Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-16
FORMER OFFICIAL OF
TREASURY DENIES He
CHECKMATED INQUIRY

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15.-James b.
Reynolds, former assistant secretary
of the treasury and at present a MEM
! Der of the tariff board, tonight gave
out a statement replying to published
charges that the treasury department.
| in the Roosevelt administration had
been Indifferent in obtaining evidence
OF the sugar weighing customs frauds
and that Richard Parr special agent
of the department, had not been sup
ported in his investigations of the
| frauds.
| Reynolds denied that in his incum-
/ bency the customs department was
under the influence of the sugar trust.
His statement follows:
1T should be remembered it was
while | was assistant secretary of the
treasury that investigation of the sugar
trust was made and the trial held
which resulted in the conviction of the
company in court.
During all the time 1 held that Of
flee there was never, to my knowledge,
single effort made to influence my
! judgment in any way by the sugar
trust.
| 80 far as I know the first specific
information in regard to fraud was in
| September, 1907, when a letter came
! from a New York man stating he could
prove the government was being
swinded. l at once wrote to him that
the department would be glad to do
anything in its power to see that such
condition of affairs as you describe
is stopped at once, and If there is
| guilt anywhere along the line to see
that there is proper punishment
information Is Given
"The gentleman who sent the letter
came to the department later and gave
| frf 20 tashi a
| to the special officers at New York
| for investigation.
"There is one thing to keep in mind
! in order to give proper weight to the
statements which have been made.
| Mr.. Parr is now and has been for some
| time a claimant for share of the
81, ,000 900 turned over to the depart
ment by the sugar trust. A rule
which / made as assistant secretary
! and which / rigldly enforced, stood
| between him and the money reward
he desires for his services as gov
ernment agent.
"Mr. Parr knows that, should the
order be rescinded in this particular
case, he would still be compelled to
prove that his was the original in
formation on which the department
acted in making investigations with
| the subsequent results.
"He naturally does not minimize, to
| say the least, his own part in the pro-
! ceedings.
80 far as the department in Wash
ington is concerned, it had no knowl-
edge that Mr.. Parr was acquainted
with matters pertaining to sugar
| frauds until information received here
was sent to New York for investiga-
ton. He was appointed a special en-
ploye of the department in 1905, not
so far as the department was con-
cerned to make any special investiga-
tions of any kind, but to do general
work.
"He was stationed at Portland, Me-,
and after a time he was transferred
to New York and assigned to the Of
flee of the special agent. at the custom
| house.
1.-THE first connection the department
had with Mr.. Parr as a sugar inves-
| tigator was after information had
been lodged here. Mr.. Parr himself
in a letter written to the department
during the present year states:
Officially the investigation of the
alleged wrongdoing in the. weighing
of sugar was assigned to me November
IL, 1907, by Special Agent G. f. Cross.