The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-06-02

| "ySteflouS InOne.
New York Especially Oliver Spit
zer, man whose conscience hurt
him, came back to New York like a
spectre from the grave, and, with
a pardon from the President In his
| pocket, gave testimony at the trial
of Charles r. Heike, secretary-treas-
urer of the American Sugar Rein
| ing Company. who, with five subor-
dinates, is charged with conspiring
to defraud the government in under
weights of sugar imports.
Splitter, as superintendent of the
company's Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
| docks, got two years in the Atlanta
| Penitentiary for his participation in
the frauds, but he was quietly par
! doned by the President last Thurs
day, after serving only three months,
| and, having made full confession,
from now on will aid the govern
ment in its attempt to convict his
| former associates.
Spitzers story on the stand did
|! not directly connect Heike with the
| frauds but his confession resulted
in one new arrest. James o. Brzen-
inski formerly an employe of the
Treasury Department and now pri-
vate detective, was locked in the
Tombs, charged with perjury.
Splitter confessed that he attempt
ed to bribe BrZeninski to conceal the
| frauds and the latter is alleged TO
have denied this before a federal
| grand jury. This apparent conflict
brought about Brzeninski's arrest.
Spitzer told an amazing story ON
the stand under direct examination
and hurried from the court to the
| federal grand jury room. This led
to the rumor that his full confess
sion would result in another batch OF
| indictments.
He was not cross-examined by the
defense because of the peculiar situa-
tion created by his sudden appear
ance as a government witness. Two
of the defense's lawyers had pre-
viously appeared for Spitzer when he
was defendant and for ethical rea-
sons could not now examine him.
No promise of parodn brought
about Spitzer's confession. say the
federal authorities. His conscience
merely hurt him, 1t was explained,
but realizing the Importance of his
| testimony and the legal obstacles
| likely to bar it were he a convict,
action was taken to restore him to
citizenship.
Bag OF Lead Used First.
Spitzer went back to the year 1894
| and 1895, when he said an investi-
CATION he made developed the fact
that the checkers were altering the
weights on raw sugar by nlacing
small bags of lead on the beams of
the scales, causing the record
weights to drop below the actual
often as much as 40 pounds on each
draft. In addition, Splitter said, II
was also the practice to stun paper
underneath the floors of the scales
for the same purpose. He added
| that when Deputy Surveyor OF Gus
toms Vail took Office these devices
were abandoned and the use of the
steel corset spring instead was De-
/ gun and continued.
Splitter demonstrated in court the
use of the bags of lead He walked
over to the sample scale in one or
| the government exhibits in the case,
and indicted on the beam the place
where the bag was suspended. The
| iury and the defendants and every
| body in the court room followed his
demonstration with the closest at
! tention.
Testifying regarding the use of
the wire spring which superseded
| the bag of lead, Splitter said that two
styles of springs were used, heavy
one first and then a spring con.ider-
ably lighter in weight.
Spitzer's testimony regarding the
weight lessening debice of the news
paper underneath the scale was an
! absolutely new DEVELOPMENT and the
| jury drank in his every work Heike
listened to Spitzer's testimony with
tense interest.