New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-01
AMERICAN HELD
lNPARIS FOR FIRE
ON LA TOURAINE
Raymond RoIfe Swoboda
Accused of Burning
French Liner.
CAUSED SUSPICION
BY HIS MOVEMENTS
Declared by -Four Persons Here
To Be Agent for French
Supply Syndicate.

Four men in this city declared last
night that Raymond Rolfe Swoboda,
arrested in Paris charged with setting
fire to the steamship La Touraine, was
an American citizen and represented in
this country French syndicate en-
gagged in purchasing supplies for the
French government and the civilian
population.
This was attested by K. X. Maclea,
formerly textile expert for the Federal
Tariff Board, in its Investigations Of
that industry; Thomas Hooper, of Vic
toria, B. c., an English-born Canadian,
and by Eugene Davis and W. +. Mohr,
Americans, of this city, all of whom
said they were associated with Swoboda
in the purchase of supplies.
All were unanimous in asserting that
a grave error had been made i'll arrest
ing Swoboda. They have made repre-
sentations to the State Department.
accompanied by affdavits to prove that
Swobodas mission to Paris was solely
TO submit samples of American goods
TO the French syndicate.
1t was declared by Mr.. Maclea that
Swoboda was known to the Department
of Commerce and had been instructed
10 confer on his arrival in Paris with
Dr.. c. W. A. Veditz, commercial at
tache of the United States Consulate
there, on matters of commercial inter-
est to the United States.
Exchanged Passports Here.
Swoboda, according to Mr.. Hooper,
who says he was in direct partnership
with him, bore an American passport
issued to him here in exchange for a
passport he obtained from the Ameri-
can Embassy in Paris in January.
Swoboda was born, according to Mr..
Hooper, in San Freacisco thirty-eight
years ago. Of Scotch mother and a
Russian father. tie spent hi; early
youth in Russia and later went TO
D l
the Paris Bourse. He was associated
with commercial concern of high
standing, named Morrison & Duclos,
who when the war broke out formed a
syndicate for the purchase of war sup
plies and were official in their char
acter.
I'm an affidavit sent to the State De-
partment Mr.. Hooper says:
I a.
chase supplies with Swoboda when he
came here, and during his stay was
constantly with him night and day,
| travelling to Montreal, Toronto, Chi
cago and Cleveland to visit and get de-
tails of materials from the leading
firms of these cities. A full duplicate
set of all letters, CORE. pondence, con-
| tracts, etc, is here, subject to any in
vestigation 10 show what our business
relations we've"
Came Here on the Rochambeau.
On the cabin list Of the French
steamer Rochambeau, which came here
from Havre on January IA, was IN.
Monsieur Swoboda," of Paris II is
believed he was the Raymond Swoboda
now under arrest.
About the middle of February Ray
mond r. Swoboda used a telephone to
communicate with DR.. Henry J Swo-
boda, an analytical chemist and bac-
teriologist AZ 167 West Seventy
Street. He told Dr. Swoboda he be-
lieved there was Il family tie between
them and would like to call. lie made
several appointments before he finally
saw Dr. SwObOda on February q.
RAYMOND Swoboda told the chemist
repeatedly hat ne was living at the
Hotel Manhattan, but il was not until
the day he visited Seventy-second
street that he registered there. Before
engaging a room he was frequently
seen in the hotel lobby and at the bar,
couversing earnestly with strangers.
Two days after establishing his address
at the Hotel Manhattan he used it in
obtaining a passport, taking oath that
he was an American citizen, born in
San Francisco. The chief clerk in the
naturalization bureau of the Federal
Court of this distrc' would not diyulge
Yesterday the name of the person who
identified Swoboda.
Allowed to Take Gasolene.
The passport was visGd at the French
Consulate. and the French Line hon
ored it, permitting its holder TO take
passage on La Touraine. which sailed
from New York on February p. He
took with him on the voyage several
specimen cans of gasoene.
ale impressed me as very clever,
capable man, exceedingly diplomatic"
DR.. Swoboda declared. "He made a
great many inquiries into my family
history, and we finally decided we were
very distant cousins, and that our fam
lies had been more closely related in
past generations in Austria"
The ticket agent at the. French Line
office said he remembered Swoboda az
man about thirty-five years old, who
declared ne was going to France TO sell
supplies to the Allies. He wanted to
take as excess baggage several samples
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