Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-01-11
4 BIG SWlNDLE.
LARGE NUMBER OF CAPITALISTS
BADLY SOLD.

DAHL
NEW YORK, January 3. - The
EUening SIN prints what it calls
Gan almost incredible tale of a
gigantic fraud.p It states that the
Electric Sugar Refining Company
has been duped to the extent OF
over million dollars, and that its
whole "secret process" turns out to
be humbug Of the most baretaced
kind. The "secret process" was
the invention of one Henry G.
Friend. who appeared IN the trade
about four years ago with samples
OF wonderfully pure sugar, which
he said had been refined by his
"electric process About a year
ago be induced a number of Eng.
lish and American capitalists to
organize company and buy the
"secret process" from him. This
was done, factories were erected a,
but no one was allowed inside of
them save Friend, his wife and a
few ignorant wOrkmen. The OOms
where the refining was supposed to
be going on were always kept Sc.
curely locked, as Friend said his
process was not patentaOle and he
could not afford TO allow any one
TO share his secret. In the mean
time the stock OF the company had
been bounding up until 1t was
worth nearly $500 per share of sl.OO
par value. Friend then began TO
unload, but suddenly he died. The
officers Of the company suspected
nothing wrong until few days ago,
when it was found that Mrs. Friend
and all who had been connected
with The factory had disappeared,
Mrs. Friend leaving word that sue
had goue to the West.
President Cotterill, Treasurer
Robertson aud a number Of stock.
holders proceeded 70 the factory
and invaded the secret rooms.
What they discovered made their
eyes bulge out and each and every
hair on their heads give limitations
of the quilts Of pOrcuplne when he
is fretiul. There we're a number OF
machines used IN breatlng cube
sugar into smaller particles and
in granulating the cOarser grades
and nothing else. There was no
mysterious electrical apparatus by
which the sweet stuff should be
transformed as by flash into the
purest saccharine crystals, no
wonderful cylinders, pots or pans
charged with purifying electrical
current. There were crnshers and
that was all. all investigation at
once set on foot showed how the
great scheme had been worked.
Not a pound of raw sugar had
been refined in the factory.
Quantities Of refined sugar,
chiefly cubes, had been purchased
by the operators and prepared in
some secret spot with chemical Ii.
auid which eliminated the ordinary
impurities found in all sugar. This
"dOctored" sugar was then cirted
to the factory in bags purpor ing
to contain raw sugar. The chem
ical used had crystalized the cubes
to a great extent, and when they
were broken they had a finer ap
pearance and quality than sugar
was ever known to possess.
Mrs. Friend and those connected
with her received a large sum Of
money in cash from the company
for the process and heavy block
of the stock which was disposed Of
partly In England and partly here,
at price away beyond its par
value. Just how many persons
were interested in the scheme does
not seem clear, nor will the officers
of the company tell just how much
money was paid to them, although
they admit that including the cash
and the proceeds from the stock to-
gether they mnst have realized a
sum approximating S25O,OOO.
The scheme was cleyerly worked
to the very last. The stockholders
and the officers of the company
were kept in perfect confidence as
to the future of the process until
the largest possible amount Of
money could be secured, and then
the bubble was allowed TO burst.
There is no such process as electri.
cal sugar refining and the bugbear
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