The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1910-06-01
SUGAR FRAUD
Trials Develops Some Sensational and
Denagins Evidence.
THE MAN HIGHER up

Lashed by His Conscience. Oliver
Splitter Obtains Pardon from Pres
h:ent to Give Evidence ia Trial OF
of Sugar Trust Officials Charged
With Defrauding Government.
The biggest sensation OF tas tri:.,s
Of the American Sugar Refining COM.
pany employees at New York was
created Monday morning by the an
.nouncement that President Taft
has pardoned Oliver Splitter. superin-
| tendent OF the Williamsburg docks
Of the company. who some months
ago was convkted OF underweighins
and sentenced to two years in the
Federal prison in Atlanta.
AS Spitzer testified II developed
that President Taft granted him an
unconditional oardon on May 1S
last Splitter testified that he ar
ranged signal lights operated by 3
switch to warn weighers Of any
sudden danger"
The trump card IN the prosecu.
tion Of Charles B. He:xe. secretary
Of the American Sugar Refining Com
pany. was played at the opening OF
the trial. when Prosecutor Sfimson
called Mr.. Splitter az the govern
ment's first witness. John 3. Stanch-
field. for the defense. claimed that
under the Federal statute Splitter. as
a convicted man. could not testify.
1t was then announced In court tha:
i Spitzer had been pardened by Presi-
dent Taft.
Heike is on trial IL the United
States court with Eve former en-
ployees OF the American Sugar Re
fning company on the charge OF con-
spring 20 defraud the government
by underweighing cargoes Of sugar
imports.
On the evidence OF Richard Parr.
a government inspector. Splitter was
convicted with four checkers en-
ployed upde- him with the eonspir-
acy to pevpetrate frauds whereby the
government was cheated out OF mil
lions Of dollars in sugar duties. The
four checkers-Boyle. Coyle. Kepoe
and Hennesy-were sent to the
Blackwell's Island pe1iter7iary for a
year.
Splitter protested ignorance OF
frauds on the docks. Men higher
up" were sought and Heike. the sec
retary Of the trust. and Ernest F.
Ge7bracht. the refinery superiuten-
dent. were indicated. With them on
trial now besides four other former
company checkers is James F. Ben
dernagel. the refinery cashier. who
was tried with Splitter and the 9th
er checkers. The jury disagreed as
to whether Bendernagel had part
IN the conspiracy. and Il was deci led
to retry him.
II was reported that Splitter was
going to make clean breast 81
the alleged frauds. He described
the use. about 1890 and 1895. OF
small bags Of lead on the beams OF
the scales. causing the recorded
weights to be sometimes forty pounds
short to draft. and also the stuff
ing OF newspapers underneath the
floors Of t5s scales for the same pur-
pose. The use Of the paper was an
absolutely new development in the
fraud investigation. Heike listened
to Spitzer's testimony with tnse In
terest- Spitzer demonstrated in court
the use Of the bags Of lead and
testified about the steel springs say
ing that first heavy ones were used
and later light ones. The springs.
he said. were substituted for lead
and paper when Deputy Surveyors Of
Customs Vail took Office. while the
use Of springs was abandoned after
the sugar trust had paid the rebate
to the government as a result Of the
Federal suit.
Did you ever arrange a system
OF signal lights in the scale house,"
! suddenly asked the prosecution.
Yes. sir" replied Splitter. who
then related that the signals we're
| used to warn the weighers OF :.ay
sudden danger.
How were the lights worked?"
by switch in my Office re
piled Spi;zer. who said that the
switch was turned whenever a gov
erument official was seen to ap-
p-oach.
Splitter said that an electric light
had been used in the scale houses
for many years. bat that be made a
change IN the signal system b. In
stalling red lights. In reply to an
Interrogation Of the prosecution II
he had ever told OF the weighing
frauds TO any one. Splitter replied
that he had informed a man named
Leroy. who worked in the Wall stree:
office Of the sugar trust.
The witness said when he wanted
to raise any Of the chercker's wages
he was obliged 20 put the matte.
before Cashier James F. Benderna-
gel and Frank W. Gerbracht
The checkers Of the government
weighers were favorites over those
OF the city weighers in the matter
OF wages. he said. and every effort
possible was made to concea! this
from the other weiGhers or the
dock.
Splitter said that in the fall OF
1906 ne received phone message |
from al unknown person. warning |
MIN to be careful Of the wire spring. |
as the government was watching the
docks. This caused a letting up in |