New Britain herald., 1915-11-13
More Plotting?
(New Haven Journal-Courier

e The apprehension of the Condos brothers, publishers and editors of the recently established Bridgeport Daily News, presents certain disturbing as- poets. It was on Tuesday of this week that the men were placed under ar rest in the offices of the Trans-Atlan- tic Trust company on charges of extor- ton. Just what further inquiry into the case will reveal is thus far conjec- tural But the possibilities of further complicity in the general sort of plot ing of which the Condos brothers are supposed to be guilty give some cause Cor grave fears,
 According to the story published yesterday, the Condos brothers admit ted with puzzling candor that they had prepared to publish in their two news . papers-The Bridgeport, Hungarian daily, and the Daily News-stories to the effect that the Transatlantic Trust company was agent in this country for the central powers abroad, and that through this company the so-called Lieutenant Robert Fay and other plot ters mad obtained the funds with which to carry on their work. Further, the stores would assert that Julius Pirnitzer, president of the Trans-At
 
 agent and head of an information ser vice which had already attracted the attention of the United States secret service and had resulted in the seizure | of the company's books. These allega- tions MT. Pirnitzer denied with some
 warmth, and in return preferred against the Condos brothers a charge that they had conspired to extort from l him S2.OOO for the suppression of I these alleged facts. With the same | surprising candor, which it will be re-
 membered characterized Fay's state ments upon his arrest, the Condos | brothers, having denied the charge, | admitted that they had been em-
 ployed by an association of bankers to wage a crusade against the Trans-At-
 lantic Trust company and did not at tempt to deny that they had tried for | the Pirnitzer $2,000 which would ap- l parently be a larger reward than they ] would receive from the other source This is the situation which present. l ed itself on Tuesday. Since then | Commissioner Scull who had charge of
 the work of the police in connection
 with the cases of Fay and other Ger
 man plotters who are now under fed eral indictment, has worked with the police to get at the bottom of the mat l ter. 'The statements made by the Condos brothers" said Commissioner Scull, after he had talked with them
 "are startling, to say the least, and { if they are true, point we are now | trying to establish will have a very | important bearing on the investigation l into German plots which this depart l ment now has in hand"
 If these men re in any way link ed | with the Fay band, we cannot know it | too soon. They are educated men, and | one of them was connected before the war with Le Figaro in Paris. One is | supposed to be an Austrian reservist. 1 The case will stand sitting. If there
 is more plotting of the Fay sort going | forward, the thing must be scotched. ! Should the case of the Condos brothers contrary to indications, prove a false
 alarm, men of that stamp, with some | thing more than ordinary intelligence | and education, meddling with such | matters, might well be watched. This
 is neutral America. It is no place fo1
 plottings in connection with war
 foreign to our people and foreign to 1 our interests Which of the belhger- l ents may happen to be concerned IS
 not the import consideration, if in <, deed it is to be considered at all. Thai
 men who appear to put their allegi-
 ance to another country first are ac-
 cepting our hospitality as an oppor-
 tunity to carry on plots detrimental to
 our welfare and to our highest inter-
 ests have been at work and are ap-
 parently still at work, is serious
 matter. Plotting in this country on behalf of foreign interests must and | undoubtedly will be stopped.