The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-27
Evidence Of Fraud in Sugar
Weights Is Shown by
the Letters
Difference IN WEIGHTS
At DOCKS AND REFINERY
The Sugar Company Official Calls His
Weighing Methods Technical Mat
tcrs and Refers to ExpIana-
tions In Letters

New York, May 26.-Ch aries r.
uei,se. in the United States circui
court this afternoon heard Henry l.
stinson, for the government, slowl.
read letters in which HeilSe spoke O
the liberal weights we receive iron
the customs house." As secretary-treas
urer of the American. Sugar Refining
company, the so-called sugar trust
Heike is charged with conspiracy u
defraud the government of customs
duties on imports of raw sugar.
Five subordinates are being triet
with him and the prosecution has beer
endeavoring to prove that he, althougf
an executive, was cognizant of and In
strumental in cheating at the trlcn
scales.
Counsel for Heike fought bitterly tt
bar the letters but Judge Martin over
ruled the objections and they pecame
mart of the record The first was datee
december a. 1904, and was addressed
TO Frank G. Turner, superintendent oi
the South Boston refinery. 1t read II
part:
Ake's Letter
81 spoke to MI lnoiids' ""''e
ton B. Thomas, president of the Amer
lean Sugar Refining company, the oth'
er day in reference to change VIC
wished to make in your melting ac-
count in order to have it conform WIFI
the melting account of the other re-
fineries.
at made a change in New York sew
era1 wears ago whenA we found tha
nareoes of sugar melted at our re-
t,ae,ies showed larger losses in wesgbl
than it was reasonable to expect. ina
the difference was not due to actua
losses was shown by the technica
statements which frequently gave large
gains in the percentage of crystailiz
able sugar.
"These differences are due to two
causes. First, the desire OF the su
perintendents to make as good a show
ing of their working as possible; sec
ond. by the liberal weights and tares
which we receive from the customs
houes and which, of course. we do moi
undertake to correct. These customs
house weights are generally taken al
a basis for the MEETINGS To charge
the MEETINGS on the proper basis we
have adopted the following system:
Here the system or charges is out
lined and the letter continues:
II make the changes in the oHict
at New York and / do not alter the
accounts at the refinery as it does no
seem to me desirable that there sh oulc
be two sets of weights on the books
Of the refinery. One set, for instance
representing the customs house
weights, giving larger number Of
pounds. 1t will be most convenient fo'
you after your statement of raw sugar
melted has been completed to add these
differences to each lot The correction
of the technical statement 1 sh all make
here in New York. Yours very truly,
&C. r. HEIkE, Secretary"
Letter Identified
The foregoing was introduced unex
pectedly by the government and wa.
read from Heike's private letter bool
which was identifled in court by viii
liam Foster. audit<h in the company,
Wall street office. This was followed b,
another letter written by Heike IL
1897 to Ernest w. Gebracht, former
superintendent of the Williamsburg
Brooklyn, refinery.
Gebracht Is one of the defendants
The communication was mildly chidine
In tone, upbraiding Gebracht for no
having shown certain weight books a.
requested by a clerk of the insuraIic,
inspectors.
As there was no duties on these sug
ars' wrote Heke, there could unde
no circumstances be any harm In showins
the weights, as there could be no com
parison with the customs house weights
Other letters considered less significan
by the prosecution were read, anon,
them communications to the heads OF tn,
refineries at New Orleans, Philadelphia
Boston, Chicago and Jersey City. On,
letter to Superintendent Witherspoon O
the New Orleans refinery contained thi
statement:
"Mr. Havemeyer Is very much inter
ested in the final returns of each refn
cry"
A Hating Point
A batting point in the trial was due to
day with the resting of the government
case. Testimony that Charles r. Helix
knew of the so-called technical statemen
showing the weights of sugar refined. to
gether with testimony to show that h
had indorsed checks for refunds of suga
duties, was hoped by the government t,
convince the jury that he had knowledg
Of the frauds.
1t is contended by the prosecution tina
the technical statements showed the com
pany to be refining more sugar than tn
government weights showed it was i'm
porting. This is held by the governmen
to be proof of underweights, which Helix
had before him in documentary shape.
Harry H. Waters. who reconstructe'
the technical statements from the com
pany's book, the originals of which ha,
disappeared, was called and stoutly de
Tended the accuracy of the reconstructe'
statement.
Joseph r. Montgomery, melting clerk
said he showed the daily reports of tn
raw sugar that was refined In Williams
burg to Secretary Heike every night. MI
otanchheld objected to this testimony
saying 1t was not proven that Heike wa
able to read the frauds in the figures l
there were any.
Letter to Turner
A letter from Heike to Frank Turner
an employe OF the South Boston plant O
the company, was introduced late thi
afternoon to show, that Heike knew o
the existence Of the so-cailed technica
statements.