The Great "Electric Sugar" Fraud

Have you ever heard a story so bizarre that you can’t quite decide if it’s genius, madness, or maybe even a little of both? Well, today’s story falls squarely into that category. It’s a tale of grand promises, dazzling technology, and a man who convinced the world that he had entirely revolutionized the sugar industry - only for it all to come crashing down in spectacular fashion. This is the strange and scandalous tale of Professor Henry Friend and his miraculous electric sugar-refining machine. INTRO This is The Fantastic History of Food. Weird and fun stories from history that in some way involve food. I’m your host Nick Charlie Key. PATREON I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of my supporters on Patreon, you help me out immensely in getting this show made. We’re just one supporter away from reaching 30 supporters! If you would like to be that person, you too can support the show in the same way. It costs just $2 a month and when you sign up, you’ll have your name mentioned in an episode, just like you’ve heard in previous ones and you’ll get your name forever etched into the supporters wall of fame on our website at foodhistorypodcast.com. But please, this is absolutely pressure-free, more than anything I just love that you listen to the podcast and get some enjoyment out of it, and that is the reason why I keep making this show. Now, back to the episode. PART ONE Very little is actually known about the early life of Henry Friend. The most widely accepted theory is that he was more than likely born in America, but by the time he burst onto the scene, arriving in New York City in 1883, he was claiming to actually be a German-born chemist. He was already 50 years of age by this point, and to back up his claim of being of German heritage, would interchangeably present himself as either Henry Friend or Henry Freund depending on who was engaging with. His time in New York is what really helped secure his name in the annals of ridiculous historical stories, but we need to go back just a little bit to give you a bit more context for what you can expect from him. Henry Friend originally hailed from the Chicago area, and by the 1870’s was touting himself as both a manufacturing chemist as well as an electrician. Now the second of those titles may as well have been magician because electricity and it’s many functions were still incredibly marvellous and mysterious to the general public at large. If you were able to harness the power of electricity, people believed you could probably make it do anything you wanted. It would seem that Henry caught onto this idea rather quickly and sometime around 1875 he announced to the good people of Chicago that he had discovered something incredible. At the time it was not just electricity that gripped the hearts and minds of the general population, there was also a pure powdery white substance that when consumed, made everything around you seem just that much sweeter. No, i’m not talking about that one, im referring to sugar of course. Now the rate at which people wanted to consume sugar was incongruous with the speed of sugar production. The refining process was an arduous backbreaking one which involved days and days of boiling, drying, straining, washing with chemicals, more boiling, drying, straining, chemicals, over and over and over before you ended up with your pure refined white granules of sugar. Not only did it take ages to process, but it was incredibly dangerous too. Pastry chefs know this first hand, but working with boiling sugar is probably just about as dangerous as those scientists taking readings from the open mouths of actively erupting volcanoes. One splash of that molten sugar on your skin and you’ll regret ever complaining about a bad sunburn. So, as the modern phrasing goes, it was an industry ripe for disruption. Professor Friends announcement was met with intrigue, he had just claimed to have built a machine that took all of the time and danger out of the process. In fact, according to him, with his new invention, all you needed to do was put the raw sugar mixture into one end of the machine, zap it with some electrical current, and then run it through some other secret process inside the box that couldn’t possibly tell people about, and then, like magic, pure refined sugar came out the other end. Newspapers speculated that if what he claimed was true, he would have just revolutionized one of the worlds most lucrative industries. Owing to the difficulties of its production, sugar was incredibly expensive, and the men who ran the sugar companies around the world, may as well have been kings in their own right. Production costs would be slashed and for the first time in history, the common folk would have access to what, up until now, had been the sole reserve of the upper crust. The only problem for our good friend the professor, was that absolutely no-one in Chicago believed him. He went back to the drawing board and within a few years tried again. This time he claimed to have perfected the process of refining pure sugar from Grapes. In order to lend his new idea some form of legitimacy, he quickly set up the Chicago Grape and Cane Sugar Refining Company. Through this business he finally managed to start attracting some investors who wanted in on the ground floor of this amazing new discovery. It didn’t take long however, before one of the investors smelled a rat and went to the police and had him charged with corporate fraud and obtaining money under false pretenses. Needless to say the company collapsed and luckily for Henry Friend, the investor dropped the charges once he received his money back. Around this time Henry happened to meet Reverend William Howard and his wife Emily. It would later turn out that that William and Emily were not in fact legally married at all, as William had apparently up and left his wife and children in Rhode Island, without bothering to get an official divorce. Despite this fact, the couple lived as any married couple would and before long, Emily’s daughter from her own previous marriage came to visit them in Chicago. Her name was Olive VanNess Tibado and when she was introduced to Henry for the first time, there was an instant spark between them. Within just a few months on February the 3rd, 1883 the pair officially tied the knot. It would seem that Henry was not entirely truthful with his new wife either, as according to their marriage certificate, his age was listed as being a full decade younger than he really was, and even then Emily was still 10 years younger than even that fake age at just 31 years old. Later that year, Henry, Olive, The