The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-05-11
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Is WATSON A. WIZARD?


He ID Charged With Making Potatoes
Multiply and Change in Variety BY
Simply Passing Them Through British
Province.
The Watson smuggling case began in
the U. s. Circuit Court before Judge
Webb yesterday. District Attorney Dyer
in his opening stated the circumstances
under which the smuggling is alleged to
have taken place: AS is well known. the
people of the County of Aroostook dc
not have direct communication by rail
with the rest of Maine. The New Brun-
swick line Of railway which Joins the
Maine Central at Vanceboro, runs up on
the eastern side of the Maine border line.
sending spurs into Maine to connect with
the towns of Houlton, Fort Fairfield and
Caribou and Presque Isle. But although
these branches serve those places, there
are many Aroostook towns that find their
nearest railway station in New Bruins
wick. The town of Bridgewater is one
Of these. its shipments being made from
the station of Florenceville, N. B. Mr..
S, j. Watson. who is on trial, is Houl-
ton potato buyer, who buys many pota-
toes in the vicinity Of Bridgewater and
ships them from Florencevil1e. In haul
ing the potatoes by team from Bridge
water to Florenceville, an agent of the
United States government inspects them
on the line, and gives to the driver a GER
tificate, which allows the load to be put
onto the ears at Florenceville under a
'transit manifest" that is, a document
which permits the car with its load to
pass into the United States at Vanceboro
without paying duty on the contents. 1t
is understood, Of course, that potatoes
are much cheaper in New Brunswick
than in Maine, and that there is a great
motive to induce smuggling.
It is charged that Watson, the defend
ant, made skilful use of these privileges,
to get over the line at Vanceboro many
Canadian potatoes that had never seen
Bridgewater soil. 1t is alleged that his
American potatoes, when they Igot onto
foreign soil, had a strong tendency to get
mixed up with foreign potatoes and that
these foreigners always accompanied the
Yankee potatoes back into Maine by the
Vanceboro route. tits alleged that this
tendency to mix has been accelerated by
a judicious handling Of potatoes Of diff
ferent varieties. A potato much grown
in Bridgewater is the Dakota Red,
coarse cheap tuber. The Rose and Beauty
Of Hebron are more refined potatoes
which bring higher prices, much
raised in New Brunswick, and in great
demand in the Boston market. It is
alleged that a wonderful transformation
took place in some Of Mr.. Watson's
plebean Dakota Reds, during their So
journ In New Brunswick, and that when
they came back into the United States at
vancsbcro, they were Rose and Beauty
Of Hebron. TIL
In brief Them Mr.. Watson is charged
with being a wizard, who, by simply
passing potatoes through British prov
inee, makes them both increase in num-
bers and improve in variety.
Deputy Collector Chandler of Bridge
water, was the first witness. 1t was his
duty to keep run Of the potatoes that
wore hauled by team from Bridgewater
to Florenceville. The other witnesses
examined yesterday were: Deputy Col
lector jerks of Houlton, Messrs. Fl. Far
ley, Ziba Barker, G. L. Freeman, VIM.
Bradstreet, x. Xii Collins, Blackey
Dunphy, William Greenleaf Of Boston, E.
L. Cleveland of Houlton, Miss Ella Har-
mon, station agent at Peel, N. B., E.
Morton, station agent at Florence, N.
B., Archie Campbell of Peel, Kelsey
Barker of Houlton, Willis Knight of Bos-
ton, NJ. Chaplin, of the firm of Chaplin
Bros. of Boston, Deputy Collector
Sprague of Vanceboro.
The case Of the government continued
both forenoon and afternoon yesterday,
and will continue today.
Dlsu1ct Attorney Dyer appears for the
government and Geo. E. Bird, Esq, for
Watson.
Special Treasury Agents Geo. T. Buck /
ingham, Z. R. Simonton, and Converse /.
Smith, who have worked up the case,
are here assisting in the prosecution.
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Bowdoin College Republican Club.
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