The San Francisco call., 1910-04-26
SUGAR SECRETS
. Barred At LOCAL
FEDERAL inquiry
Men Prominent in the Trade on
Pacific Coast Called by the
Government
Evidence of Pact With Railroads
TO Kill Competition Is Re
ported Object

-N'al sugar maEnates barred the Sc
''ets of their business again vester-
u'H afternoon under the searching
queries Of James r. Knapp. special
prosecutor sent west by Attorney Cen
erai Wickersham to investigate sugar
companies here. Tho inauisition viii
DO continued for several days. 4 long
liSt OF businessmen concerned i'm the
Srowing and importation Of sugar ha We
heen Subpenaed. and the inquiry gives
every promise OF being an exhaustive
Though what transpires before the
Leaeral grand jurors is kept "a pro-
found secret il has been said on good
authority that the primary purpose of
tite investigation is TO ascertain
whether or not the leading sugar com
pa mere are IN combination that
IS IN effect a trust. restraining trade
and acting with the American sugar re-
ming company, the great sugar trust,
in arbitrarily fixing prices.
To ascertain whether or not this is
true Knapp was detached from duty
with the New York Office of the at
torney general. and made special prose-
cutor under Federal District Attorney
Robert T. Devlin.
WILL BE RECALLED
Robert P. Rithet, president of Welch
q Co, and George NJ Rolph. manager
OF the California and Hawaiian sugar
refining company, which is one of the
Welch & Co concerns, were called be-
fore the grand jury and quizzed by
Special Prosecutor Knapp yesterday
afternoon. Both are subject to re-
call, and will be further questioned
later.
A. A. Brown OF a. A Brown & Co. and
" allace NJ Alexander. vice president of
Alexander & Baldwin. Ltd, were also
called as witnesses. but time was not
found TO examine them, and they viii
60 on the grill today
i have been sent out here TO investi-
gate the sugar companies was all that
yesterday regarding his mission to San
francisco. and what was going on in
The grand jury room.
That was done under orders from
Attorney General WickerSham, was it
not?' he was asked.
Naturally. I am always under the
attorney generals orders" Knapp said
Il was made a special assistant TO
Mr. Devlin here
OTHERS ARE SUMMONED
William Matson, president Of the Mat
son navigation company, was examined
before the hearing Friday, at the open
ing day of the inquisition, and A. r.
Spreckels Of the Western sugar refin-
cry was subpenaed, but not called upon
to testify
United states District Attorney Dew
lin returned from Sacramento, where he
has been on business for a few days,
5 jast night and he viii work with Knapp
u the inquiry. When the hearing goes
ON this afternoon, indeed, il is said
that Devlin viii occupy q seat beside
Knapp in the jury room
As sugar imported from Hawaii and
the Philippines is not dutiable the in
vestigation can not take the same trend
as that concluded recently in New
York. when underweighing by the
sugar trust mulcted the government
Of almost S2.OO00 900. IT has been as
serted that such frauds could not have
been practiced here, and that there is
no reason for the sugar companies here
attempting any such practice with the
relatively small amount OF sugar
brought from Central and South Amer
lea
That Knapp viii look for a freight
rate pact between the railroads and the
sugar interests, which would enable
combination of the greatest growers to
undersen their smaller competitors in
the middle west. has been stated also.
Witnesses both from the larger and
smaller companies Will be called