Reverend William and his pseudo-wife Emily all decided to pack their bags and move to New York City. As it would turn out, Henry had managed to bring them on board with his idea for peddling his Electric Sugar Refining Machine to the people of the Big Apple. As soon as they arrived they set about looking for investors in their new company, promising that they could now produce sugar at a cost of just 80c per ton, which was less than 10% of the what it currently cost the large sugar manufacturers. He even made an approach Theodore Havemeyer, one of the aforementioned Sugar barons, whose family controlled much of the sugar refining industry, and asked him to back his new invention. Havemeyer, having vastly more insight into the process than almost anyone else, was understandably skeptical. But, men like him are often blinded to whats right in front of them when dollar bills start rolling past their eyeballs at the thought of just how much money this invention could make him, if indeed it were legitimate. So Havemeyer insisted that the Professor reveal his process before he could receive any financial backing. It was at this point, that Henry had to admit that he did not in fact have any working machine to show him. Havemeyer was stunned at the audacity and promptly chased him out of his office. Realising this crucial flaw in his plans, Henry Friend set about building a working prototype before his meetings with his other prospective investors. Once it was ready, he put the word out that he and the Reverend William, would be hosting demonstrations of the machine at their home in New York. Interest began to grow, and in order to boost investor confidence further, he even requested that each one of them who attended bring along their own barrel of dirty, unrefined sugar as well as a clean empty barrel in which to take home all of their newly clean and refined sugar. When the time came for the big show, the investors would all gather in a back room of the Friends apartment, watching as the professor would slowly pour the barrels of dirty unrefined sugar into a pipe, before switching the machine on and allowing the magic to happen. At this point, Friend would announce that the machine needed just a few hours to do it’s thing and that rather than stare at a whirring machine, why don’t they all rather come and have a drink with him in a room at the other side of the house? A few hours, and more than a few drinks later, the group would reassemble in the machine room. There, under a draped piece of cloth, was the barrel into which the machine was supposed to have emptied itself. Henry slowly approached the machine, with the air of a circus ringmaster about to release the lions, knowing that he had the crowd eating out of his hand. With a flourish, he lifted the cloth and there, before their very eyes, was a barrel full to the brim with sparkling, pure white refined sugar. The assembled investors were amazed and broke out in a rapturous applause. Soon, Friend met with a London based solicitor named W.H. Cotterill brought him into the fold. Cotterill helped Friend set up his new business properly, installing himself as the company vice-president. In the wake of the interest from investors they released a company prospectus which read as follows: Raw sugar of the lowest grade, either from beetroot or the sugar cane can be converted into refined sugar of the highest grade as easily as raw sugar of the highest grade; and it is said that the loss in weight will not exceed one percent of the whole saccharine matter. The time required is only four hours, and any description of refined sugar can be produced, from the finest powdered up to and including cut and pressed loaf. The principal agent employed in the process is electricity, and as it has been ascertained that the cost will not be more than 3shillings and 4 pence per ton, the invention bids fair to work a complete revolution in sugar refining. It was time to sell the companies shares and Friend made sure to retain 60% of the ownership with Cotterill and other American investors putting up $100,000 together for a combined 10% stake in the business. The remaining 30% of company shares were sold to English investors raising another $300 000. All in all, Henry Friend now had $400 000 at this disposal. Let’s be clear, thats $400 000 dollars in 1883 money, today, the equivalent amount would be more than $13 million dollars worth of investment. But it was not all roses and sunshine, as his new invention drew its fair share of skepticism too. Despite the enthusiasm of the current investors, people like Theodore Havemeyer had serious doubts about him. Almost a year went by, and Henry had nothing of any tangible value to show for efforts. In fact, it had started to become clear to all involved that something untoward might be going on. An editorial article was published in what I can only assume was one of America’s most niche publications simply titled The Sugar Cane. In it, the writer had some choice words about Professor Henry Friend and his so-called Electric Sugar Machine: “In February last the sugar world was startled by the announcement that a discovery had been made by which sugar could be refined by means of Electricity in a few hours — almost "while you wait". A demonstration, at which no one was present but the inventor, took place in New York, when seven tons were, it was stated, refined in as many hours. Five gentlemen testified to its genuineness; none of them, however, were present, and some of them having a direct interest in promoting the company. Professor Friend, we were informed, was heading to Liverpool with his machine, for the purpose of making a series of demonstrations there, crucially this time, in the presence of witnesses. The Professor has been over, and has since returned to New York — but there have been no demonstrations. The reason he gives for not carrying out his intentions may appear satisfactory to him and his friends, but not so to impartial outsiders. It is now ten months since we first heard of this "invention" and, excepting the "demonstration" in New York, we do not hear that anything has been done, except, of course, raising share capital for the avowed purpose of refining on a large scale. If there is any truth at all in what is stated of this invention, why have not the company been at work on a small scale, if only 10 tons per day? By this time they would have realized a small fortune. Those who have put any money into this venture, we fear, will not see it again.” Despite this, Henry, Olive, Reverend William and Emily were all enjoying the high life. Henry was spending lavishly on food and