Part 37

IX. Werner Horn, a Lieutenant in the German reserve, was furnished funds by Captain Franz von Papen and sent, with dynamite, under orders to blow up the International Bridge at Vanceboro, Maine. He was partially successful. He is now under indictment for the unlawful transportation of dynamite on passenger trains and is in jail awaiting trial following the dismissal of his appeal by the Supreme Court.

X. Captain von Papen furnished funds to Albert Kaltschmidt of Detroit, who is involved in a plot to blow up a factory at Walkerville, Canada, and the armory at Windsor, Canada.

XI. Robert Fay, Walter Scholtz, and Paul Doeche have been convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary and three others are under indictment for conspiracy to prepare bombs and attach them to allied ships leaving New York Harbor. Fay, who was the principal in this scheme, was a German soldier. He testified that he received finances from a German secret agent in Brussels, and told Von Papen of his plans, who advised him that his device was not practicable, but that he should go ahead with it, and if he could make it work he would consider it.

XII. Under the direction of Captain von Papen and Wolf von Igel, Dr. Walter T. Scheele, Captain von Kleist, Captain Wolpert of the Atlas Steamship Company, and Captain Rode of the Hamburg-American Line manufactured incendiary bombs and placed them on board allied vessels. The shells in which the chemicals were placed were made on board the steamship Friedrich der Grosse. Scheele was furnished $1,000 by von Igel wherewith to become a fugitive from justice.

XIII. Captain Franz Rintelen, a reserve officer in the German Navy, came to this country secretly for the purpose of preventing the exportation of munitions of war to the Allies and of getting to Germany needed supplies. He organized and financed Labor's National Peace Council in an effort to bring about an embargo on the shipment of munitions of war, tried to bring about strikes, &c.

XIV. Consul General Bopp, at San Francisco, Vice Consul General von Schaick, Baron George Wilhelm von Brincken (an employe of the consulate), Charles C. Crowley, and Mrs. Margaret W. Cornell (secret agents of the German Consulate at San Francisco) have been convicted of conspiracy to send agents into Canada to blow up railroad tunnels and bridges, and to wreck vessels sailing from Pacific Coast ports with war material for Russia and Japan.

XV. Paul Koenig, head of the secret service work of the Hamburg-American Line, by direction of his superior officers, largely augmented his organization and under the direction of von Papen, Boy-Ed, and Albert carried on secret work for the German Government. He secured and sent spies to Canada to gather information concerning the Welland Canal, the movements of Canadian troops to England, bribed an employe of a bank for information concerning shipments to the Allies, sent spies to Europe on American passports to secure military information, and was involved with Captain von Papen in plans to place bombs on ships of the Allies leaving New York Harbor, &c. Von Papen, Boy-Ed, and Albert had frequent conferences with Koenig in his office, at theirs, and at outside places. Koenig and certain of his associates are under indictment.

XVI. Captain von Papen, Captain Hans Tauscher, Wolf von Igel, and a number of German reservists organized an expedition to go into Canada, destroy the Welland Canal, and endeavor to terrorize Canadians in order to delay the sending of troops from Canada to Europe. Indictments have been returned against these persons. Wolf von Igel furnished Fritzen, one of the conspirators in this case, money on which to flee from New York City, Fritzen is now in jail in New York City.

XVII. With money furnished by official German representatives in this country, a cargo of arms and ammunition was purchased and shipped on board the schooner Annie Larsen. Through the activities of German official representatives in this country and other Germans a number of Indians were procured to form an expedition to go on the steamship Maverick, meet the Annie Larsen, take over her cargo, and endeavor to bring about a revolution in India. This plan involved the sending of a German officer to drill Indian recruits and the entire plan was managed and directed by Captain von Papen, Captain Hans Tauscher, and other official German representatives in this country.

XVIII. Gustav Stahl, a German reservist, made an affidavit which he admitted was false, regarding the armament of the Lusitania, which affidavit was forwarded to the State Department by Ambassador von Bernstorff. He plead guilty to an indictment charging perjury, and was sentenced to the penitentiary. Koenig, herein mentioned, was active in securing this affidavit.

XIX. The German Embassy organized, directed, and financed the Hans Libau Employment Agency, through which extended efforts were made to induce employes of manufacturers engaged in supplying various kinds of material to the Allies to give up their positions in an effort to interfere with the output of such manufacturers. Von Papen indorsed this organization as a military measure, and it was hoped through its propaganda to cripple munition factories.

