Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1910-05-25
SUGAR Trust MAGNATES
HAD EYE ON WEIGHTS
Witnesses Tell Of Official Connection With
Frauds in Weighing


I NEW YORK, May 24.--As Edward
Whaley took the stand to testify for
the government at the resumption OF
the trial Of Charles r. Heike and 9TH
eTs for alleged frauds. the president
of the American Sugar Refining com
pany. Washington B. Thomas and one
of the trusts directors, DR.. SAMUEL
d. Hooker Of Philadelphia sat behind
Heike.
Whaley Is a special treasury agent
who was with the other investigators
Parr and Brezinski, when the famous
raid on the sugar docks was made in
1907, and the fraudulent Weighing
devices were discovered
Paid by City Scales.
James F. Kerrigan and William X.
Mulheran, clerks in Bendernagles Of
fee, admitted they had received in
structions to compare the govern
ment weighers' weights with those
of the city weighers The last are
alleged to be the actual weights on
which the sugar company pays for
its purchases and the government
figures the one registered by the frau
dulent scales and on which the duty
was based. Kerrigan said he sent the
government and city weighers' re-
turns to the Wall street offices of the
trust.
Difference In Weight Less.
The governments contention that
the city weighers' weights we're en-
ployed in the commercial calculations
of the trust, and those OF the govern
ment weighers made use of only for
duties was backed up by John A.
Thompson, for the last 35 years a
bookkeeper in the company's Wall
street offices. The witness said. too.
that despite the fact that the gov
ernment weighers' returns were stor-
ed away only 15 feet from him he
never in all the years he worked in
| the Office compared the two sets of
weights. Thompson said that when
ever he was in doubt as to the cor
rectness of the city weighers' re-
turns or learned there was a differ
ence of per cent or more in the
weights he would call up Bendernag-
ell. Late In November, 1907, there
was considerable falling of in these
differences and he talked with Ben
dernagel about it over the telephone.
Il told him there was no loss of
weight in the last three months and
he said II was because the govern
ment agents were on the dock, >
Thompson testified.
Instructed by Havemeyer.
On cross examination Thompson
said the late H. o. Havemeyer, the
president of the company. first in
structed him to call up Bendernagel
when necessary. Heike knew nothing
of his duties, he said. The witness
had no knowledge OF any crooked de-
vice on the docks.
George H. Brecker, a clerk in the
Wall street Office under Mr.. Leroy to
whom Splitter testified he had told
of the frauds that were going on at
the Williamsburg docks. was next on
the stand. Brecker succeeded Leroy
when the latter died several years
ago. thus getting charge of the raw
sugar books. He said when sugar
arrived he would send the city
weighers' weights and the marks on
the bags to Mr.. Bendernagel.
Becker testified that the sugar
trust used the government weights
quite often on which to pay the
freight charges. but the shipowners
became aware OF the fact and the
practice was discontinued.
This was the first testimony intro
dueed tending to show that the al
legged frauds In underweighing were
not directed solely against the gov
eminent
Attempt 10 ImpagR Testimony.
The attorneys Tor Charles P. Heike
made an attempt today to impugn
the testimony OF Oliver Splitter. the
sugar trust employee. who was re-
Gently convicted by the government
of weight frauds and ID now being
used by the prosecution as their wit
ness. Splitter declared that his rea-
son for telling everything to the gov
Iernment attorneys was that while he