Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-26
OLEOMARGARINE CASES
THOSE PENDING IN THE DISTRICT
CRIMINAL COURT NOLLE PRESSED.
District Attorney Anderson Believes
Prosecutions Cannot BE
Maintained.

| Mr.. Thomas H. Anderson. United States
| attorney for the District of Columbia, this
| afternoon appeared in Criminal Court No.
| I, and after an explanatory statement to
| Justice Barnard, nolle pressed the oleomar-
| garine cases that have been pending for a
| long time. The cases were thirty-six in
| number. twenty-eight in which the charge
| was selling oleomargarine in unstamped
| packages" and eight in which the charge
| was carrying on business of retail oleo-
| margarine dealer without payment of spe-
| cial tax"
| The indictments covered three classes of
| offenseS-thOse against wholesale dealers
| for selling from other than the manufac
| turers' original stamped packages, those
against retail dealers for selling in I'M
stamped packages and those against retail
dealers for selling without having paid the
special tax.
The United States attorney Informed the
court that he had made a thorough in
vestigaton for the purpose of determin-
ing whether any of the cases could be
brought to trial with reasonable hope
of success. and upon the facts developed
reached the conclusion that there was but
one of the cases, that against the Hay
cocks. retail dealers, in which there was
any assurance of conviction, and in that
case conviction depended on the produc
ton as a witness of Mr.. Pennel, formerly
an inspector whose wherea bouts are
known.
Evidence Insufficient.
In the case of retail dealers against whom
both charges Were pending the witnesses to
prove the offense in each case were the
same In nearly all of the cases against
the retail dealers. it was explained, the
cases depended on the testimony of Arthur
Van Horn. formerly an internal revenue
Inspector and of Florence Davis, a colored
girl. who under his direction bought from
them. and turned her purchases over to
him, whereupon he made a note in men,
orandum book of the transaction.
Florence Davis died from diphtheria and
Van Horn lost his book. without which, he
stated, he could not Identify package or
state when where it was obtained.
Continuing. MIR. Anderson said that few
of the untried cases were the result of
purchases made under the direction of De-
tective Carter; that there were convictions
at first In number of the Carter cases,
but later the juries acquitted in a number
of them and finally the conclusion was
reached in view of this fact and of the in
ability of the government from the facts
stated to proceed in the Van Horn cases.
and the main object of the prosecution
of retail dealers had been accomplished,
that further prosecutions might well be
dropped.
Cases Against wilkins Brothers.
On the list there were three cases
against the Wilkins Bros, wholesale deal
ers. said the United States attorney. Two
of these were dependent, ne added, upon
the testimony of Van Horn and Of the
girl Florence Davis-Florence to establish
the fact of actual purchase from a retail
dealer, Van Horn to identify the package
aud this to he followed by the evidence of
the dealer that he bought the stuff sold
from the Wilkins Bros. as butter.
The death of Florence Davis and the loss
of his book by Van Horn rendered it i'm
possible to proceed in these cases, so de-
clared the United States attorney. One
other case against the same parties de-
pended upon a non-otficial analysis by
druggist.
United States Attorney Anderson read to
the court extracts from a letter he had
received from Commissioner of Internal
Revenue Yerkes. as follows:
1T is quite certain that In all the cases
in which Arthur Van Horn and Florence
! Davis Were witnesses conviction could not
be secured. and TO the other untried
cases where the purchases were made I'M
der the direction Of Detective Carter 1t
also seems to be practically certain, from
the acquttals IN this class of cases al
ready tried, that nothing further is to be
accomplished. | therefore advise that these
remaining oleomargarine cases be nolle
pressed
The Cases Included.
The cases nolle pressed this afternoon
were those of the following: Clayton
NJ Enrich and Frederick W. EN-
rich. Walter P. Wilkins and Joseph VIII
kins. three cases; Joseph P B. Barber,
John T. Earnshaw, Samuel j. Eagan, Perry
B Ruark. Charles B. Brund and Levi
Maucts, Frank P. Daley. Charles H. Chap
pei. George W. Shelly. Thomas J. Rout,
James S. Nash, two cases; William H.
Meitzler. two cases; Patrick J. Sullivan,
Andrew j. Kenny, two cases; Edgar Hogan,
two cases: William Heinemann. Ferdinand
HUM, two cases; Frank Weigart, two
cases: James T. Chidress, two cases; Ed
gar Henderson, two cases; Patrick ] Nc
Donough. George ". Story. Thomas L.
Pickford, Peter c. Garden and William H
Haycock. otherwise called W. Harrison
Haycock.