XX. The German Government has assisted financially a number of newspapers in this country in return for pro-German propaganda.

XXI. Many facts have been secured indicating that Germans have aided and encouraged financially and otherwise the activities of one or the other faction in Mexico, the purpose being to keep the United States occupied along its borders and to prevent the exportation of munitions of war to the Allies; see, in this connection, the activities of Rintelen, Stallforth, Kopf, the German Consul at Chihuahua; Krum-Hellen, Felix Somerfeld (Villa's representative at New York), Carl Heynen, Gustav Steinberg, and many others.

When the Commission for Relief in Belgium began its work in October, 1914, it received from the German authorities, through the various Governments concerned, definite written assurances that ships engaged in carrying cargoes for the relief of the civil population of Belgium and Northern France should be immune from attack. In order that there may be no room for attacks upon these ships through misunderstanding, each ship is given a safe conduct by the German diplomatic representative in the country from which it sails, and, in addition, bears conspicuously upon its sides markings which have been agreed upon with the German authorities; furthermore, similar markings are painted upon the decks of the ships in order that they may be readily recognized by airplanes.

Upon the rupture of relations with Germany the commission was definitely assured by the German Government that its ships would be immune from attack by following certain prescribed courses and conforming to the arrangements previously made.

Despite these solemn assurances there have been several unwarranted attacks upon ships under charter to the commission.

On March 7 or 8 the Norwegian ship Storstad, carrying 10,000 tons of corn from Buenos Aires to Rotterdam for the commission was sunk in broad daylight by a German submarine despite the conspicuous markings of the commission which the submarine could not help observing. The Storstad was repeatedly shelled without warning and finally torpedoed.

On March 19 the steamships Tunisie and Haelen, under charter to the commission, proceeding to the United States under safe conducts and guarantees from the German Minister at The Hague and bearing conspicuous marking of the commission, were attacked without warning by a German submarine outside the danger zone (56 degrees 15 minutes north, 5 degrees 32 minutes east). The ships were not sunk, but on the Haelen seven men were killed, including the first and third officers; a port boat was sunk; a hole was made in the port bunker above the water line; and the ships sustained sundry damages to decks and engines.

Various Consular officers have suffered indignities and humiliation at the hands of German frontier authorities. The following are illustrations:

Mr. Pike, Consul at St. Gall, Switzerland, on proceeding to his post with a passport duly indorsed by German officials in New York and Copenhagen, was on November 26, 1916, subjected to great indignities at Warnemünde on the German frontier. Mr. Pike refused to submit to search of his person, the removal of his clothing, or the seizure of his official reports and papers of a private and confidential nature. He was therefore obliged to return to Copenhagen.

Mr. Murphy, the Consul General at Sofia, and his wife, provided with passports from the German legations at The Hague and Copenhagen, were on two occasions stripped and searched and subjected to great humiliation at the same frontier station. No consideration was given them because of their official position.

Such has been the behavior on the part of German officials notwithstanding that Consular officials hold positions of dignity and responsibility under their Government and that during the present war Germany has been placed under deep obligation to American Consular officers by their efforts in the protection of German interests.

On January 19, Mr. Gerard telegraphed that the evening papers contained a report that the English steamer Yarrowdale had been brought to Swinemünde as prize with 469 prisoners on board taken from ships captured by German auxiliary cruisers; that among these prisoners were 103 neutrals.

After repeated inquiries Mr. Gerard learned that there were among the Yarrowdale prisoners seventy-two men claiming American citizenship.

On February 4 Mr. Gerard was informed by Count Montgelas of the Foreign Office that the Americans taken on the Yarrowdale would be released immediately on the ground that they could not have known at the time of sailing that it was Germany's intention to treat armed merchantmen as ships of war.

Despite this assurance, the prisoners were not released, but some time prior to February 17 the German Minister for Foreign Affairs told the Spanish Ambassador that the American prisoners from the Yarrowdale would be liberated "in a very short time."

Upon receipt of this information a formal demand was made through the Spanish Ambassador at Berlin for the immediate release of these men. The message sent the Spanish Ambassador was as follows:

"If Yarrowdale prisoners have not been released, please make formal demand in the name of the United States for their immediate release. If they are not promptly released and allowed to cross the frontier without further delay, please state to the Foreign Minister that this policy of the Imperial Government, if continued, apparently without the slightest justification, will oblige the Government of the United States to consider what measures it may be necessary to take in order to obtain satisfaction for the continued detention of these innocent American citizens."