The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-11-12
GOVERNMENT
LOST MILLIONS
False Weights Not Sugar
Trusts Only Scheme. ,
ALSO FIXED RATE OF DUTY


That Secretary Of Treasury Gage
Refused to Believe Evidence OF
Gigantic Fraud When Presented TO
him-President Thomas Offers to
Help stimson Get at Facts In Case.
Refinery Superintendent Resigns.
New York, Nor. IL. - Further in.
yestigaton of the sugar trusts thefts
Of millions upon millions from the
national treasury in the last 20 years
reveals that the trust not only con-
trolled the surveyors office of the
New York custom house, but that of
the appraiser as well. IL stole from
8 to 10 per cent of the duties on
sugar 1t owed the government in the
surveyors department. IL stole just
as much IN the appraisers depart
ment. ~
The appraiser fixes the rate of duty
on sugar through samples. The trust
doctored the samples. II got n lower
rate thereby. The trust, therefore,
so perfected its theft system that 1t
stole through false duties on false
samples of false weights.
No records remain to fix the num-
Der of millions stolen through these
false samples. Those who are in
formed declare that the plunder was
equally as large as that secured by
false weights.
Proof that bribery of the grossest
sort was being resorted to at the
docks of the Williamsburg refinerles
of the trust in getting employees of
the government to doctor these sam.
pies of sugar was laid before no less
a person than the then secretary of
the treasury Lyman J. Gage. 1t was
the appraiser of the port of New
York who produced this proof before
MI. Gage, and not private citizen.
AS In the case of the carriers who
sought to bring the notice of the
weighing frauds TO the attention of
the authorities, the answer to this
was to "seo Mr.. Havemeyer."
81 don't believe that my good
friend, MIR. Hayemeyer," said Secre-
tary Gage, according to Mr.. Wake-.
man, knows anything about this
matter, and l want you TO give him
my compliments and present the
statement which you have presented
TO me- and tell him that IL anything
like this exists IL must be stopped"
II is sufficient TO say that the prac-
tiCcs were not stopped, though the
same evidence, under the instructions
Havemeycr. They went right on, as
did the weighing frauds, and the ad-
minlstration at Washington showed
no further interest in tho matter.
No further attention was called TO
this bare.faced stealing by the trust
and its leading directors at the time
that the government asked jury in
the United States circuit court to
punish this malefactor with the fine
of $l35,000. The computation made
by the government and announced at
the time of the settlement of the
case took no cognizance of IL. No at.
tention was called to this phase OF
the system of thefts by the lawyers
representing the company, given out
by them at that time as having been
made to the company's directors. In
that statement they informed the di-
rectors that the government could
have demanded sum approximating
S9.OO0,0O0. BY enforcing the forfeit
ure clause of the customs act the
as was stated mt the
time, could have demanded from this
thlevlng corporation the sum of $65.-
100000. But all of this was based
entirely upon the false weights and
not upon frauds fully as gross perpe-
trated I'm the appraisers Office.
The sugar trust itself Is cleaning
house. Washington b. Thomas, who
succeeded the late Henry o. Have.
meyer as president of the American
Sugar Refining company, issued a
statement in which he said: "Our
company Is just as anxious as the
government to bring out the facts in
the sugar yrauds. We are doing
everything In our power to aid Mr..
Stimson in his investigation.
Every bit of evidence or informa-
tion that this company has is at the
disposal of the government. Anything
that we have in the nature of docu-
mentary evidence the government
can have. You can not state too
strongly that we will leave no stone
unturned to bring out the facts and
punish the guilty"
Mr.. Stimson, who Is conducting the
investigation, said that President
Thomas had stated the case accurate
ly. "Mr. Thomas has given to me
everything | asked for" said Mr..
Stimson. II believe that he Is sin
cerely desirous to get at the facts"
II was a matter OF comment as to
Just how much documentary evidence
remains in possession of the trust;
whether the actual weights that they
secured 10 keep one side of their
books straight have been saved for
the eyes OF the investigators At any
rate one OF the most powerful Off
cials on the trusts stan, James N.
Bendernagel. for many years general
superintendent of the Williamsburg