The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-05
The So-Ca1led Trust In
Vestigation Begun in
New York.
THEODORE HAVENEYER CALLED
Many Facts About Sugar Manufac-
ture, but Few About the
Financial End.

Long DeioIe the nOur set Ior the DeSln-
ming of the investigation the Aldermen's $
chamber in the City Hall, where the in
Quiry is to be carried on, was crowded
with persons anxious to see what would
be the outcome of the inquiry, and more
than one person was present impelled by
motives of self-interest.
Il cannot say anything about the pur-
pose of the committee said Chairman
Lexow. I'VE have subpoena servers out
now. If the persons for whom they are
hunting heard of the fact. I fear that
they would leave the State. I'll tell you
later
Besides the Chairman, the members of
the committee are:-Senators Parsons and
Gallagher. and Assemblymen Warner,
Barry. Bedell and Mazet. Lexow, War
ner, Bedell and Mazet are lawyers. Barry
is liquor merchant. Senator Gallagher
used to a newspaper man. and is a law
student now. Gallagher and Barry are
the Democratic members. the others are
Republicans.
The Sergeant-at-Arns of the committee,
Garry Benson, was up all night, with a
corps of subpoena servers, and expected to
produce a lot of witnesses for today's ses-
sion.
The resolution under which the commit
tee operates assumes that combinations
of capital in the form of trusts appear to
exist and to be increasing in number and
influence in the commonwealth. resulting
in concentrating in the hands of a few
various important branches of industry,
creating monopolies, shutting out compe-
tition and displacing labor
yTTl-z g..
dial legislation must be presented to the
Legislature on or before March /. The
process of taking testimony will be open
to the view Of the public until the task
dS done.
Although the hour of meeting had been
fixed for ten o'clock, the inves s1igators did
not arrive very promptly. Senator Par
sons was. the first to reach the chamber.
Messrs. Barry, Warner and Mazet came
IN soon after, and Sergeant-at-Arms Ben
son appeared with the assurance that sew
eral witnesses had been summoned to ap-
pear today.
bers of the committee uniformly, declined
TO say anything regarding the plans of
the COMMITTEES before his appearance.
moval of the books of certain concerns
or Jersey City or Hoboken.
When, When Senator Lexow arrived he an
timing Company would be the first subs
5ect OF inquiry. He preferred not to
had been called
Senator Gallagher of Brooklyn was un-
able to attend the session today on ac-
count of Illness in his family.
1t was Ills when Chairman Lexow
opened the investigation by reading the
resolution of the Senate under which the
committee was appointed.
Chairman Lexow then read a commu-
nication from c. B. Richards & Co.
steamship agents, calling the attention
OF the committee to the existence of a
ha fJor tn 90 <-1,{x-
panies and requesting them to investigate
Theodore A. Havemeyer, of the Amer
lean Sugar Refineries Company, was
called as the first witness. He said the
company was organized in New Jersey
In 1891. and he was its Vice President.
Prior to that time he was connected with
the sugar companies which were ANAL
gamated in 1891, eight in ALL
You are actively engaged as a trustee
of the American Sugar Ref1neriesl Com
ator Lexow.
only the manufacturing end of it, re-
Piled the witness. He said he had nothing
to do with the commercial side or fiscal
end of the company. The witness said he
could not give the capitalization of the
various companies that were absorbed in
1891 without referring to his books. He
thought Mr.. Searles would know. The wit
ness did not know whether the aggregate
stock of the old companies was equally
represented in the consolidated company.
In reply to a question as to whether he
had not recently been led into
the manufacture of coffee he said
he was connected with the Allston Spice
and Coffee Company in Ohio. The OBJ
iect Of the consolidation Of the refineries
in 1891 was to refine sugar. Witness de-
niued that his company was organized for
the purpose of preventing illegal combi-
nations of labor or for the purpose of
controlling the refining and sale of sugar
in the United States. He further denied
that his company controlled the sugar
market or fixed the price of sugar. Wit
ness said there were about eight sugar
The American Sugar Refineries Company,
he said, produced rs per cent of the sugar
manufactured in the United States
since 1891 by $25o0os00o to purchase. other
companies. Witness said the price of
sugar had not Increased because. of the
sugar now is lower than when the COM
panies were acquired. He de-
nfed that the absorption of the
ting off competition in the sugar market.
Witness persisted in stating that his
company produced only rs per cent: of
the. fact that it was pointed out that
during the investigation held in 1894 he
had testified his company had produced
80 per cent
Mr.. Havemeyer estimated the daily out
put of sugar from his company at 10000,
900 pounds.
The witness said that after consolida-
ton of about three or four refineries SOC
men were discharged, but he declared
that these men subsequently obtained
employment at other refineries
Witness said he went into the coffee
ty good business. The witness said the
coffee company was incorporated yester-
day in the State of New Jersey The
American Sugar Reineries Company the
witness said, had no connection with the
coffee company.
Senator Lexow ELECTED the fact that tl1e
Havemeyers and John e. Searles filled
equivalent positions in the American Cof-
fee Company, as they did in the Ameri-
ran Sugar Refineries Company Witness
said he did not believe that the Coffee
Company was organized to prevent COM
petition with the American Sugar Re
ftneries Company. Witness referred Mr.
Lexow to Mr.. Searles for the information
as to where the American Sugar Refin-
cries Company paid their taxes. Witness
City because 1t was legally advised to dc
So He did not know whether it was
for the purpose OF eVading taxation
The witness said that the preferred
stock of the company was $S7. 100000. A
dividend of seven % per cent. was de-
clared last year on the preferred stock
and twelve Q2) per cent. on the common
stock, making an average of 915 per
cent. on the total stock. The stock was
1uoted at u41 Witness could not state
The value of the cornpany's assets at the
lime the ref1neries were absorbed in 1891.
The Witness admitted that In addition 10
The u percent, dividend since 1891 there
may have been an accumulated surplus Of