drink, especially when it came to his drink of choice, Bourbon. At one point, seemingly to allay investor fears, he spent $40 000 dollars on the purchase of an old flour mill in Brooklyn, in which, he told investors, he planned to set up all of his machinery. But he didn’t have any machinery, and so, riding the wave of investor sentiment, he simply raised another $180 000 in order to purchase some. But, when the money hit his bank account, rather than spending it on buying some large magic electric sugar boxes, he spent the money on buying some fast horses and sporty carriages. Still, he refused to share the secret of his process with anyone, telling them all that it was not patentable and therefore, until he had his full-scale refinery up and running, it was too dangerous to share his methods. It seemed he knew exactly what to say and when to say it, in order to put the money men at ease, and even though there was absolutely zero actual production of refined sugar, and seemingly no urgency to start, somehow the companies stock prices continued to rise from $100 a share in 1884 until their peak at $625 a share in 1888. But Henry Friend was enjoying the lifestyle a little too much, and all of that fine bourbon was starting to catch up with him. The Philadelphia Enquirer would report sightings of the professor riding sleighs in the winter time through central park, chugging directly from his bourbon bottles. And then on the 10th of March 1888, in what came not only as a shock to himself, but also to every one of his financial backers, his liver finally failed him and one night night, without any kind of forewarning, he went to sleep and died that very night in his apartment, still never having refined a single ounce of electric sugar. Once news of Henry’s death reached the papers, Olive and her parents scrambled to take control of the company assuring investors that she in fact knew the secret process for the sugar refining, as Henry had told it to her just before he died. It would not take long for the entire house of cards to come crashing down around their ears. Cotterill who had helped them form the company had seemingly been duped right along with all of the other investors. When he got word that Olive and her parents were making plans to flee back to their hometown in Michigan, alarm bells started ringing in his head. He and some fellow investors marched down to the Brooklyn factory, desperate to at least recoup some of their money by confiscating and selling off all of the assembled machinery inside. They broke the locks of the factory doors and when they entered the building found that it was entirely empty. All that lay in the vast expanse of the warehouse were a few bags of stockpiled refined sugar, but with the branding of a rival sugar manufacturer printed on the side. At this point, you might still be asking, okay, but how did they do it? Let’s rewind and I’ll run you through the process by which the scam operated. We’re back in the room in the Friends Brooklyn apartment and the demonstration to investors is just about to start. Professor Henry Friend lifts up the barrels of dirty unrefined sugar syrup and pours it into a pipe attached to the electric machine. More and more of the liquid glugs into the pipe, but rather than accumulate in some chamber of the machine, it instead continued to flow through a pipe that had been secretly run underneath the floorboards and and out the window of an adjoining room, emptying itself in the river below. Once the investors had been escorted out of the room, Olive would then sneak into the room, and using a hole in the ceiling, lower down some bags of already refined sugar and simply pour these into the empty barrel at the other end of the machine. A few hours later, when the investors inhibitions had been suitably loosened up by Henry’s wonderful stash of alcohol, they would be led back into the room, unlocked of course with a flourish by Henry, as if to say..no-one else could possibly have been in here whilst we were busty drinking. The investors were ushered inside and voila! the barrel before them was full of pure refined sugar. I think what frustrates me most, is that it wasn’t really even a very good magic trick. If he’d at least made it all go through the machine and come out the other end while they were all still in the room, I think I’d at least give him some credit. But it’s all just so obviously dumb. And i guess it just goes to show, that maybe we aren’t so different from the people back in 1883. We still get wowed by all the big tech innovations being thrown at us every few months. They were simply blinded by the magical effect that the word “electrical” had on their imaginations. They didnt fully understand electricity yet, and so, who knows, maybe it really could have been the answer to all their problems. As we wrap up this story, I think it’s worth mentioning that Olive and her parents didn’t get away entirely scott-free. They were all eventually arrested in Michigan and then extradited to New York to stand trial. Olives step-father, Reverend William Howard, was sentenced to nine years and eight months of hard labour in the infamous Sing Sing prison. Olive and her mother however, despite pleading guilty to Grand Larceny were let off with time served, having been detained for just a few months while awaiting trial. Since then sugar has had it’s boom and bust eras in popular culture, but it will never truly fade from our lives. It’s in so much of what we consume, even the things it shouldn’t be found in, but at the end of the day, it’s here to stay. So the next time you add a spoon or two to your coffee, or mix it into a cake batter, be sure to remember the audacity of Professor Henry Friend and his magical Electric Sugar Refining Machine. ________________ SOURCES * PBS. "The Great Electric Sugar Con." American Experience. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/poison-squad-great-electric-sugar-con/. * Hoaxes.org. "Freund’s Electric Sugar Fraud." Hoaxes.org. https://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/freunds_electric_sugar_fraud. * Wikipedia. "Electric Sugar Refining Company." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Last modified [date unavailable]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Sugar_Refining_Company. * Brownstoner. "Walkabout: Professor Freund and the Electric Sugar Factory, Part One." Brownstoner. https://www.brownstoner.com/history/walkabout-professor-friend-and-the-electric-sugar-factory-part-one/. * Scripoworld. "Electric Sugar Refining Company." Scripoworld. https://www.scripoworld.com/records/united-states/new-york/electric-sugar-refining-company/.