The Monticellonian., 1916-09-21

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 matter
of mathematics
With this semiconfidenee the agent
go to the baseball games. but met
O'Toele only casually. In the mean
time the records of weighers were be-
ing examined. In 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 0'Toole
after ball game. He told the weigh
err 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 a 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 in
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 u.s."
Agent Gard had selected the right
man. OToole, 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 with
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 in
the port made his information invalu-
able. So enthusiastic did he become
that he missed three ball games in
succession and went past four Saturday
nights without his customary tussle
with the spirits that bring forgetful-
ness.
OToole confirmed much of the list
of short-weight employees that had
been made up. OF the derelictions of
many of these he had personal knowl-
edge With their methods he was
entirely familiar and was able to point
the way toward the establishing of
guilt so it would be admissible as evil
dence and would secure convictions.
That an individual weigher may re-
port short weights it is necessary that
his associate at the scales, a checker,
should share in his receptions, for the
checker is a witness of the record of
the scales. In the celebrated short
weight cases of the sugar scandals.
the checker had a steel spring like a
corset stay that he thrust into the
mechanism of the scale and retarded
it. thus resulting in a showing of
short weight. But in the case of the
Mediterranean cargoes the fraud was
less disguised. The scales were al
lowed to record the proper weight,
but the weigher and the checker, in
collision, divided the figure by two in
setting it down. The system was both
simple and effective. 1t worked for
| twenty-five years.
Gard consulted with OToole upon
the advisability of using workmen
about the docks as informers. The
weigher thought this could be done
and knew number of men who might
be so used A laborer, for instance,
working about the scales, was able TO
see the amount that the beam regis
tered at given times. He could easily
remember the big numbers, those that
represented the thousands of pounds,
until he had chance to set them
down. He could thus get rough rec.