The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-06-16
Investigation Commit
. tee Refuses to kxcus )
JoseIh f. Smith.
STORY Ut FIRST
SUGAR COM BINE
Director of American Refining
Company Tells How Competing
Interests Were Brought To
gether, and How Corpora
ton Achieved Power in
Sugar World.

! D ~ dsHinG TON, y une NiD,-l1Owitss. Tn e
sugar interests combined in first one
form and then another. and how the
! American Sugar refining Company
achieved power in the sugar world,
| was the theme of the story to which
| the House sugar investigation com
inittee listened to-day.
| In point of interest that story was
rivaled In the days proceedings only
b. the refusal of the committee TO
excuse Joseph f. Smith. head Of the
Mormon Church. from responding to
the subpoena to testify before the COM
| mittee He must appear next week
By far the most important witness
before the committee to-day was Low
ell NJ. Palmer. director of the Ameri-
can Sugar Refining Company from
1899 TO 1905, and head OF its traffic
department for two years preceding
that.
Representative Madison, of Kansas,
who conducted the examina ton. IN
troduced as a basis of his quest 'ons a
page from the minute books OF .he
| company's board OF directors. II bore
| the date OF September s, 1898. anu its
paramount feature was the authori-
cation of committee to buy outside
refneries.
The page read:
On motion. a special committee,
consisting of the president. vice prcsi-
dent and MI. Thomas. were appointed
TO is: the price of refined sugars: they
We're authorized in their discretion TO
make the price of graduated not less
than three-eighths above the price CT
centrifugals of Sc degree test, other
| refined sugars to correspond. They
were authorized and empowered to
purchase, for account of the company,
or hold, or any portion OF, outside re.
hnertes. price and upon terms to be
| hxed by them in their discre tion.''5
First Sugar Combine.
a description Of how the compe tin z
interests were brought together IN
the first sugar combination in 1857
was given by Mr.. Palmer. The Wit
| ness said that n. Q. Havemeyer came
to his office to talk over sugar MAJ
ters
"He said that searles and Theodore
Havemeyer were crazy to go Into a
combination, declared Mr.. Palmer. ..He
SAID he was not SO crazy unless he
could get the Harrisons. of Philudel
phia-the Harrisons were keen sugar
men-aEd Captain Thomas of Boston.
q very wealthy man, WORTH sa,-. about
| $4,000, 600 or S+0,000,000. and prcsid emit
| Of the tandard Sugar Refining Com
| pany. at Boston. to go into IT with
| him. He said Theodore would Try to
| set the Harr!sons, and he offered TO
give me S10O.o0 ii would get Can
i Iuin Thomas in"
Did you get him?" inquired Repre-
| sentative Madison. Z.
Il went up and spent the afternoon
with Captain Thomas" continued the
| witness. his objection was H o.
! tIavemeyer. He said he thought he
could get along with Searles and
| Theodore, but was not SO sure abo t
h. Q. told him that II o. was the
best man of the three. Finally he
came in"
Did H. o. tell you what the object
| OF the combination WASP"
No; he never talked much"
The witness told of the rebates re-
ceived by the company. claiming that
1t had merely gotten ITS share OF the
| rebate In the days when such Were
In fashion.
Judge Madison questioned the wit
| ness concerning the forma ton OF the
competing National Sugar Refining
| Company. of New Jersey.
1T IVES organized for the purpose
of buying four companies said the
| witness. "Mr. Havemeyer told me he
| had organized 1t with his own money
| and a little he had gotten from the
National City Bank
The witness said the American COM
| pany procured n majority of the pre-
ferred stock OF the National. but when
| the question of the legality of the
common stock of the National came up,
the witness said that there he and Fl.
| . Havemeyer broke.
Break with Hayemeyer.
"Havemeyer brought UP before the
board of directors OF the American
| the question OF the purchase of the
common stock of the National. and
said that he could not vote for the
| purchase because he was interested in
! not In favor of the purchase. We
never had much to do with one an
other after that"
| Representative MaIby wanted tc
| know IL the common stock of the Ma
! tional was issued at the same time
the preferred was.
"I do not know anything about that,
except what Mr.. Havemeyer told me-"
What did he tell your
Il called him aside at the meet
| ing. and asked him what had been
| done with the common stock. and he
| replied 1t was in the hands of friends,
| and he would see me later about It,
] understand that s7.60o,0oo value Of
/ that stock is in the Havemeyer ia mily
"Mr. Palmer agreed the $4,000, 900
might have been promoters profits.
| Congressman Malby. in connection
with the discussion of the issuance of
the famous s1o,o0O.ooO common stock,
asked about the Issuance OF the $780,
900, 1000 of stock by the American Sugar
Refining Company, of which 1t had
been saidonly s42,o0o,0oo had been
used in the purchase of plants.
"Have you any knowledge of what
became or the ss.0oo.O0o not so used?,
| inquired Mr.. Malby.
| i"None Whatever
The witness testified that he be-
lteved the stock had been watered. but