Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-12-02
Government Gains Admission
From Purchasing Agent
That He Violated Law With
Full Knowledge
ORDERS DIRECT FROM
GERMAN GOVERNMENT
Jury Is Expected TO Begin
Consideration Of Evidence
and Argument Not Later
Than This Evening
~ .os.,na JOURNAL SPECIAL lsAssO ~,-u


New York Dee T. - The trial OF
Or. Karl Buenz ana his three code
PENDANTS. of the Hamburg American
line, on charges of conspiracy to de-
cciye ana defraud the American gov
enment, virtually ended late today
when the defense rested and the gov
crnment announced that it would call
no witnesses in rebuttaL There re-
main only the summing up Of counsel
and Judge Howe's charge before the
Jury rctircs. The cases should reach
the jury late tomorrow
The four defendants. Dr B6enz,
George Kottcr, superintendent of the
line; Adolph Hachmeister. purchasing
agent, and Joseph Popinghaus. the
young man who sailed on the steam
ship Berwnd as her super-cargo and
delivered her goods 10 the Cap Trafal-
gar. off the island of Trinidad, testi-
fled today william Rand, Jrp their
lawyer, asked them almost Identical
questions and the stories they told
We're virtually lne Sanle'
Dr. Bucnz in Control.
Kottcr and Hachmeister testified
that they acted on instructions from
DR. Bucnz. who. in turn was acting
under an agreement reached in the
fall of 1913 between his line and the
German government whereby the line
was 10 send supplies to such German
cruisers in the Atlantic as might he
found there I'M case Of war. Popping
haus acted on kotter's directions and
Dr Buenz did not even know of his
existence tin shortly before the pres
ent trial
The three Of them -- Iiachmeister
Buenz and Kotter-met in Or. Buenz
private office on the afternoon Of July
81, 1914, to discuss ways Of obtaining
neutral ships to carry the projected
relief cargoes. Kotter knew a steam-
ship agent, John II. Cans, and they
sent for him. lie came in and from
him were chartered the Thor the Lo-
renzo and the Berwind. After they
had been chartered, Kotter bought
coal for them Except in the case Of
the Thor, already loadedl and Hach-
moister bought about $4,000 worth
Of provisions and supplies which We're
placed aboard.
Knew Law Perfectly.
on Ilachmeistcr's cross examination,
the government made him testify that
he had been employed by the Ham
burg-American line since 1883; knew
all about manifests; knew that every
item Of q ships cargo had to be writ
ten down on it's manifest, yet had fail
ed to mention the supplies and provi-
sions on the manifests Cf the three
ships mentioned. The company's
brokers, acting on information furn-
ished by the line cleared the ships,
Hachmeister testified but he had
failed to inform them OF the presence
of the supplies and provisions.
Il considered them ships stores,
he testified
"But you knew they were intended
for German cruisers?" asked Roger b.
Wood, of the governments counsel,
Admits Act Was Deliberate.
The witness said he did and could
give no reason for considering them
ships stores. Heretofore the defense
had contcnded that the omission of
these items was rdue to blunder. that
tho defendants did not know they had
to be recorded and that as soon as
they learned it was necessary the
proper entries were made on all other
ships sent to the Germans aid.
Each Of the four defendants sworc
on the witness stand that he had no
intention to defraud the United states
and no thought to deceive port coll
lectors in mauifestine the cargoes or
stating the destination of the vessels.