The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-01-23
OUR san FRANCISCO LETTER.
San Francisco, january Is, per S. s.
ZeaIaIdia.
trrom our Special Correspondent.

CFrom our Special Correspondent
The s. S. Zealandia should have
sailed on the 18th but did not get
away on account of a delay in the
delivery of the English mails at New
York, to the railroad companies.
Sugar Notes.
The Electric Sugar Refining Com
papy turns out to De a most colossal
swindle. On the End inst. when the
Australia departed for Honolulu
shares in the concern were selling at
fS3, the par value being G2O. At
one time &117 was obtainable On
the 81 damaging rumOTs were spread
about the Company and the stock
dropped to Els. The next day the
story came out and stock dropped to
80 shilliugs. Il can now be had ct
any figure and the collapse is about
as complete as can we'll be imagined.
II possible the promoters will be
prosecuted.
The electric process" was the in
vention Of one Henry Q. Friend, who
appeared In the trade about four
years ago with a sample OF wonder
fully pure sugar, which he said had
been refined by his electric pro
cess" About year ago he induced
a number of English and American
capitalists to organize a company
and buy the secret process from him.
This was done, and factories were
Ill
side of thou save friends, his wife
and few ignorant workmen. The
rooms where the refining was sup
posed TO bo going on were always
kept securely locked, as Friend said
his process was not patentable and
he could not afford to allow anyone
to share his secret.
Friend died last March but before
his death he began to unload his
stock. He gave his secret to his wife.
She kept the secret well aud the
stock holders had their hopes boil
stored up as long as she was present.
But the bubble had to burst.
Mrs. Friend disappeared early this
year and Immediately upon hearing
this President Cotterill, Treasurer
Robertson and a number Of stock
holders proceeded to the factory and
invaded the secret rooms. A num-
Der of machines were there used in
breaking the cube sugar into smaller
particles and in graduating the
coarser grades, and nothing else.
There was no mysterious electrical
that was all. An investigation
showed how the great scheme had
been worked. Not pound of raw
sugar had been refined in the fac
tory. Quantities of refined sugar.
chiefly cubes, had been purchased by
the operators and had been prepared
in some secret spot with chemicals
which eliminated the ordinary i'm
purities found In all sugars. This
doctored sugar was then carted to
the factory Ia bags purporting to
contain raw sugar. The chemical
had crystailized the cubes to large
extent aud when they were broken
they had a finer appearance and
quality chan sugar was ever known
to possess. When everything was
ready the Crushers in the secret room
were set In motion and the cubes
were broken into mailer particles.
according to the grade desired.
When the refined sugar began to
come out Of the shoots, two floors
below, all who saw it marveled at the
genius which could turn raw sugar
into refined In so short time.
President Cotterill and Treasurer
Robertson Of the Company admit
that Mrs. Friend and one William
Howard who was in hex confidence
gathered in not less than S25O,OOO
and COtteriQ himself is accused by
the New York Sun of being allied
with them aud with disgorging his
stock at the highest figure.
The Friends aud Towards were
afterward found at Ann Arbor.
Mich, where they had cut wide
swath in society for some months
past. Mrs. Friend took the revola.
lions very coolly. She said to news
paper men that no provision Of the
contract with the Company required
her husband or her to use raw sugar
IN the refinery. Sugar was to bt
treated" she says, by the process:
Tor eighty cents ton.
On the 9th inst. the Suprem,
Court Of tho State of New Yorl