The Washington times., 1909-05-23
Large Share of Credit for
Famous Case Due to
New Collector.
EARLY SAW CHANCE
TO REFORM SERVICE
Works With Ambitious Treasury
Agent Who Perceived Oppor-
tunity TO Make Name.
CONTINUED from First Pase.)

CONTINUED from First Page)
devices introduced, detected. forbidden,
but not punished, and discarded in turn
for some more ingenious continuance
working the same result.
Company First
Sued In Test Case.
The company was sued for s1S4,OOO as
a test case. 1t has chosen, without for
mality of appeal. not only to pay that
sum. but to pay also the aggregate of
the Governments claims in other cases.
not even brought to trial-a total of
more than S2.OO0,OOO. Had the Govern
ment sued for the forfeiture of all the
sugar, any part of which was under
weighed, and was. under the law. sub
Jet to seizure, the total involved in
s65.Oo0.OOO. Not even counsel for the de-
PENDANT company has suggested any
means by which a single cent of the
duties withheld could go to the workmen
whose false Weighing v'as the means
Of the fraud.
Cases Date Back
To 1900 and White House.
The inquiry into the practices at these
docks and the suspicion that fraud was
practiced there date back TO 1904 and
the White House in Washington. When
this inquiry resulted in the arrests on
the docks three years later and the
news was carried to the president Of
the company, H. o. Havemeyer, that
great fnancier was seized with an at
tack OF heart trouble, sank rapidly, and
IN ten days died. The trial of the civil
action for the recovery of the customs
dues began February last and ended
an even month later in the award Of
every cent claimed by the Government.
Yet, up 20 this time. only three partial
statements OF the cases have appeared.
most of the newspapers in the city Of
the trial have published less about it
than about single misdemeanors OF only
the mildest interest, and no single ade-
quate study of the situation has even
been attempted.
Smuggling
OF An Older Day.
The smuggling of an older day was a
brave laWIessness. Light craft with
ralcing masts sailed down the very path
of storms TO land the masters stores in
hidden coves. Hand on pistol stock.
knife In belt, roaring songs in the open
water and muffled oars of shore. Ian
terms darkened with broad felt hats.
caves heaped high with West Indian
ram. the rarest weaves of Cashmere
and Cathay. the ivory OF Africa. and the
gold of Spain-these were the old
mounting OF the smuggler, the old set
ting of his little play al life And he
himself was the very fuihIlment OF IN
divlduality AS he was fearless, as ne
fought hand 10 hand with her British
InaJesty's sailors, as by recklessness or
impudence or dare-deviltry he slipped in
and out the coast guard, he succeeded.
Read Of him where you viii. in Scott or
Stevenson, in Tennyson or Kipling.
moralize as you may on his crime. there
still viii come the thrill Of adventure
as you visualize great gaileon and little
sloop. the dingy courtroom and moon
lighted water.
Old Pirate
Setting Not In This.
But the warm color is gone out Of
fhe later picture. Here is no brave
IawIessness, no fulfillment OF individu-
atty. Here is no singing and laugh
Ter Here is no life III the open air,
with the lungs filling deep and the
heart pounding before fight. See what
is here
The Havemeyer and Elder rehneries
overtop all Williamsburg. Only the
new bridge towers above these ugly
piles Of biaekened brick. In the up
per floors. floors that look down on
the pnasts of American ships Of the
line in the navy docks to the south,
are processes so valuable and 30 Sc
cret they have not even been patent
ed MuTky smoke hangs about the
black windows. Out Ia the river shut
Ties the ceaseless line of tugs. fer
ries. freighters, tramps. and passeng-
er craft. Every integer in the picture
tells OF its presence with noise. The
boats toot necessarily. The refinery
whirs. Down on the docks, dirty and
gray as the view higher in the air.
sounds the rattle Of ratchet and chain
the pun-puI Of the donkey engine
the roll and quick japgle Of the trucks
as they drop on the iron platform OF
the scales, the grunted patois OF
wprkmen of a score of racial types
none Of them American.
Ships From
All the Nations.
In the slips are ships from every
country where sugar grows. They are
not schooners. They are steel freight
els with foreign and geographical names
like Strathyre and Chehuahua,
painted white and with utility stamped
evsrywbere. Some come from Chile
some from Egypt. some from the Phil
ippInes, some from Peru, some from
Java.
This is the largest institution OF its
sort In the world" says counsel for tbs
company. The amount OF sugar that
IS melted at that refinery in one year
ranges from one billion eighty million
pounds to enc billion two hundred mil
lion pounds" II must draw on all the
world for its supplies. and it does.
F-tr frtFa a