Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-03
.PARR Barred FRAUDS
Tells of Discovery of False
Sugar Weighing Scales.
WOULDN'T BE BOUGHT OFF
Says Splitter Offered Bride, Which
He Would Not Entertain.
HE CAUGHT WEIGHER IN ACT
Holes There, But Spring Device
Gone When He Went to In
spect Other Scales.
HE CAUGHT WEIGHER IN AC

NEW YORK, December :i.-When the
trial of James F. Bendernagel. Oliver
| Splitter and the four weighers of the no.
| torious big six for conspiracy to de-
| fraud the government out Of customs du-
| ties on sugar importatiOnS unlOaded and
| weighed on the Williamsburg docks of
| the Havemeyers and Elder refiner" was
| resumed today before Judge Martin and
| jury in the criminal branch of the
| United States circuit court, Henry l..
| Stimson, special assistant to the United
| States Attorney General, conducted a
| brief redirect examination of Thomas D.
| Hyatt.
| Hyatt is a United States district weigh
err. who had charge of the government
! weighers on the Williamsburg docks prior
| to and at the time Of the exposure of
! the seventeen holes and spring device
| used in manipulating the dock scales No
| vember 90 1907.
| This witness was on the stand during
/, the greater part of the afternoon ses-
| sion yesterday and explained in detail,
with the help of a large diagram of one
| of the fraudulent scales. the operation
of the scales and the location and use
of the holes and the spring device.
| Comparison Of Scales.
He was also recross-examned by Henry
| F. Cochran Of counsel for the defense on
the comparative merits and accuracy Of
the upright beam scales used by the gov
eminent weighers and the steel-yard scale
used by the city or merchants weighers.
Hyatt testified yesterday that the steel
yard scales would weigh lighter than
the others, and, though there would be
discrepancies in weights, these differences
| would by no means be so large as shown
| in the entries made by the defendant
checkers.
I'm spite of the inaccuracy of the scales
do you know any reason why the differ
ences should always be against the gov
ernment?" asked Stimson.
| No." replied the witness.
| do you know any reason why these
| differences. always against the govern
ment before November 20, 1907. should
not always be SO after that date?"
| Vigorous objections were interposed to
this question by counsel for the defense
| on the ground that anything which took
place after November 20 1907, was i'm
material and irrelevant and not binding
on the defendants.
Judge Martin ruled that the witness
| could answer.
| No., replied Hyatt.
Parr Tells of Discovery.
Richard Parr, deputy surveyor of the
| port, was then called to the witness
stand. Parr, a special agent of the
| Treasury Department, in 1907, discovered
the use of the fraudulent spring device
and the notorious seventeen holes in
the stanchions of the scales on the Will
| liamsburg docks.
| Prior to serving the government as
| special agent, Parr had acted as spe-
| ciaI employe of the Treasury Depart
ment. He was familiar. he said, with
| conditions on the Williamsburg docks,
having worked there a sampler Of
| sugar in 1899
| Parr then told of his work preceding
the exposure of fraud November 20. 1907.
He stated that he left his office the
morning of November IL, 1907, with
Breznsky, also a special agent OF the
| Treasury Department, who was subse-
quently dismissed from the service.
There was weighing going on at the
| time. He went to scalehOuse No. ],
where Kehoe, one of the defendants, was
acting as the sugar company's checker.
| Parr said that when he entered the
scalehouse he found the weigher engaged
| Checker Kehoe sitting beside the scales
Japha, the weigher, had already added
up several columns and made the entries
| of weights when he entered said Parr.
| He ordered several draughts reWeighed
and noted the peculiar stooped-over at
titude of Kehoe, who was at the end of
the scale.
Parr Finds Cheating Device.
1t is charged that Kehoe was one OF
the checkers who manipulated the spring
device. Photographs of the interior OF
the scalehouse showing the arrangement,