The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-07-06

It was mighty secret, which as Lord Dun
dreary says, ''no fellow could find out"
After time visitors might occasionally be
seen going in and out, and one of them was
gentleman of clerical appearance; at that
time he was clean shaven and wore the reg
ulation clerical dress and white choker, and
was altogether as sanctimonious a looking
person as you would meet in days walk
This was the celebrated Parson Howard
who figured so extensively in the swlndling
sugar trust conspiracy, and who this week
was sentenced nine years in the States
Prison for his share in that remarkable
crime. The old gentleman spoken of in the
first part of this letter was Professor Friend
the man who put up that gigantic sugar
swindle, which for daring audaclty on the
one hand, and absolutely blind folly and
stupidity on the other, finds no parallel in
our day except 1t be in the Keeley motor.
How long the scheme was working in the
professor mind before he publicly attempt
ed to carry it out to successful issue, no.
body but his wife knows, but there is no
doubt that several years elapsed between
the conception of the swindle and its fruit
ion. Professor Friend had the ideas, but
he could not work them out himself, and
although his wife was what Americans call
clever, that is cunning and crafty, she
could not render him the assistance re-
quired, but at last the man was found in
Parson Howard who had just the talents to
fit him for the place. His pretentious piety
gave him high social position in the church
and his marked abilities as an exhorter
made him valuable assistant at all church
wherever he was, foremost place. Up to
the time that Professor Friend met Howard
he was only petty swindler playing for a
small stake, just enough to keep the wolf
unscrupulous parson he developed rapidly
till the day came at last when he wanted
the earth and the fullness thereof. AS soon
as the connection was formed between Ho-
ward and Friend, Howard began to circu-
late among the Wall street men, and by
mysterious hints, mods and winks he gave
certain parties understand that he had q
friend who possessed secret beside which
the wonderful stone in the toad's head
which could change brass or iron into gold
was no more than bit of glass. 1t was not
question of millions, but hundreds of mil
lions Hows Well, the professor had dis
covered system of refining sugar different
from anything ever known in the world be-
fore, and he could by his process refine a
ton for less money than any other manu-
facturee could do it for a hundred pounds.
About this there could be no mistake, for
! the parson had personally seen the opera
tion and, moreover, he had two or three
small boxes of samples in his pockets, and
if they were not experts themselves, they
could show them to those that were, and he
was prepared to make affidavit there was
ten times the profit in there process that
there was In any other known to the world,
and of that he would give written guar
antce Patient, plodding, persistent work
told at last, as it always will, and finally
quite number of men who had loose capi-
tai that they wanted to invest, became ex-
ceedingly anxious to get in on the ground
floor. The more anxious they became the
more Parson Howard held them off, until
at last impressed them with the fact that it
was mighty favor to introduce them to
Professor Friend. At length committee
of investigation was formed, for before they
put in any large amount of capital they
wanted to know something about the pro-
cess, but the parson met them right on the
threshold and said, Gentleman, you might
as well understand at the start, our secret
is not for sale; we will give you the results
we will make YoI all rich, but our secret
for the present we will not diYulge." Then
every one of the committee brought sam
pie OF sugar that he wanted refined. The
professor took the samples into his private
room while Parson Howard mounted guard
at the door, and in less time than you could
say Jack, much less Robinson, the thing
was done; the dirty, crude stuff that the
committee had entrusted to his care a few
minutes before was turned out in beautiful
white, shining crystals. The thing was
done, they unlocked their money boxes and
they never turned key on them again till
they had passed out a million of dollars.
A factory was to be built, machinery was
to be bought and the thousand and one
things done to put the concern in working
order. Thousands. upon thousands of dol
lars answered their acquisitions, and all the
time their faith was kept alive by OCCASION
al boxes of beautifully crystalized sugar
made out of crude material which they
themselves had furnished. All went on
swimmingly till one bright morning about
year and half ago, when the professor
was discovered as dead as a door nail.
Then the trouble began and Mrs. Friend,
the professors wife, became with Parson
Howard the legitimate heir and custodian
OF her husbands secret. The stockholders
grew anxious to get the factory at work so
as to get some diYidens from the hundreds
of thousands they had invested. Al last
they grew clamorous and the law was in
voked to aid them. Then the whole band
of swindlers fed to Michigan and settled
quietly down to the enjoyment of their ILL
gotten gains, but the were extradiled from
that State and brought to New York. The
fight has been desperate one between the
swindlers on the one hand and the victims
on the other, The first trial closed this
week and Parson Howard goes up for nine
years. The trial disclosed the fact that the
heavy boxes which were brought into the
laboratory and were supposed to contain
machinery. were filled with che best refined
sugar, and that the crude sugar furnished
by the stock holders was run down the
waste pipe into the sewer, and tons upon
tons were thus destroyed. The trial of
Professor Friends wife takes place shortly
and as the proofs are the same as those