Omaha daily bee., 1911-07-23
HIGH FINANCE IN SUGAR
Claus Augustus Spreckles Tells of Set
Element of Big War.
MAGNATEs MAKE BIG PROFITS
Havemeyer and sear1es Buy Half OF
Coast Company and Sell IL 60
the American for Twice
Its Cost.

NEW YORK. July 22.-How the war be-
tween the Spreckles interests and the
American Sugar Refining company was set
tied and how in the deal the Havemeyers
and John T. Searles made an enormous
profit was told the special congressional
committee investigating the trust today
by Claus Augustus Spreckles The witness
is president OF the Federal Sugar Refining
company of Yonkers and is a son OF the
late Claus Spreckles of California.
Mr. Spreckles said:
'Th war started soon after the formation
of the trust in 1881 ana continued until
1891. It was very fierce"
How did the end Gomez
Il was manager of the spreckles refin-
cry in Philadelphia in 1891 when John e.
Searles, secretary and treasurer of the
American Sugar Refining company, came
to me in Philadelphia and made a propo-
siton to settle the war. He said the bitter
competition had been ruinous and he said
that if we would sell 81 per cent of the
stock of the Philadelphia plant 1t would
close its competing plant on the Pacific
coast.
Big Graft of Magnates.
The result was that the Western Refin-
ing company was formed, embracing the
American and Spreckles interests in a S.
100000 corporation. The American took
S2,225OW in the capital stock and l deliv-
cred it to III. o. Havemeyer Theodore A
Havemeyer and John f. Searles in New
York. They told me they were the pur-
chasers and not the American. They paid
me half cash and half in short time
notes, which they later paid.
Six months later the Havemeyers and
Seares, with my father, sold the total
capital stock of the Western company to
the American for 100000 in preferred
stock. OF this my father received s. 900 OoO
and the Havemeyers and Searles got the
same for their interest. for which they
had paid my father s2.225OOO They also.
in the settlement of the war, acquired q
- per cent interest in the s., 100000 Spreck-
els Philadelphia plant.
Rats in Barrels of sugar.
MY quarrel with them started when
they wanted to limit the output of the
Philadelphia plant. Their idea was TO re-
duce the amount of production and thus
force up the price. My plan was to in
crease the output and decrease the price
"Since my opposition to the American
company" Mr.. Spreckels said, II have met
with lots of trouble. In Philadelphia be-
fore the trust got control our machinery
was damaged by people throwing things in
them. This trouble ended when Havemeyer
got control In Yonkers we have had much
trouble.
Mysterious persons have frequently at
night drained our liquid sugar out of the
watts into the sewers. On an other occa-
sion they put a dead rat in each barrel of
big shipment of sugar that was about
to go out. 1 suspected certain employees of
doing this and discharged them without
pay. I warned them to sue, but they were
afraid to-"
Tariff Keeps Up Price.
NEW YORK, July 22.-Mr. Spreckels said
that in his opion the removal or big re-
duction of the tariff on sugar would
decrease the price of refined sugar in this
country cents pound.
cit would also be the best thing for
louisiana" he said. THE planters down
there are antiquated, use ancient methods
and machinery and are not scientific farm
ers. The reduction in the tariff would
wake them up and modernize them like 1t
did Hawaii"
Mr.. Spreckels said that the refineries
and plants of both beet and cane sugar
in this country could compete with the
world without a tariff. He said that with
out tariff the production of sugar would
be vastly increased, that the jam and
jelly industry could to taken away from
England and To. chocolate production of
this country could be vastly increased.
Beet sugar can be made for less than
8 cents a pound and II you go down to
the American Sugar Refining company
offices. think they will find the records
of the beet sugar companys, which will
show the cost of beet sugar production"
Persistent Advertising is the Road to Big
Returns.