The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-05-26
DEFENSE IN PANIC
Prosecution in Sugar Trust
Case Play . Very
Strong Card.


heafIng--ne SonhcSas othrss WIN
Defrauding the Government in
short Weights and says Com
pany's Office Knew of These
Frauds-HIs Confession Results nsi
One New Arrest.
New York. May 23.-oliver Spit
ger, former superintendent OF docks
for the American Sugar Refining
Company, who was convicted OF de-
frauding the Government By the false
weighing of sugar imports, appeared
unexpectedly at the trial to-day OF
Former Secretary and Treasurer
Charles r. Heike. of the Sugar Trust.
this morning az witness for the
Government with the announcement
that he had pardon from President
Taft in his pocket. Splitter was sup
posed to be In a cell in Atlanta. and
his appearance at the trial caused a
sensation.
The defense was taken completely
by surprise. No inkling of Spitzer's
pardon had been given out.
Splitter took the stand and testified
that he was ready to tell all he knew
of the defrauding OF the Government.
This announcement threw attorneys
of Heike and the other five defen-
dants into a state approaching panic.
To-day he gave testimony directly
two 2f Guo cn-dafop-
dants of aiding him in fixing scales
so that the shipments of sugar would
be under-weighed, and he freely con-
fessed that he had helped to invent
some of the schemes whereby the
Trust was enabled to steal vast sums.
He told of a trick which hereto
fore has not been mentioned-stuf-
| fing paper under the floors Of the
scales to affect the weight. When
Deputy Surveyor of Customs Vail
took office, he said, these devices
were abandoned and the steel corset
spring adopted.
It developed from his story that
he had received unconditional pardon
| on May 18th. He would have been
unable to testify otherwise.
The history of the alleged cheating
| at Williamsburg as far back as 1894
and 1895 was gone into by the wit
ness, under-questioning by Stimson.
He declared that then he found the
checkering the weights by placing
| bags of lead on the scale-beams.
| Splitter did not directly connect
Heike with the corrupt methods in
his direct estimony, but asserted that
the tricks of the dock were we'll
known at the company's Offices In
Wall Street.
His confession resulted in one new
arrest tonight. James o. Brzezinski
formerly an employe of the Treasury
Department, and now private detec
tive, was locked up in the Tombs
charged with perjury.
Pointing to Voelker and Halligan
, two of the co-defendants, he identi
2 fed them as men who used th
spring in 1907, when the frauds wer
discovered.
!, The payment of extra salary by tn
/ Trust to Spitzer from the time tn
springs were discovered. in Novem
Der, 1907, until he was sent to tn
= Atlanta penitentiary, was one OF tn
details of his story that attracte
much attention. He said he was dis
!. charged from the company's emplo
in March, 1908.
Il Special United States Attorne
:, Stimson said this afternoon:
"Spitzer's case is simply one {
smitten conscience. His confessio
was absolutely voluntary. While b
was in prison at Atlanta the Lie
> which the Sugar Trust had force
: him to tell In court lay SO heavily G
his conscience that he determined
tell all. He began writing his col
fession while in prison, and when y
. heard of it, we had him secret
transferred to anotherp rison. In b
= heart Splitter has a warm spot 4
men he calls his boys Some
them are the checkers now on trii
2 He believes that by his confession
~ may force these checkers to take
plea of guilty, and thus hopes to sa
" them from long terms in prison"