Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-29
SUGAR TRUST BLAMED
Failure of Philadelphia Real
Estate Company.
APPEALED TO ROOSEVELT
Receiver Earle Declared There Was
Criminal Conspiracy.
DEBTOR DENIED SATISFACTION
Segal Attempted to Repay Loan, But
Money Was Refused-Efort to
Get Government to Act.
DEBTOR DENIED SATISFACTION

Responding to Senator Culberson's res
olution calling upon the Attorney Gen
eraI for correspondence relating to the
alleged violation of the Sherman law by
the so-called Sugar Trust" in connec-
ton with the failure OF the Real Estate
Trust Company of Philadelphia, Presi-
dent Roosevelt has sent to the Senate a
special message and all correspondence
relating to the case. The President said:
In accordance with my direction the
Attorney General has forwarded to me
the enclosed papers in response to the
resolution of the Senate of January %,
1902 in reference to sending to the Sem
ate copies of all correspondence In the
Department of Justice relating to an al
legged violation of the act of July >, 1880.
by the American Sugar Refining Com
pany, i'm connection with an alleged loan
by that company to one Segaf. in which
was pledged as security therefor ma
jority of the capital stock of the Penn
sylvania Sugar Refining Company, with
voting power thereon. and under which
it is alleged an agreement was entered
into that the Pennsylvania Sugar Rehn-
ing Company should not engage in bust
ness and l herewith transmit them to
the Senate
The message was ordered printed and
to lie upon the table. 1t is expected that
Senator Culberson will call 1t up later
and submit some remarks based upon
the correspondence. In his letter to the
President transmitting the correspondence
Attorney General BOnaparte wrote: Il
am aware of no reason why the papers
should not be made public
Appeal to the President.
The correspondence includes a large
number of letters that passed between
George III. Earle, jr, receiver of the Real
Estate Trust Company of Philadelphia,
which failed in 1906, and the President,
and between Earle and former ATTORNEY
General Moody, and between Earle and
Attorney General Bonaparte.
Mr.. Earle first wrote President Roose-
Welt under date of September II, 1906,
calling attention to the failure of the Real
Estate Trust Company of Philadelphia
and suggesting that he may have been
misied as to the most potent cause of that
calamity by the published explanation
that loans to Adolph Segal, a promoter,
by President Nipple of the institution
were responsible. Mr.. Earle told the Pres
ident that this explanation was the truth,
but not the whole truth.
In asking executive cooperation. Mr.
Earle suggested that the President had
"a plain duty" and then said: I write
Won because the information before me
satisfied me beyond doubt that these
loans would have been largely, If not en-
tireiy. Iiquidated, but for the criminal
conduct of the so-called sugar trust. 1t
is my deliberate conclusion, after weigh
ing the evidence that 1 have collected
with the greatest care, and that had 1t
not been for criminal conspiracy OF
the most odiOuS character, not of Segals
or Nipples, but of the sugar trust this
In f,,ftn m would
been perfectly solvent today
Refused to Accept Payment.
The latter was sweeping indictment
of the sugar trust which Mr.. Earle de-
clared permeates the financial life of
the country. Mr.. Earle said that the
American Sugar Refineries Company had
become interested In some of Segals
enterprises. according to Mr.. Earle,
through the construction by Segal of a
modern sugar refinery. The trust gained
possession of the plant. through a loan to
Segal to promote other enterprises. and
he learned too late that the refinery was
not to be operated. Earle declared that
repayment of the loan was attempted by
Segal and the trust declined to receive
the money. Mr.. Earle said: mo honest
lender ever declined such a proposition .
The correspondence showed that Presi-
dent Roosevelt referred the whole SUBJ
ject to former Attorney General Moody.
and later it was surrendered to Attorney
General Bonaparte. and both of these Of
fcers corresponded at great length with
Mr. Earle locking to a prosecution of
the so-called sugar trust.
Not Like the Knight Case.
In printed document marked con
fidentiar' were number of letters which
: were exchanged by Mr.. Earle and At
torney General Bonaparte between April
Mr. -arlo
ton that there had been a violation of
the Sherman law and suggested In one
of his letters that the assistant attorney
general seemed perfectly satisfied the
Knight case had no relation to ours. and
as 1 have understood him. has always
been confident that he could send these
conspirators to Jail"
The Attorney General in his letters had
quoted the decision in the case of the
United States against f. c. knight Com
.pany as his reason for not proceeding
against the sugar trust on the facts sub
smitted by Mr.. Earle. Commenting on the
government attitude, Mr. Earle wrote:
You Will see from the marshaled facts
that youp assumption that the sugar
trust in this case acquired controlling in
terest, as was found in the Knight case,
does not exist here at ALL 1t never law
fully acquired any interest in the prop
erty or in any stock controlling the prop
erty. as in the Knight case. 1t, by
fraud. merely obtained control over a
trustee to prevent his exercising a trust
whose expressed purpose was to prevent
the very sitting of the competition which
1t accomplished by its base conspiracy
here
1t appeared from the last of the cor
the Attorney General dated April Is, 1907.
that the joined issue was on the question
AS to whether the knight case applied
sand Mr.. Early finally closed with the
st ant hat ha. a