New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-28
SP|TzER HAS MORE To SAY
Conference with Him Follows
Plea of Guilty by Three.
TRIAL HALTS TILL TUESDAY
Government Case Tentatively
Closed-Jurors Get Lecture
on How to Behave.

Closed-Jurors Get Lecture
on How to Behave.
Oliver Splitter. pardoned because of his
sugar fraud confession, was closeted with
counsel for the government yesterday for a
long time This was after three of the six
men on trial for conspiracy to defraud the
government out of customs duties on sugar
weighed at the Havemeyer & Elder refinery
docks in Williamsburg had pleaded guilty.
Splitter had more to tell There are other
relations between the government and the
sugar companies beside the weighing OF
stock. The former convict and former SUI
perintendent of the Williamsburg docks was
handy man in all the dealings of the vast
business with the customs service.
The introduction of the name of James
Vail, former Deputy Surveyor in charge of
the weighing division of the Custom House.
caused considerable comment 1t came
when former assistant customs weigher
was recalled to the stand. Vail was dropped
from the service, but no charges were ever
made against him. The explanation given
for his removal at the time was that ne
should have known of the frauds and have
prevented them, although he was not held
to have had any such knowledge.
When the government had made ten
tative close of It's case yesterday morning
Judge Martin dismissed the jury until Tues
day. He gave 1t a lecture on what an I'M
BIASED jury should concern itself with
when not under restraint on long recess
No discussions should be engaged in with
friends or strangers about the case. When
the court had finished the jurors left the
room with eagerness. They did not know
what was coming.
Three Make Plea of Guilty.
Henry F. Cochrane, one of the counsel
for the defence. got UP and asked for leave
to change the plea of not guilty to guilty
on one count in the indictment for Harry
Walker, who was Spitzers assistant on the
docks; Jean NJ Voelker and JAMES F. Hal
ligan, former checkers. Henry L. Stimson
the special prosecutor for the government
objected He wanted the plea to go for the
whole indictment. Mr.. Cochrane consented
The plea was then accepted and the three
men were paroled n custody of their coun-
sci until next week.
That had all been arranged at confer
ence between counsel and the court. The
governments case was left open until Tues
day, so that it would be at liberty to put
dence should develop in the mean time from
the further confession of Splitter from
confessions of other men.
It was another fight against Charles r.
Heke secretary of the American Sugar Re
filming Company, before the conference and
adjournment With the three men elimi
mated there remained as defendants Mr..
Heike Ernest Gerbracht. former superin-
tendent of the Havemeyer & Elder refinery
and James F. Bendernagel, former cashier
of that plant, about whose guilt the jury at
the trial last December disagreed
The day began with the introduction of
more letters from the letter books of the
secretary. They were introduced to show
how carefully the weights of cargoes were
scrutinized by Mr.. Heike. One to Ger
bracht complained of loss in the refinery
We ght, compared with the invoice weight. of
~ per cent while the gain in the customs
weight, compared with the refinery weight,
was 6-10 per cent This paragraph fol-
lowed:
I'VE can understand that there may have
been a reason why the Custom House weight
can fall short from the invoice weight,
which in this instance is a little less than
per cent, but it is not apparent why the
refinery weight shauld again be $40
lower than the Custom House weight, al
though the cargo has been in store for
four months
Letters Give Inside Views
Another letter was from Gerbracht in an
swer to complaint from W a. Havemeyer
forwarded by Mr.. Heikc Mr.. Havemeyer
had said that certain half barrels shipped
from the refinery were from one to two
pounds short. Mr.. Gerbracht said that it
could be accounted for only by the fact that
the receptacles were made of green stock
and had dried out. He closed as follows
L can assure you that although we weigh
close we never deliberately weigh short and
if 120 barrels were 119 pounds short that
would be deliberate short weighing. and
that we do not do. It can only be, as
said before. that the barrels dried out
The reading of the letters had drowsy
effect on the jury. but the prosecution de
ponds upon the communications largely to
show knowledge by Mr.. Heike of every
phase of the weighing situation. The coun-
sci for the government offered in evidence
twelve Custom House checks with Mr..
Heike's Endorsement. These checks were
for excess duty paid by the company before
the cargoes were weighed. The govern
mert believes that these establish still fur
Their knowledge OF the short weighing on
the docks, as, they contend, scrutiny of the
government weights must have preceded the
Endorsement for deposit
Ephraim Japha. a weigher. who had testi-
fed before, recalled to tell of his pres
ence on the docks when the cargo of the
Stratheyre was being Unloaded. He said he
was there on November IS, two days be-
fore the raid made by Richard Parr, and
that he saw James Vail, then a Deputy Sur
veyor, the docks. It was the cargo of
the Stratheyre that was being weighed when
Parr discovered the steel spring.
1t was said last evening that a confess
sion had been made that might open up n
phase of the sugar business in its relation
ship with the government that would be uf
as great importance as the weighing for
| the imposition of the tariff duties. Mr.
Stinson and Winfred T Denison, Assistaa nj
United States Attorney General left the
city yesterday TO be gone until Tuesday.
WOMAN HELD FOR ARSON