The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-10-26
Federal Authorities Have Five Men
Under Arrest
ONE MAKES FULL CONFESSION
Lieutenant in Saxon Regiment Gives
Details of Plan to C;aIay Allies
Supplies.

New York. Oct. 26-Details of the
plot to hamper the shipment of muni-
tions of war to the allies by placing
clock-Worked bombs on the rudders
or propellers OF ships, so timed that
the ships would be disabled on their
way across the Atlantic, were disclos
ed here yesterday in the confession
of one Of five men charged in com
plant filed with a United States com
missioner with conspiracy to violate
federal statute.
Following upon the confession of
Robert Fay, lieutenant of the 10th
Saxony infantry who admitted that
he came to this country last April,
through an agreement with the Ger
man secret service to blow up or de-
lay steamers laden with war supplies
for the allies. William j. Flynn chief
of the secret service last night filed
before United States Commissioner
Houghton a complaint in which not
only Fay, but four or five other men,
are charged with promoting the con
spiracy. The hearing on the federal
charge was set for November 4.
Fay confessed that while on the
battlefield, he talked with his super.
ior officers about a device to blow up
ships, that later his idea of coming
to America and carrying his scheme
through was well received by the
German secret service that he came
well nough supplied with money to
act on his own responsibility and that
he talked with Capt Won Papen, mil
itary attache. and Capt Boy-ed. naval
attache at the German embassy
about the plan, but they had refused
to have anything to do with it.
Fay, after confessing to the New
York police, gave out statement to
the newspapers, In that he said
''My only object when | came to this
country was to interfere with the
enormous shipments of artillery and
ammunition to the allies. Being a
manufacturer myself and know that
any ordinary damage that may be
done to a factory may be repaired
within few hours, decided it was
useless to bother with ammunition
plants. Therefore the intimations
that have been connected with var
ious explosions or accidents that
have occurred in such plants in the
United States is entirely wrong, |
am not a college man, but hold the
diploma of an efficient engineer,
from an American correspondence
school. am interested in plant
that is manufacturing small machin-
cry.
II was serving with my regiment
in the Champagne district and saw
the terrible havoc and loss of life
caused by the French artillery fire.
Several French batteries at certain
point was annoying us. We made
night attack and dynamited the guns,
but to our great dismay we found
next day that our dynamited guns had
been replaced.
During my spare tlme hau invent
ed device to explode mines by doing
away with electrical wiring. In this
way | was able to overcome the ef-
feet of dampness of water on the
wires. / applied to the colonel of my
regiment and he put me in touch
with secret service officers and one
of the agents arranged for my pas
sage to the United States. came
here on the steamship Rotterdam, ar
irving, | believe, on April 90. last. ]
had no trouble getting into the coun-
try"