The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1911-07-23
STORY OF STRUGGLE
WITH TRUST
IS TOLD
CLAUS A. SPREckELS ON STAND
BEFORE SUGAR TRUST"
COMMITTEE.

New York. July 22.--claus Augustus
Spreckels, son of the late Claus
Spreckels of California and principal
owner of the Federal Sugar Refining
company. Yonkers, n. T.. today gave
the most sensational testimony that
has been developed by the congress
sional committee investigating the
sugar trust during the hearings here.
Beside giving an important side light
on the conference between John Ar
buckle and the late II. o. Havemeyer,
which is believed to have ended the
great sugar war. he described, under
oath, the yicissltudes of an independent
sugar refiner. He said his plant I'm
Philadelphia, before IL was controlled
by the trust, had been put out of
commission several times by persons
who threw sand in the machinery
bearings and otherwise wrecked the
plant He swore that at the Yonkers
refinery after he had turned down
trust overtures. dead rats were placed
In barrels of sugar ready for ship
ment and that whole watts of liquid
sugar had been drained off In the
night into the sewers. The nuisance
OF dead rats continued until private
detectives pointed out several of his
employees whom he discharged, refus-
ing to pay their wages In the hope
that they would sue him and thus en-
able him to question them under oath
as to who had employed them. Much
to his disappointment, he was never
sued.
Mr.. Spreckels declared that II. o.
Havemeyer, Theodore Havemeyer and
John IL. Searles, all of them officers
of the American Sugar Refining COM
pany and now dead purchased half
| interest In the California refineries,
to end the Spreckels sugar war, for
$2.225,O In cash, and six months
later sold this interest to the Ameri
can Sugar Refining company for S.,
100000 In preferred stock which at that
time was worth $l20 share, or &c.
000,0 900.
Interesting points in Mr.. Spreckels
| testimony included his assertion thai
in four years he has made $2,000,00l
in a Hawaiian sugar plantation on G
cash investment of $4,000. Since start
ing the Federal refinery 10 years age
by a cash payment of $3.500,00O fo
experiment, he has paid per cen
dividends on that $3,5OO,O0o regularly
he said, representing the preferred
stock and has turned earnings amount
ing to an equal amount back into th'
improvement of the plant.
Representative Garrett of Tennessee
asked Mr.. Spreekels II he knew any
thing about the conference betWeel
John Arbuckle and II. o. Havemeyer
which was supposed to have ende'
the sugar war
Yes, something" he said, $500
after that conference John Arbuckl
came to me and said: I've just ha
little talk with Henry 0. Have
meyer He said an understandin
had been reached; that there was a
over production of sugar and asked m
IL L would reduce the output of tn
Federal. told him the Federal Woul
! work to its full capacity forever. II
said, You misunderstand Havemeye
just like did. He Is fine, cult
waited man--why, he plays the violin
so ulu nero Dtdy ehS sAohhi oe'
l. and Rome burned
He told me that We ought TO II
duce our output, that there was to
much sugar, that by reducing the ou
put we reduce expenses, keep up IL
price of sugar and thus make MOI
money. He said that that was wht
the American was going to do"
| .Did you understand from Joi
II Arbuckle that he had reached an agre
ment with Havemeyer and the Anne
can Sugar Refining company that u
/ production of sugar was to be
Il duced?"
Yes, he said he and the America
had buried the hatchet."
"Did anyone else ever try to ma
you reduce the production OF sugar
YES, Mr.. Warner, of the Amenc'
company. He said 1t would crea
better feelings among the refine
generally and that an understandl
could he reached. / think that po
Arbuckle and Warner were sent
the American Sugar Refining compa
Ii to get me to enter an agreement.