The Green Forest tribune., 1916-09-22

as heavy when handled by certain weighers as when handled by others. The men whose records show these cargoes always light are the crooks Those who show them heavy are hon. est. The solution is merely a matter of mathematics.
 With this semiconfdence the agent contented himself. He continued to go to the baseball games, but met O'Toole only casually. In the mean time the records of weighers were be- ing examined In a week the figures were complete They showed these men divided into two groups that were far apart with relation to the weights of cargoes. The group that weighed light was the larger.
 A few days later Gard saw O'Toole after a ball game He told the weigh CT that District Attorney Stimson wanted to see him that night at the federal building, that the district at torney was under great obligations to him for the tip to examine weighers records and wanted to thank him.
 "O'Toole," said the district attorney | that night, this is time when the government needs the aid of honest men. We know that men who would clean up customs graft have, in the past, come to grief. But this is not now true. have taken up your case with the secretary of the treasury himself That official asks me to in form you that, in case you aid us ln cleaning up this situation, your place will not only be made secure but that you should figure that the service will be remembered in the light Of your future interests. We know that your record is clean. We want your help Are you with us?"
 Agent Gard had selected the right man. O'Toole, at first timid in his fear of the ring, became an enthusiast over the task of wedding out the graft. The dominance of local politi clans had no terrors for him witt Washington at his back. The value of all he had learned in eleven years at the scales was made to supplement
 the lack of customs experience on the part of the special agent. His ac quaintance with the customs force il the port made his information invalu able So enthusiastic did he becom'
 that he missed three ball games il succession and went past four Saturda.
 nights without his customary tussl
 with the spirits that bring forgetful
 ness.
 O'Toole confirmed much of the lis
 of short-weight employees that ha
 been made up. Of the derelictions 0
 many of these he had personal know
 edge With their methods he Wa
 entirely familiar and was able to poin
 the way toward the establishing c
 guilt so it would be admissible as ev dence and would secure convictions. That an individual weigher may r' port short weights it is necessary tha his associate at the scales, a checke should share in his Receptions, for tn checker is witness of the record ( | the scales In the celebrated shol | weight cases of the sugar scandal | the checker had steel spring like | corset stay that he thrust into th | mechanism of the scale and retarde | it, thus resulting in a showing { short weight But in the case of tE
 Mediterranean cargoes the fraud WE
 less disguised The scales were g
 lowed to record the proper weigh but the weigher and the checker,
 collision, divided the figure by two
 setting it down. The system was bo V simple and effective. It worked f.
 twenty-five years.
 IT, Gard consulted with O'Toole upt e. the advisability of using workm' m about the docks as informers. TT 1t weigher thought this could be dol
 and knew a number of men who mig i'd be so used A laborer, for instanC al working about the scales, was able lg see the amount that the beam reg If tered at given times. He could easi d- remember the big numbers, those tn It, represented the thousands of pound IT, until he had a chance to set the ce down. He could thus get rough r'