The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-07
ROB SHIPS
OF COAL
Systematic Thefts
From Cargoes
Discovered.
HAVE
BEEN ON WATCH
The Bills of Ladins From Nav.
castle Showed Short Weights
Only at Honolulu.

BRITISH coal cargo ships from New
castle, consigned by James and Alex
ander Brown, have been systematically
ribbed during the discharge of the coal
~ Honolulu for the past year, and an
Investigation has been under way for
some time to ferret out the methods
employed by those suspected of being
al the bottom of the steal The figures
Of the weighed-in coal as obtained from
the Newcastle scales and those OBJ
| tained on the Honolulu scales have in
many cases shown such startling dis
| cfepancles that the matter was Put
| into the hands of competent men and
every ship discharging coal has been
under the surveillance of detectives.
The comparison of the scale weights
indicates that some of the vessels have
been robbed of as much as fifty tons,
calculated weights, the figures rang
ing down to five tons. 1t is known
that this coal so stolen has been hawk
ed about the city and sold in gunny-
sacks of the average weight of 100
pounds to the bag, and the agents here
assert that there are at least fifty per-
sons who are in the habit of receiving
and. paying for this coal, at a price far
below that at which it could be sold
by the consignees.
One of the ships which lost the
greatest amount of coal was the James
Tufts, which is supposed to be a loser
by forty-six tons. The company's coal
is obtained from tunnels, at Newcastle, !
is Ioadedr into cars run on trestle, |
weighed on the scales supervised by the |
government officials, and then run out |
to trestles and dumped into chutes |
which lead to the vessels holds. In |
this manner not piece of coal so |
is lost. The weights thus
obtaihed appear on the bills of lad
ing but they never tally at Honolulu. !
If a Newcastle vessel discharges her
cargo at ports on the other Islands,
the tally marks are almost Identical.
The same is true at ports in other
countries, and the agents and shippers
finally came to the conclusion that
there was something rotten here, and
he investigation was started. After
The, less of the forty-six tons. a watch
was kept on other vessels, and it is
presumed that those engaged in pilfer-
ng wisely desisted from making at
empts to steal, and the weights nearly
lgreed, and in some cases the weights
lere showed a small gain of coal dis
harged over the measurements given |
IN the bills of lading. One captain
tated that he would give a bonus if
gain over the bill of lading weight I
vas found. That certain cargo of coal {
howed a gain. 1t is also known that Y
ole
nd the coal carts from which have a
o go out to the scales near the Inter- {
sland wharf, and then discharge into
essels for the other Islands, tally :
airly well. But the losses are gener-
lily of vessels discharging on the Es-
lanade.
1t has been discovered that the coal
arts have had a tendency to lose much
f the coal with which they started away
rom the vessel before going on the &
Gales. Even after weighing out, carts
ave been watched carefully and seen
} strike certain depressions In the
round. which caused big Jumps OF coal
} roll off, and the same watchers have
cen these Jumps picked up by men and
oys armed with gunny sacks At times
n entire cart load of coal has mysteri- A
1sly failed to be discharged at the prop cl
coal pile, and the question has arisen, c,
here was it dumped? The vessels from lie
ewcastle carry from 1000 tons of coal &c
p. This requires about as many thou Il
md trips of carts to remove the coal
ON the wharf to the scales, and to the
lrious coal piles 1t is IN these trips -
lat hundreds of pounds of coal are roll
off with reconciliation until the
mount runs UP into the tons. In this
amer the company has lost thousands | :
dollars, which have been gained by II
ose in the conspiracy. Not only have
of the foreign company 81
tipping the coal been investigating the o'
after, but the local police officers have IN
en- told to keep their eyes open.
1t IS also stated by one of these coal u
en- that the dust storms which sweep IN
ross the Esplanade have been invalua- SO
2 in carrying on the opera tons of coal OF
ealing. A swirl of. wind around coal az
TT gives ample opportunity for a lump DO
two to be ''jolted" off and serves also 10
a cloak for the man with the gunny ca
ok. The representatives of the ship 10
lg concerns have learned on good au- we
GRITTY, that the presence of dust on the
planade is looked upon by these men pr
a blessing in disguise. and that they Tx
2 fully alive to it's usefulness. They
yer encourage sprinkling carts.