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Show Endeavors to Show the Re-lations Re-lations Existing Between American and Various Beet Sugar Plants. GIVES HAVEMEYER H A BAD REPUTATION H Counsel Ineffectually Tries to Prevent Inquiry as to Attempts to Acquire Rival Concern. WASHINGTON. June 12. Tho ' JM house committee of investi-gation investi-gation into the so-called sugar trust affairs today re-(juiced re-(juiced Acting President Edwin l'V At-I At-I kins of the American Sugar Refining company to answer questions regarding its attempts Lo acquire the Pennsylva-uia Pennsylva-uia Sugar Refining company at Phil-ndc)hin. Phil-ndc)hin. Counsel James II. Deck. for the compain-, ineffectually ajv located to the committee not to go into this' matter on the ground that the former officers of the company arc awaiting trial in November on a charge of conspiracy to acquire the Pennsylvania jiroperfy and that their interests would be prejudiced if thu committee prejudged the case. Chairman ilnrdwick nnd the com-mittce com-mittce overruled the objection, saying thi! committee was- directed to investi-garc- every phase of the company's up-oration up-oration and that there was no intention of prejudging the case. Mr. Atkins testified he hnd no di-rect di-rect knowledge regarding the Penn-sylvania Penn-sylvania transaction which, he said, was negotiated under the presidency of Henry O. Ilavcineyer. He said he pro-tested pro-tested years ago to Mr. Havemc3'er jH against the policy of the company" in acquiring beet sugar plants. The rompaii- officials point out that the company has undergone a thorough chango. of -..management and of policy since the .Havcmcycr regime. Beet Sugar Industry. jH Discussing the relations between tho company and the beet sugar interests, Mr. Atkins said: IH "I asked Mr. Ifavemeyor if it was to be his policy lo build up the beet sugar industry, at the expense of the (anc sugar refining industry. His an- H swer was evasive and I told him that IH if that wns to bo his policy I would jH scR my stock in the American Sugar jH Refining company. 1 subsequently did sell considerable of 1113' stock." Asked why he was opposed to the IH company extending into the beet sugar IH field. Mr. Atkins declared that hu foresaw in tho western field n beet sugar industry growing which would become a formidable competitor of the American company, and, as an inves- J tor, he did not think it a good propo- H sit ion to aid a rival enterprise to a position where it would have an im- IH portaut effect upon the business of IH tho industry in which he wns finan-cially finan-cially interested. Mr. Atkins stated that, he did not know at the time he talked to Mr. Hnvcmeyer that the former head of jH the sugar trust had already invested IH in the western beet sugar concerns. Thousands of Stockholders. Mr. Atkins testified that the Ameri-can Ameri-can Sugar Rcfiniug company's stock is scattered all over tho globe, with 19.- 359 stockholders in Novcmbor. 1910. IH The average individual holding of stock H was said to be less t han fifty shares and more than Si,0U shareholders own ten shares or under. Mr. Atkins submitted a statement to 1 show that during 1910 the company manufactured slightly more than -12 jH per cent of the total consumption of H sugar in the United States, while tho jH beet sugar company manufactured 14 H per ceut. Of the twenty-one can H sugar refineries in the United States, H the refining company owns seven di- tf roctly or through subsidiary companies jl and has a stock interest, less than a B majority, in four. Of. the sixty-oight IH factories which produce boot sugar, the jl American company is interested jH through stock ownership in thirty "While in 19U0,'; lhc statement said, "the American refined about 67.3 per IH Contlnuod on Page Two. H HEAD BF SUGAR CO. PUTS 1 STUTEH Endeavors to Show Relations Existing Between the Yari- ons Concerns. Continued Prom Pago One. cent of the snpar consumed in the United Slates, in J 000 it was onl' -13.14 per cent, in 1910 -12.11 per cent." The statement referred to the government litigation against the company. "In the bill brought by the government govern-ment to dissolve the company," it read, "no act. of any officer of the company since Januar' 1, 1903, is even alleged' as being in restraint of t trade. Many of tho averments in the government's govern-ment's bill are either inaccurate or give reference to transactions ended prior to January 1, 190S, or adjudged as alwful in the proceedings brought in 1S92 by tho government against this company in which the United States supreme court, sustained tho legality of the company as then constituted. "Since the decision of the supreme court, the company has, in expanding the production of sugar and promoting commerce therein, acquired stocks in various beet sugar companies. "The company has a reasonable confidence that the validity of these holdings will be sustained as in ex pansiou rather than in restriction of trade. These holdings have, however, steadily been reduced in tho last throe years by sales from time to time and with two unimportant exceptions tho company has only a minority interest in any "of the beet sugar companies to which reference is made. All of these companies have independent boards of directors and are in no respect controlled con-trolled by the American Sugar Refining Refin-ing company." |