Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-11-12
Must Suffer for Sugar
Weighing Frauds.
Sugar Co. Will Help Govern.
ment---EmpIoyes Discharged.
It Is Expected Federal Indictment
will Soon Be Filed.

New York, Nov. 11.-EVidence which
is confidently expected to reveal the
man higher up" in the sugar weighing
frauds unearthed during the term OF
Henry l.. Stimson as United States dis
trict attorney for the southern district
of New York, has been placed in pos
session of the government. it was au-
thoritatively stated today and is now
being made The basis of a federal in
dictment soon to be filed against one
of the officials of the American Sugar
Refining co.
Since surrenlerinG the duties of
United states district attorney Mr..
Stimson, acting as Il special United
States attorney general, has had i'll
hand the work of building up the gov
ernments case against the custom
house Weiehers and the employees of
the American Sugar Refining CO., who
are charged with having conspired to-
gether to defraud the United States of
81. 100000 of sugar duties. The inquiry
conducted by him with the help and
assistance Of Secretary Of the Treasury
MacEeagh and Collector of the Port
Loeb is now approaching climax.
Mr.. Stimson himself refused to dis
cuss the nature of the new evidence
obtained by the government, but it
was learned that the evidence in Gues-
ton had been furnished by one of the
implicated government wcighers and
that it was conclusive enough to make
practically certain the Indictment of
high official of the American Sugar
Refining CO.
American Sugar Refining Co. speaking
of the government investigation, said
today:
"Our company is just as anxious as
the government to bring out the facts
III the sugar frauds. We are doing
everything in our power to aid Mr..
Stimson in his investigation. Every bit
of evidence or information that this
company has is at the disposal of the
governments You cannot state too
strongly that we will leave no stone
untIrned to bring out the facts and
punish the guilty."
Resisnaticns of James T.. Bender
Negel, the superintendent of the Will
llamsburg plant, ana several other de-
partment heaGs in the plant We're ac-
ceptcd today, it is said, and other
changes are contemplated in the house
cleaning that the company has started
Henry j.. StlmSOn, special counsel for
the government in the sugar fraud
cases, emphatically denied tonight q
statement published here today that
the true losses to the federal treasury
by short weighing of imported raw
sugar at the docks would total $780,
100000. 1t was alleged that for more.
than 20 years the American Sugar Re-
fining Co. had paid duties on cargoes
certified by government weighers at
from eight to nine per cent. less than
TIE weights show on the shippers bills
of lading, and that documentary nroof
Of such fraud is now being kept under
cover in the customs house.
Mr.. Stimson says in his denial. ",rhn
reports that the customs records show
q loss of S3O,000.000 to the government
from the weighing frauds at the Amer
lean Sugar refining Co docks are not
true nor is there the slightest basis for
believing that there was any such
loss. If there mad been the settlement
Tor 81, 10000 never would have been
made
Tie customs records, the books of
the sugar company and the books OF
various merchants who dealt with the
sugar company were carefully exam
med under my direction before thar
settlement was made, and l believe
that the payment of $1,000. 900 was com.
plete restitution to the government OF
the amount of its loss from the begin
hlhg OF the operation of the tariff on
sugar IL 1894 to the discovery of the
fraud in 1907
The $4,000 additional included in
the settlement was in the nature of a
penalty or fine for the commission of
FRAUD