The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-26
SENSATION
LOOKED FOR
Believed That Higher Officers
Than Gaugers Implicated in
sfupcndous Frauds,
GOVERNMENT IN EARNEST
Bankers, Exprcssmen and Rail
road Agents and Others Who
Handled Finds Summoned.
GOVERNMENT IN EARNEST
Especial to Tho Tlmes-pispatch.)

Especial to Tho TimesDispatch)
GREENSBORO, N. c., April 25.--When
tho Federal Court opened In special ses-
sion this morning United States District
Attorney Ifolton called UP for trial the
cases against b. T.. Sprinkle, L. NJ. Angle,
II. C. Sprinkle, J. r.. Sprinkle and William
Young, who were indicted at tho last
term OF the court at Statesvlle There
are ten counts in the bill Of Indictment.
Defendants are charged in tho various
counts with false entries on their books
to the government in regard to tho,
amounts OF whlskey they were dealing
in as rectifiers, distillers, wholesalers
etc.; with conspiracy to defraud the gov
eminent, in that they were conducting
business in various names, nut that az
this connection It is charged that the
Oak Grove Dstilling Company the Mil
ton Liquor Company and the Reidsvllle
Liquor Company were III effect one and
tho Same business. There are also
counts In the bill Of indictment for re-
moving, concealng and false stamping
& OF packages: also collision with officers
OF the government to defrnud.
5 Two weeks ago. 1t Will be remembered,
La rectifying gauger named lai DAVIS, AFTER
q long trial, was convicted Of false re-
turns, the amount out Of which the gov
eminent was defrauded under his admin
istratlon alone, q period OF two months,
being stated by the district attorney as
S3coot.
Judgment was not pronounced against
Davis, awaiting the trial of another.
gauger, who officia ted as alleged. in the
came corrupt manner at another period
of the company's operations y was
expected this morning that the case
against this gauger w. NJ. Mebane,
would be taken up first, as the bill OF
Indictment against the owners and opera
tors OF the warehouses and distiller1es
was not found until last week. 1t seems
that tho government prefers to sand
WITCH the two gaugers between the opera
tions. The attorneys for the defendants,
Messrs. G. S. Bradshaw and w. T. By
mum, Of Greensboro and Scott and Reid.
OF Reidsvilie, made strenuous plea for
continuance Of the cases this morning
to another term of court
Judge Boyd announced that he would
postpone the trial until 10 o'clock to-
morrow morning, remarking that he
meant "for trial, not for any further
motions for continuance great many
witnesses are here for both sides IN
these Important cases, including govern,
ment officials from Washington and rev
enue collectors from several distant
States, where the alleged frauds are said
to ramify. Among these witnesses are
every bank cashier in Reidsvlle, the
railroad and express agents and tele-
graph operators there, who had the
handling of funds, packages, messages,
freight. etc., for the Milton Oak Grove
and Reidsville concerns.
The revenue department at Washing
ton is evidently In dead earnest about
uncovering these alleged stls,1ndous
frauds painSt he government, and 1t
is certain that there is an impression at
headquarters that the government could
not have been defrauded of hundreds of
thousands of dollars in revenue stamps
alone without the tacit connivance of
officers higher up than the gaugers and
store keepers, and some highly sensa-
tional developments are looked for.