Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-12-16
NOT ALL HARMONY
IN PEACE COUNCIL
Quarrel Said to Have Led to
Exposure of Won RinteIen's
Activities-Baron 1--WE
idinek Involved.

New York, Dec. ia quarrel which
rent Labor's National Peace council in
to two a~ntagonistic factions was stated
today by federal officials to nave been
largely responsible for the uncovering
Of an alleged conspiracy involving
Franz Won Rintelen to instigate strikes
in munition factories.
According to this statement, a num-
Der of the members of the council
coined the organization, believing it
was a body formed to work impartially
in the interests of peace. Later they
ring Of German sympathizers and
agents of Won Rintelen was in control
n intended to use the council as Il
means to further the strike propaganda.
When the government started an in
'vestigatIpa into the activities of Won
Rintelen, several men. who had been
officials of the peacts council and had
resigned went to the federal authorities
and placed at their disposal u mass OF
information regarding the inner work :
ings of the council
l.. 2. Straube, secretary Of the courr-
Gil, is said to have been one of these
men. He is due from Chicago tomor-
row and will be questioned by United
States Attorney Marshall. He is also
expected to be n of the principal
witnesses for the grand jury when. that
body ~oHven next week.
Samue Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor. will be
another witness. 1t was stated at the
federal building today that the call for
r~econvening the grand jury is being
held up pending definite information
as to when Mr.. Gompers can get here.
Washington, Dec. 1.-THE state de-
partment has received a Photographic
copy of a letter said to nave been
written by Baron Erich Zweidinek Won
Sudenhorst, August &c, 1914, to the
Austrian consul general at New York,
stating that nine Austrian reservista
in San Francisco desired to come TO
New York and proceed thence to Aus
tria and suggesting that it might be
possible to procure suitable passports
of neutral countries at comparatively
slight expense" The Austrian con-
sui at San Francisco, the letter said,
had been instructed to sen the men
to New York.
Baron Zweidinek is at present charge
OF the Austro-Hungarian embassy. the
highest diplomatic representative of
his country in the United States.
At the time of writing the letter he
was counsellor to the embassy.
State department officials, while adj
hitting that they had received a copy
of the letter and other letters alleged
to have been written by Baron ZWeid-
mex, declined to comment on them or
to state what disposition would be
made Of them.
Baron Erich Zwiedinek, charge OF
the Austro"IIungarian embassy, today
called upon Secretary Lansing to ex-
plain a letter he wrote in August, 1874
in which he suggested that passports
be bought for Austrian reservists. The
state department has a Photographic
copy of the letter.
The charge is understood to have in
formed Secretary LANSING tina at fhA
time the letter was written he was q
subordinate in the embassy.
DR.. Constantin Durnba, the anlbas-
sador who has been recalled, was then
in charge, and it was said that Baron
Iwiedinek contended that he wss act
ing not upon his own initiative, but
under the instructions of the nmlas-