The Monticellonian., 1916-10-26

with the company 1t was easy. of
course, for them to find from the rec
ords who was getting wet sugar Not
a dry sugar man got Job. You ask
Tobin, He was one of the guys who
held out for honesty. But 1t was a
hard season for TObin. with his health
bad and three kids So next season
he lined up So did most of them. In
side of three years there was not
sampler on the dock who was not TAX
Ing them wet
But put me wise. said Gard IF I
am going to get a samplers job next
year you better pass the word to me
so I will know how to hold 1t.
l guess you know enough about raw
sugar said the sampler. TO know
that it drinks up moisture like n
sponge when it gets a chance Well,
they are not careful in keeping out the
damp air when it is aboard ship. and
ii often comes handy, not altogether
by accident for a sack of sugar to get
a chance to lie on wet board The
sugar on the outside naturally gets a
little damp, and If you will turn a
sack over YOU may find a wet side to
it The first lesson Is to take your
samples from the wet side of the sack
and from the part near the outside.
But maybe the sugar has been kept
pretty dry. Well it is up to the sam
pier to get a little moisture into his
tube. If it is a warm day a few drops
of sweat may be gathered by a serape
Of the back of your hand Every drep
IS worth its weight in gold a hundred
times to the refiners. Il would surprise
YOU to learn how cleverly the sampler
learns to spit a bit of tobacco Juice
into his tube You have worked on
the docks fer long time You never
saw il done. did YOU But they were
at it all the time. l bet the govern
ment has paid a million dollars for to-
bacco juice in the last ten years Gun
ningham here. has grown fat eating
tobacco"
But does everybody on the dock
take wet samples" asked the detec-
tive
ssurest thing you know" said Han
sen. Ask them
How about it, Cunningham quer-
led Gard
Il need the work, said the fat man
And you, Tobin?"
Il held out year." said the little
consumptive. but couldn't afford to
lose my job
All the others present pleaded gull
ty
Don't yon fellows get anything for
it but little off=season work.. asked
Gard.
Not thing acknowledged Hansen
with huge oath I'VE certainly sell
out cheap and the company makes bar
rels Of money out o. the bargain. But
the old man has never given US a look
in on any of IL"
The dietagraph stenographer at the
next table had caught every word
He was in a position to substantiate
the testimony of Gard who should be
able to make these samplers tell their
stories in court Soon the two faded
away without being missed but they
took with them a complete case
against the government samplers of
this port and against the Continental
profting through their shortcomings
It was a month later and Billy Gard
had completed his work He had
gone to Henry Gottrell cold turkey"
as the special agents say when they
lay all the cards ON the table. He had
shown that rotund and genial captain
of industry Just the case the govern
ment had against him. With him he
had gone over the record of the bust
ness of the refners since that period
eight years previous, when the wet
sample scheme had been inaugurated
He had worked out an estimate of the
probable duty that the government
had lost during that time. The actual
loss was not, of course as great as
the theoretical, for many of the sam
pies We're of necessity honest, Yet 1t
must have run as high as 100000 as
a shortage on the part of Gottrell and
his associates.
Gard indicated the possibility of the
success of a criminal prosecution, the
probability of recovering that large
sum of money through the courts. He
confessed to the humiliation of the
government that so many of its en-
ployees had been false to their trust
He even granted that the government
might, under the circumstances, feel
itself somewhat to blame for the con-
ditions that had existed 1t is not
recorded whether the vision of a girl
with frizzly, corn-eolored hair came in.
to the mind of the special agent and
had to do with his recommendations
that the case be settled out of court.
But certain it is that the government
authorized him to propose that, If the
company should pay the government
$780, an amount it would be Just
able to raise and escape BANKRUPTCY,
the case would be dismissed, the sam
piers discharged, and new regime
inaugurated in which the government
would take pains to protect itself
Upon this basis the case was set.
tied. Billy Gard had earned his sal
airy.
The next day he was packing up at
his hotel in preparation for leaving for
Washington when there arrived by
messenger a little. square. delcately
scented envelope which he tore open
somewhat wonderingly. Inside he
found this note
Father has told me all about it.
For the third time let me say 'splen.
did And remember that you prom
ished to come and tell me about il