The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-20
THE COMMERCE ACT AGAIN.
A. ENRICH a BRO. ARE CHARGED
NOW WITH ITS VIOLATION.

| United States Commissioned on n
Charge of Shipping "sassafras
Herb Bitters." in Barrels Marked
"Seed Oats" to FlOrida-Ofense Al
legged the Same for which the
Shottcr COmpany's officers Were
Indicted-GOods Were Shipped to
Dry Precinct in Florida and Were
Seized by the Deputy Sheriff-The
Bitters Look, Taste and Smell Like
whisky.
Messrs. Ambrose Enrich, NJ. G. Ehr-
Itch and Benjamin Enrich, the first two
members and the last named a travelling
representative of the firm of A. Ehrlich
& Bro, were arrested yesterday under the
authority of a warrant sworn out before
United States Commissioner J. F. Lewis,
charging the violation of the tenth sec
! ton of the act to regulate commerce"
The arrest was rather constructive than
actual. Messrs. Ehrlich were simply di-
rected to report at the office of the com
missioner in the government building.
where, they were told a preliminary ex-
animation would be held. They did so and
| during the afternoon eight witnesses were
examined by the commissioner touching
the offense with which the defendants are
charged. At the hearing the government
was, represented by Assistant District At
| torney w. r. Leaken.
The offense charged is the same as that
under which some of the officers of the
S. P. Shotter Company were recently in
dicted and to which Mr.. Shotter pleaded
guilty and was fined by Judge Speer. AS
outlined in the section of the statute al
| legged to have been violated, it is the ship
ment of goods as of less than their act
! ual weight or volume or as of a class 9th
| or than their real class and for which
| smaller freight rate is charged. In this
| case the offense falls under the latter
| clause, Specifically, it is charged in the
warrant that Messrs Ehrlfch shipped to
| Max Hymson, at River Junction, Fla, in
| March, 1899, what purported to be five
| barrels of seed oats, but what actually
| was five barrels of "Sassafras Herb Bit
| ters."
The warrant was sworn out before Com
missioner Lewis by T. ]. Watts. special
| agent of the claim department of the
| Louisville & Nashville Railway. The
| witnesses who testified before the COM
| missioner were from River Junction and
| points in that neighborhood, the most i'm
! DOEldUl DSllS u. Nldik, JOINT agent u
| the Louisville and Nashville and Florida
Central and Peninsular Railways az River
| Junction.
Mr.. Clark testified that when the bar
| rels came to the depot at River Junction
| consigned to Hymson, he had noticed that
| they were much heavier than he would
| have expected them to be from the legend
| seed OATS marked on their heads and
| sides. Neither had he ever known seed
| or any other kind of oats to be shipped
| just in that fashion. His suspicious being
| excited in this manner he had caused one
| of the barrels to be opened and found that
| it contained just enough oats to prevent
| the bottles of 'Sassafras Herb Bitters''
| from breaking in transit and to conceal
| them from a casual and perfunctory in
| spection
| The other barrels were opened and found
| to contain the same thing. They had been
| billed as 1,156 pounds of seed oats, but
| when weighed We're found to contain a
| considerably larger weight of "bitters''
| and oats combined. The rate for oats
was IS cents per hundred pounds and that
for bitters IS cents per hundred pounds.
| The agent had readjusted the rate in ac-
| cordance with the proportions of oats and
bitters and Hymson the consignee. had
| settled in full. II. c. Speer and G. Wash
| ington West, the latter colored, testified
to opening the barrels.
Robert NJ. Morris who was deputy sher-
III Oh 0duSuen county flOflua, at the
| time. testified to a raid that had been
| made by him and a posse on Hymson $
store. The counties in Florida are divi-
ded into precincts and River Junction
| is situated in the Ninth precinct of AGads-
| den county. 1t appears that this pre-
| cinct is dry, while some others in the
| county are wet In the Ninth the sale of
| liquor is prohibited.
| Mr. Morris told of the raid upon Hymson
! and its results. The posse had seized 900
| bottles of "bitters," of which number
432 were "Sassafras Herb Bitters" and
| the remainder Star Kindney Cure" The
witnesses had brought up some Of the al
legged bitters from Florida, and, to the
untutored taste and smell, be it said, the
"bitters' seem to be whisky, purely and
simply At any rate, the posse took away
Hyrnson's stock, and some Of the barrels
in which the stock was found we're mark
ed "a. e. g. Bro"
The hearing was not concluded and will
be resumed before the commissioner at
o'clock this afternoon. The defendants
have not yet had an opportunity to make
a statement Of their side Of the case or
Of their claims and contentious, but will,
Of course, be permitted to do so before
Commissioner Lewis renders a decision
Messrs. Ehrich are represented by
Messrs Garrard & Medrm.
II IS understood that in shipping the
goods to the consignee at River Junction,
the Messrs. Ehrlich claim that they acted
merely as his agent, and that the ship
ment was made according TO his instruc-
tons and at his risk. The Savannah firm
merely turned the goods over 10 the rail-
road here. The "Sassafras Bitters" mark
on the bottle and the oats" mark on
the barrel were parts OF the instructions
given by Hymson.
Messrs. Ehrlich claim they have vio,at-
ed no law and that II any one has Offend
A 10 10 IIsyr fa