The herald., 1897-05-28
FRIDAY, nAY as, 1897.
HAvEMEYER'S ESCAPE

The phenomenon Of the wheels Of JUS
hopper has been on exhibition in Wash
ington. H. o. Havemeyer. the sugar
king, who pompously declined to an
swer the queries propounded to him by
the senate investigating committee, in
1894. touching campaign funds fur
nished by his sugar company, was the
commodity that should have been re-
duced in the mills Of the gods. Trustee
Havemeyer's position had not been at
all assuring. His confederate in contra
band methods, E. r. Chapman, is in
Jail for the like offense for which Have
meyer has been acquitted, and the facts
in the two cases were about the same
they were in contempt of the judicial
authority of the senate committee, by
refusing to answer proper questions.
A most imposing array of counsel
gathered from New York, Philadelphia
and Washington, was on hand to de-
fend the distinguished culprit. The sue
cessful defense was purely technical,
and such as would have obtained scant
consideration il the prisoner and his
counsel had been plain John Smith ana
Joe Brown
The court was asked to consider the
hypothetical circumstance as to whether
1t was obligatory upon the accused to
answer question proposed by a men,
her Of the senate committee unless IL
was apparent at the time that the ques-
tion was the choice Of the whole COM
mittee. In other words, the court was
expected, in deep, reflective sort Of
a way, to say to the accused, in lam
guage that may have been very learned,
but also wholly incomprehensible, thus
In effect: Prisoner at the bar, your
guilt under the main charge is clearly
apparent, but it is in no manner ap-
parent that this august committee did,
in your immediate presence and hear
ing. pass upon the materiality of, and
mutually adopt the question, your re-
fusal to answer which is the head and
front of your offending. Therefore, the
intent doth not judicially appear. You
will accordingly go hence discharged.
Call the next case"
According to this program of counsel,
Havemeyer thanks everybody in sight. !
wearing, meanwhile, an expression of
great humility until the period of con-
graduation should have passed, when
the yawning Jail goes hungry and Have
meyer returns to his home.
Had the power Of authorized fedora! |
investigating committees to punish con-
tumacious witnesses been confirmed as |
a settled question, there would have |
been. some old scores that might have
been balanced. Unless time limitation, or
some other technical defense can be in
terposed to shield the offenders Vice
President Sterling of the Illinois Steel
company and Director Frick of Carne-
gie's Homestead company might b.
given chance to explain. The former
gentleman refused to submit the com.
pany's books to the inspection of the
interstate commerce commission in 1892
and Frick, about the same time, refused
to answer the questions proposed by the
congressional Investigating committee
relative to the cost of production at the
Carnegie works. Chairman Oates in
formed Frick at the time that the COM
mittee would hold under advisement his
refusal to answer. and he has kept his
word, for it is still under advisement.
The evil example set by Sterling and
Frick focused in Chapman and Have
meyer two years later, and now the one
is in the tolls and the other has escaped
On a bubble.
Mr. Havemeyer is reported to have
said at the conclusion of the trial, "The
verdict is satisfactory to me and every
decent man in the community" The su-
gar baron may find consolation in such
self assurance, but he doubly errs In
the first place he has not proved
that he has any right to- couple