The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-12-27
SUGAR FRAUDS
EXCEED 100000

filed its repor. yesterday in the United
States district court, and declared that
the customs service in Philadelphia
has been dcmoraiized by politics.
The grand jury recommended the in
stitution of civil suits Immediately to
recover the duties lost through false
appraisement The amount is said to
exceed 100000. Suits will be pre-
pared at once, government officials
said
While the report says the jury found
that at times throughout the period
covered by the investigation, imegu-
larities in Weighing, varying in nature
from sporadic sharp practices to sys.
tematic frauds, have been resorted to
at the refneries of the w. J. McCahan
Sugar Refining Company, the Spreck-
els Sugar Refining Company and the
Franklin Sugar Refining Company, for
the purpose of Iessening the duty
weights of imported cargoes of raw
sugar, it could find no criminal indict-
ment because no offense has been
shown to have been committed within
a period not exempted by the statute
of limitations.
Political pressure or party patron.
age was the chief cause of the losses
to the government, according to the
ny
erted upon customs weighers of such
a nature as to make them careless in
the discharge of their duties. While
the jury found no evidence that the
assistant weighers had wilfully par
ticipated in fraudulent weighing, the
assistants had much cause for the
feeling that the whole burden of any
struggle that might be made to pre-
vent unfair practices by the refiners
rested upon them alone. This was due
to the fear that their superior officers
would not sustain their complaints
and further they feared that charges
made against them would meet Will
serious consideration. This fear, due
/ to politics, is the only adequate theory
the jury could assign for the fearless
ness with which many of the refining
companys employees took advantage
of every available opportunity for get
ting the better of the government
weighers.
Refinery Men the Offenders.
Under the evidence the jury finds n
direct participation in the frauds
either by officers of the sugar compa
MES or by the higher customs officials
The bulk of the findings of fraud in
fact fall upon the refining company
employees, some of whom, the report
says. are no longer in the employ OF
the companies.
The investigation of raw sugar i'm
ports has been carried on by special
agents of the Department OF Justice at
Washington for more than two years
The result of this inquiry was the i'm
paneling of a special grand jury on
May % last to hear the evidence col
lected and make its report with rec
concentrations. This special jury TOOK
up the methods of weighing in the Gus
toms service. The following month tho
regular June grand jury was impan
eled for the regular work of inquiry
into criminal charges. At the conclus
ion of this list the government begar
the presentation of evidence before the
June jury on the methods of sampine
and testing of sugar and on draw
backs relating thereto.
Two separate reports were made by
the two iuries yesterday. Both wer,
similar in that fraud was found, com
mitted in a period exempted by the
statute Of limitations.
Frauds Traced to 1894.
Between 1894 and 1897 the June jury
found that settlement samples Of
sugar from which tests were made tC
determine the grade and thereby tiN
the duty We're Systematically adulter
ated at the Spreckels refinery for the
purpose of frauduleutly lowering the
tests. The McCahan and Franklin re
lineries were eXonerated from this
phase of the inquiry.
In relation to drawbacks, the jury
found that many syrups manufactured
at the McCahau refinery from Decem
Der, 1902, TO March, 1910, particularly
those manufactured since 1906, have
been illegally exported with benefit
of drawbacks under false declarations
concerning the sugars used in their
manufacture The Spreckels refinery
is also accused of the same Illegal act
from March, 1903, TO practically the
time of the beginning of the inyestiga,
ton.
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