-Esso via Humble had many oil-gas wells on King Ranch land and paid to King Ranch many millions in royalties yearly. By l970 oil was depleted and Esso needed new approvals for gas production and royalty rates.

The Kleberg-LBJ connection from the 1930s was strong and longlasting according to all available evidence. And Big Oil-Murchison,Richardson, D.H. Byrd, H.L.Hunt,et al-were via import quotas and production controls in a symbiotic but subordinate
relationship with the US Majors led by Esso. McClellan implies that Esso-Exxon was "quietly" complicit in Clark's claims for a bonus payment for his role in the Kennedy assassination, while also getting a favorable outcome for themselves and King Ranch. Big Oil, LBJ and lawyers like Clark were only powerful while their tenure or oil were current.

These parties had connections in Australia as well. King Ranch came in the early l950s linking up with Establishment familes Baillieu, Hordern and Rupert Clarke, and were secretive yet politically prominent. By l970 it was Australia's largest private landower. In mid-l975, with the Whitlam Labor government in crisis, John Connally attended the 1st ever Santa Gertrudis Breeders Conference in Surfers Paradise, and stayed about a week, visiting Canberra. He had then just begun his run for the US presidency supporting a stronger CIA and was on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Tell me he did not have a powerful message for the anti-Labor forces! After the November 11 coup against Whitlam, Ag Minister Ken Wreidt said King Ranch had distributed US government funds via the NSW Grazier's Association.

Earlier, in 1974, Esso paid Exoil $A450,000 to change its name to Oilmin, as Esso became Exxon. Exoil was the exploration company of Queensland's rightist premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson, who in 1975 broke precedent and appointed an anti-Whitlam senator to change the balance of power after a Labor senator died. This was instrumental in the events that followed.

Meanwhile by July 1965, Murchison's Delhi had a gas field east of Adelaide, when Ed Clark was appointed US Ambassador. (I actually interviewed him as a junior reporter on his return from viewing what I recall he described as US interests in Australia. These included we later discovered the Pine Gap satellite ground station.) According to his wife's book Australian Adventure they hosted John Murchison at least twice. Another visitor was Benno Schmidt "of Abilene and New York" who was partner with David Rockefeller in the large Orleans Farm near Esperance, WA. Also visiting Clark was Mike Wright "who is moving from New York to Houston to be vice president of Esso in charge of Humble", and Gus Wortham of the 8F group and the Austin Round Table.
Clark returned to Texas in Jan 1968 where Barr McClellan takes up the story of the bonus payment from Big Oil with unspecified help from Exxon and King Ranch.

By November 8 1975, the Opposition was blocking government funding in the Senate and over the weekend Ted Shackley pulled the trigger. Described as head of Asia Pacific operations, but I believe Deputy Head of Ops, he dictated a cable damning Whitlam and threatening an official CIA demarche. This and other leverage was enough to compel the Governor General to sack the Government, bringing a dissolution of Parliament, electoral chaos, letter bombs and the destruction of hope for an honest independent Labor Party for at least my generation.

These connections were effective in outcome in Australia and to a degree mirror earlier events in Texas. While the evidence is circumstantial,it is not merely coincidental in my humble opinion. While there were other actors especially underworld and CIA types, the main players were identical.

Possible conclusions-

LBJ and Edward Clark, and Big Oil, considered themselves above the law but were not beyond the power of money, begotten of vast wealth and influence far greater than that of Texas or the White House;

The same applies to the CIA and Mafia. In fact the improbability of such independence of action as the Kennedy assassination or the overthrow of a stable democratic government by subordinate groups in US society is only reinforced by the strained reasoning in, for example, Ultimate Sacrifice.

Mr. McLean, this is extraordinary research work, and is invaluable. Simply wonderful information. Thank you.

This may seem an odd request, and I admit at the outset that it is extremely tangential to what you have posted, but I have to ask if you happen to know of any connections whatsoever that might have existed circa 1963 between some of the oil and international interests you have posted about here, and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

I can't express how serendipitous the timing of your post is to a certain spur line of investigation that is being carried out by several associates. I think they will find anything you have on this matter to be utterly riveting.

In any case, thank you for this thoughtful work.

Ashton Gray

Ashton, I can't summon up any reason you should have an interest in it, but the combination of CSIRO and 1963 in relation to anything possibly of a conspiratorial nature involving US seems to point in only one direction: the Bogle-Chandler deaths. Is that in fact, what you circling here?

David McLean's very insightful post raises an aspect of the intertwining connections that a student of the assassination would hope is more than six-degree's of separation. Peter Dale Scott, in Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, [1993] devotes an excerpt to, oil companies in relation to said topic named Rimrock Tidelands Oil Co and Husky Oil.
See
Deep Politics and the Death of JFK pages 202-206

To cut to the chase......there is a phrase that will put you on the fast track to where this goes

"Alfred was killed in a taxi in New York"
The very first time I read those words, from the lips of Earl Warren I got goosebumbs, it was later that I read the above, and tried to piece it together..Scott does a damn good job.
Your'e talking about one Alfred McLane, he was the individual where all of the connections between the Del Charro Set, Clint Murchison and oil and gas "interests" converge.
It is really a shame, DP and the Death of JFK is not readable online but I provided the page reference.
Furthermore, in the 1963 Dallas Phone Book there was a listing for
Mrs. Alfred E. McLane - 3116 Southwestern - EM1-6479

I have no idea if the above listing is that Mrs Alfred E. McLane, but I would certainly place it in the realm of possibility.


Robert

David, welcome to the forum. A very thought-provoking first post. I believe that Ted Shackley is the key figure in understanding the corrupt activities of the CIA between 1963-90. His relationship with Paul Helliwell and George H. W. Bush is also of great interest to me.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKshackley.htm

You might wish to explore these threads on the forum:

Ted Shackley and the Secret Team

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5597

Assassination, Terrorism and the Arms Trade: The Contracting Out of U.S. Foreign Policy: 1940-1990

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5799

A Unified Theory of CIA Covert Activities: 1960-1990

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=7867

Another connection between Shackley, Helliwell and Australia is via the Nugan-Hand Bank Scandal.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKnuganbank.htm

Frank Nugan was murdered on 27th January, 1980. Michael Hand went missing. Any idea of what happened to him?

Damn. Can't put anything past you guys, huh?

In a word: yes.

In two words: yes—partially.

I certainly don't want this thread shooting off in that direction, though, which is why I'm specifically interested in any connections surrounding CSIRO related to David McLean's very interesting post, particularly in the 1962-1963 time period.

Ashton

Firstly, thank you all for interest and encouragement...it has been a long time since I have put fingers to keyboard in these matters. A couple of amendments - Robert Caro points out the distrust by the Klebergs of LBJ by the 1940s; the Esso payment to Exoil may have been $400,000, but it was at a time exploration at a standstill for political reasons, and therefore a significant
public gesture.

Ashton, I cannot at present recall any specific corporate links with CSIRO undouabtly ere were some revolving door relationships with e.g. ICI but these were more often with say the Australian Atomc Energy Commission or physics and chemistry departments.Geoff Chandler worked in I recall atmospheric physics at CSIRO Sydney, but had also been in Melbourne. Catherine D'Alton's book Without Hardware is replete with references to intelligence involvement both East and
West. Gib Bogle was about to go to the US with Bell Laboratories for work on maser/laser applications. Umm?

From The Dallas Morning News March 17, 1960
Click to view attachment

After the dust of JFK's murder had settled, Chauncey Holt shopped around for a new assignment. Paul Helliwell gave it to him. He was sent to Brazil to assist in the coup:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB118/index.htm

Wim