New-York tribune., 1902-07-03

quantity Of sugar from the middle of each
bag. The employe is not allowed to take his
sample from any other place but the middle.
that is supposed to afford the fairest test He
samples each bag. The samples are placed in
galvanized iron cans and are securely locked.
They are always under the supervision Of the
governments officials. AT the Appraisers ware
houses the samples from the several individual
marks are thoroughly mixed by government
examiners and are then transmitted to the
sugar laboratory under serial numbers. The
in the laboratory do not know the identity
Of the owners Of the samples.
TESTS PUBLISHED DAILY.
AFTER the samples examined and tested
a notice is Immediately sent to the importers,
and when the mark or cargo is finished the test
of all these sugars from the various importers
is published daily and prominently posted in
all the custom houses Of the country. We
don't accept the tests of the merchants. The
trade buys and sells on its own samples. When
the importers show by their tests that there
is a difference of much four one-hun-
dredths of degree between their test and ours
they entitled to a Tetest Ninety times out
of hundred the test goes up instead of down
on a retest. The governments test is almost
always higher than the so-called settlement
test.
No do not have any trouble with the
merchants samplers tampering with our men.
Perhaps as often as once year we hear rumors
of Irregularities but when to invest
gate We find that there is no proof to sustain
the rumors. AS matter of fact, there are too
many people around for any bribery to be sue
eessfully carried on To my knowledge there
is no record of merchants sampler paying any
money 10 influence the Judgment of one of our
samplers.
With reference to Mr.. Sherer. He is an en-
ploye OF the American Sugar Refining Company.
and he has under him certain men. who watch
the testing by the governments employees. Mr..
Sherer is a chemist, and has charge of the
American company's sampling on the docks. He
is a thoroughly upright man. His men never
interfere with our men. 1t would not be
healthy thing for them TO interfere"
Mr.. Nathan said that the importations of raw
100000, as against $fi5 900 900 for the fiscal
year previous. He explained that the falling off
was due TO the Cuban sugar product being tied
UP in Cuba.
The important point where the government
may be defeated in its efforts to collect revenue
is in the actual tampering with the government
samplers. For instance, if the government
samplers should be in collusion with the mer-
chants samplers, and should throw a dash of
water into of official samples it would
affect the test from to t degrees.
HOW THE TRUST COULD SAVE DUTIES.
If the sugar importers representatives the
piers could have samples drawn according to
their direction. it would make difference of all
the war from 80 cents TO 81 30 bag on duties
collected by the government. That is, if sugar
crates or hogsheads are sampled where the sugar
is soaked and wet, and the fair sample is not
drawn, ii will make great change in the
amount of duties collected.
The government officials frequently have diff
fculty in dealing with the Sugar Trust repre-
sentatives in regard TO damaged sugar. When
the cargo has been Wet with water it will
throw off the tests materially, and reduce the
duties accordingly.
rTAo ie
the greatest importer of raw sngar and 1t
maintains a clever system with capable men
operating for the purpose of lessening the test
of all sugars imported to it. The Sugar Trust
has competent man who. it is said, makes
his headquarters at the Treasury Department
at Washington. Mr.. Tingle, eX-SuperVising
Special Agent at the Treasury Department. who
gives his whole time to the Sugar Trusts in
terests in the administration of the collection
of duties on sugar In New-York the Sugar
Trust has bureau under the direction of John
A. Sherer, who has several men who work with
him in the interests of the Sugar Trust in car
ing for The sampng and testing of sugar.
John A. Sherer has chemists laboratory at
No. 120 Front-st. where ne is associated with
his brother. When the reporters errand was
made known yesterday. he said:
Il remember Corsa's charges against Vail
There is foundation for them. Vail is an
honest man. He doesn't have any money with
which to try to bribe employees Of the govern
ment Wakeman spoke to me about Vail be-
ing charged by Corsa with trying TO have Corsa
queer a cargo of sugar. If anything was
wrong with the cargo Wakeman should have
his business to hold up the whole cargo il there
was anything the matter with it. L don't believe
Corsa was discharged for anything he had
done 10 the American Sugar Refining Company.
/ understand he discharged for another
cause
Are you still employed by the American
Sugar Refining Company"
Yes" said Mr.. Sherer, Il look after their
sugar appraisements both here and TO some
extent in Washington. II is my opinion that
the government keeps too close watch on their
samplers for any outsider 10 bribe them