The evening world., 1915-04-02
SWOBOOA WAS CAUGHT
SPYING ON OERENSES
AFTER WAR STARTED
continued FROM rirs, raEeJ

Ing nm. be- remains something ~ =
mystery SEVERAL ~ his friends pro.
tess 10 consider tho charges against
him entirely unfoundod.
NJ Treacat. stock broker who
knew Rwoboia well. says he eau see
which he H. accused After hostiii.
ties began and business was sus.
pendsd on tina Bourse, according TO
Troscat. Swoboda sought some other
occupation. one Of IN. plans he con-
sidered was to 10 to the United states
and obtain samples Of military cloth
ing. equipment and tools which Oh,
Ministry OF War would be likely TO
purchase.
Trcscat asserts that Swoboda
finally decided upon this venture. He
visited many factories In America.
giving a. n reference Broker MORT
son. who Is one Of tho most widely
known general merchants In Paris.
Upon tho strength Of this reference
he obtained the samples no sought.
sccordln. to Trescat.
Tho police credit tho statement Of
n. Trescst. for when they searched
tho office In Avenue dc rOpsra where
ave trunks belonging 10 swoboda
wero stored. they found that two Of
them had been opened and the con.
tents displayed In an adjoining room.
rhe display consisted of cloth. WOOL
Ian vtovAs sock. toathar natal a Az.
canned goods. boots. entrenching
tools and even n complete French
uniform.
Friends Of Swoboda explain the
photograph In which he appears in
the uniform Of a German officer by
stating that he spent two years at
Heidelberg to perfect himself In Ger
man and the picture probably was
taken while no was wearing his stu.
dents uniform.
Plans found In Swoboda's once
which the police regarded as sus-
picious. his friends shy. probably
we're left there by an uncle who IL
an architect at Vancouver. and who
recently visited him In Paris.
NJ. Mommeja Of the Boulevard
Haussman, a banker. who employed
Swoboda In 1912. declares TO report
ers. on the other hand. that Swoboda
represented himself AZ a Canadian
and said he did not know q word Of
German. but some time later he over
heard Swoboda talking German
nuently over the telep! %. Wen the
banker called tho attention Of his en-
ployoo to the conflicting statements he
| mad made, swoboda explained tina. / ,
rad studied CT Heidelberg. Mom.aeja
became suspioious, however. and DIS
| iharRcd swoboda In 1913.
Three days ago N. AommejA heard
that his former employee had been
seen In a Paris cafe In company with
very suspicious persons. He at once
l reported the matter to the local
police.
According to statements made tc
newspaper reporters by residents Of
the suburb OF Vironay. where Swo-
boda lived at one time, the man had
ong been regarded with suspicion
/ lilo was very intimate In the Aus
III TRAN German colony ana spent muof
Of his time with an Austrian named
| Padouk. A few days after the out
II break Of hostilitles Swoboda was dis
II covered at late hour one night clos
to where some important defenss
II work was being carried out. Upol
being arrested he explained he wal
an American and pleaded ignorance
Upon the production OF satisfActor!
papers he was allowed to go.
IA ToURAiNE FIRE WAS IN,
ii cENoIARY.
II HAVRE, April 2.-Experts chem.
III lists. who are investigating the cause.
OF the fire aboard the steamship l.,
ii Touraine. now express the belief tina
II was not the result OF an explo
II sion. but originated in three iarg,
In the baggage hold.
The investigation has disclosed, tn
experts assert, that the flames coul
not have been caused by spontaneou
combustion and from this they con
clude that the contents Of the boxs
must have been set on IRE. Pieces {
textiles similar to those place
aboard la Touraine have been sui
jected to high temperatures withol
combustion taking place. How {
whom the blaze started the chemis
are unable to explain. for they ha,
found no traces OF any incendiar
device.
1t Is pointed out that II the III
had started in the hold proper In
Iii stead Of the one In which the bsS