The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-01
NO LETUP ON SUGAR COMPANY
CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE TO
BE TAKEN UP AT ONCE.


The troubles Of the American Sugar
Refining Company are not to end with
the payment by that company to q
United States Government Of s2,2sp. ss7
as settlement Of the suits which the Cove
eminent had brought and wa about Ia
bring against 1t for the fraud It had prac.
tised in weighing importations Of sugae
at the Havemeyers 4 Elder docks in
Brooklyn.
While this Is the largest amount svsy
recovered by the Government In . casa
involving duties and is practically q sets
Element in full OF all the Govesumenf,a
claims 1t was made plain yesterday thAa
the prosecution OF individuals and the
corporation under the criminal statute6
is to be pushed forward with vigor. Thai
it will have important results is the oplnA
ion Of the Government officers who have
been concerned with the litigation thai
has been going on
Former District Attorney Henry l.
Simson, who has been engaged sincA
his retirement as a special assistsnt 10
the United States Attorney General not
alone to back duties but to puseA
the criminal cases. had q long oonferelc1
with Me.-iot Attorney Wise yesterday
and Il was made known that there would
be some interesting proceedings before
the new Federal Grand Jury to be cnn>
panelled this month. These proceedings
will have as their object the indictments
Of certain officials Of the corporation.
II Mr.. Stimson has his way the invest.
CATION will be OF such a SCOPE a. to take
in the relations between Governments
officials and the corporation.
1t was brought out from some Of the
Government witnesses in the suit for
back duties which led to Thursdays
settlement that the apparent frauds
that were being praotised on tho corn-
pany's docks. frauds costing the Govern,
ment hundreds Of thousands Of dollars,
had in at least n instance been 70
ported at the Custom House long before
an investigation was begun. In .hin.
instance a report Of 1t was brought To-
the Office OF the Surveyor Of the Port BY.
one Of the weighers. Nothing wa ever
done about It. r. W. Gascoigne. another
Government weigher. who testified that
the way the company was cheating the
Government had been general talk on
the docks for ten years. when asked why
he hadn.f reportedft made the Significant
reply: DO you think l wanted TO commit
suicide?.
Dating back to 1895, when the Wilson
bill for the first time put 3 duty on raw
sugar. the frauds that were praotise1
by fixing the scales have meant en- annual
to the corporation Of 6 amount
each year equivalent at the lowest figures
to ~ per cent. on the $500. 900 capital
stock Of the American Sugar Refining
Company OF New York. which owns the
Brooklyn reineries and which In urn
is owned by the American Sugar Refining
Company Of New Jersey. the parent
corporation. This is figuring on the basis
Of the lowest average short weight dis
Taking. however, the average
weight on the Java sugar which
figures in the suit just settled as applying
to all the sugar imported by the com-
pany the saving has represented SIS per
cent. on that stock. There is sorns idea
that the impending criminal investiga-
ton may reveal just how far the RESPONSE
bility Of the Government officials for this
has extended.
District Attorney Stimson refused 10
these criminal proceedings
Yesterday beyond saying that 1t was
the intention Of the Government In getting
after individuals responsible for defraud-
ing the Government of this immense sum
@ reach up just as high as the law and
he evidence would let it.
In the testimony brought out In the suit
n the District Court one witness for the
Government testified to the efect that he
lad been urged to fix the scales by Oliver
the dock superintendent. Other
officials were brought into
he testimony In a way to show that they
nay or may not have been oognizant OF
/. but there was no testimony adduced
any Of those high in the oonn-
management. 1t was intimated
yesterday that that had been left to -
Investigation to deterrfinS.
It the trial President Thomas Of the oont
AMY, John E. Parsons, its general counsel Y
nd Horace Havemeyer, son Of the Win
+. Havemeyer. To- dead, testified
hat they had no knowledge Of the frauds.
hey were called as witnesses for the Do y
In addition to the q. 700 .se7 which ths
ugar trust has had to give up 70 tbs
government 1t 10 also confronting anothsr S
for restitution involving IN
mount somewhat less. but nevertheless
sree enough to re felt. This demand
ONES from the city and u for water
vhich the city contends tho company
systematically stolen for years. II
ras discovered four years ago that thsrs
,ere pipes running into the big refinery
rom the city's water mains mono Of
'hioh had q meter. One Of these pipeI
as not much short Of being a main
self. It was a 10 inch pipe. The
theirs ranged from three-fourths OF An
,ch to an inch.
For several years now the city has bad
xperts figuring just how much water the
,mpany had got through those pipes for
bringing experts here oil tho
from Chicago. As 4 result Of their
based on tesla by an Instrument
,lled a pitometer. the city Is now suing
,e company for hall a million dollays-
his case has been before Morgan j.
'Rrien as referee, and a month ago the
,mpany offered to settle for $4,000. This
Ter has Just been rejected and the COM
,ov h.a hoon informed that M aAtfls.