Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-11-18

THE SUGAR TRUST FRAUDS.
E.ver since the discovery that tne
sugar trust had been defrauding The
United states treasury by system
of fa!s9 Weighing through the use of
liked" scales at tine williamsburg
snsne docks. Il corsc spring having
been employed in the crooked maair-
ulatioH of seventeen sets of scales, 1t
mas been practically certain that the
.edera. authorities would sooner or
alter succeed In locating the rcspon-
.ihll!ty for this remarkable coadi-
u"n OF alIairs. 1t was not generally
imposed. however. that the attempt
% get at the man higher UP" would
AIRY tho invcstig. tor So near the
absolute heac OF tho great suga,
-onbina tion
The general government has already
'ucc"eded in securing the indictmen:
of James f. Bcndr,naEe, for man,
years the genera! superintendent OF
the sugar trusts reaneries in New
York at salary of $4,000 per year
on the charge Of beng concerned in
the underwei ghing conspiracy. ana i,
IS now proposed t. go still higher un
H"ttor how far IT may be necessary
10 go in order to establish ~ uitt.
mate responsibility
II Will be remembered that AZ fai
back as the administration Of lrcsi-
dent Cleveland. the sugar trust vas
charged with influencing those con-
rrrn'd in the revision of the tariff
aloue; Democratic limos. SO that the
ne" measure was allowed to become
= law without thc approving sigma
ture "f the nations executiv.. It is
now otarEod that for the past twenty
years the sugar trust has been ex-
tending its power and crushing out
competition through the aid of en-
plcYea OF the government.
The New York sun. which has been
waxing crusade against the sugar
trusts corruption now charges that
by its control of the civil service the
trust brought its remarkable system
OF robbery to the highest point of
perfection. In speaking OF this mat
tor in connection with the custom
house situation in New York city the
Sun says:
"Thc civil service system was Il
branch of the American Sugar REIN
division. the surveyors department.
the collectors Office and the secret
service were sugar trus, adjuncts.
The trusts twenty year career of
plumber and extort!on and cheating
would have been impossible had it
not controlled the appointment Of
customs employees and the dismissal
OF customs employees
1T opened the door to thieves and
thioving agents into the customs SER
vice as deliberately and certainly as
it named its Office stan at III Wall
street or It's force of refncrs. With
its tremendous influence at Washing
ton ii nullfed civil service regula-
tons. There is, however. no evidence
Mckinley ever got an inkling of
what was going on.
"The sugar trust directed the ac-
tiv!ties OF the civil service so mas
torfully that it seldom had to bother
with appeals to It's friends In the
treasury department or to more pow
erful allies even, But when such APP
peals were made necessary by the OBJ
stinacy of officials who couldn't be
bribed or frightened the trust accom-
plished what it wanted anyway. Pa
pers containing charges against Gus
toms thieves who had helped the
sugar trust rob the treasury myster-
made to the treasury department
were plgeonholed so neatly that they
never could be found again. In the
matter OF getting favorable rulings
from secretaries of the treasury or as
sistant secretaries tho trust was con-
spicuously successful"
Former Secretary Shaw OF the
treasury department says that In his
estimation the government has been
defrauded out OF no less than $780,
100000 year all told. In this con-