New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-26
GERMAN SEIZED
BY U. S. AS SPY;
HAD FORT PLANS
Secret Service Men Arrest
Reservist with Photos
of Fort Monroe.

Washington, Aug. 25.-With photo
graphs and Typographical maps of Fort
Monroe and the new fortifcations
under construction at Cape Henry on
his person, Gustav Kopsch, a German
reservist, was arrested by the Depart
ment of Justice secret service tonight.
He was taken to the district Jail on his
failure to obtain $4,000 bail.
Kopsch was charged with violating
the Act of 1911, which forbids the pos
session of secrets of the defences Of
the United States. He is twenty-seven
years old and has been employed as an
instrument maker at the Carnegie In
stitute.
A. Bruce Bielaski, chief of the Bu-
reau of, investigation, said tonight
that, while he had not had sufficient
opportunity to study carefully the
papers and films found on Kopsch's
person when arrested, he had identified
already photographs and films of Fort
Monro and )f the new fort site at
Cape Henry.
Kopsch has been living at a board
ing house at 1929 U Street, North West,
Washington, and had acquired a repu-
tation among his fellow boarders as
being mysterious. Several of the
boarders had been so worried by their
suspicious that they reported them to
government officials.
Suspicion was first directed towzfd
Kopsch, it was stated at the Depart
ment or justice, by his Unsuitable de-
sire for information while inspecting
the site for the rev fortitications at
Cape Henry. He took large number
of photographs of the site, and many
views of the surrounding country.
These might be of value, it was pointed
out, in the event of land attack upon
the fort after an invading force had
landed some miles down the coast or
nea Lynnhaven Bay.
The proposed fort and Fort Ion-
roe would be the two principal defences
of the entrance of Chesapeake Bay, and
therefore of Washington, Baltimore,
Norfolk, Portsmouth, the Portsmouth
navy yard and Newport News, where a
big shipbuilding plant is located.
Even more than by the number of
photographs he took, however, suspi-
ciC2 was excited by the questions which
Kopsch asked. He wanted to know par
ticularly where guns would be sta
toned, where the pier would be located
and other details which it was incon-
ceivabe that an ordinary tourist should
want to learn.
The trip of Kopsch to Fort Mon
roe and Cape Henry was made in the
later part of July and the first few
days of August. Since that time he has
been under Close surveillance by agents
of the Bureau of Investigation.
Shown as a German Corporal.
Among the photographs found in the
possession of Kopsch. was one of him
self in the uniform of a corporal in
the German artillery. That he had
tried recently to get back TO Germany,
was shown by letters from steamship
companies, which declined TO take him
unless he could get an American pass
port.
Kopsch evidently was an expert pho
tographer, some Of the views he had
obtained showing remarkable skill. A
view of the wireless station at Airing
ton, taken during an electrical storm,
brought out the lightning with the tall
wireless towers IN spienulu rellel. ne
used a camera which he brought from
Dresden, Germany, where he was born
and raised.
The young reseryist refused to ex-
plain why he took the forbidden pic
lures, except to say that he had taken
them in the Fortress Monroe case, with
the permission of a sleepy sentry, and
he said he had no respect for any army
trh "A
condition that he would allow pictures
to be taken. He declared hi inten-
tion of prosecuting the sentry for
getting him into such trouble.
Department agents said that Kopsch
had been particularly interested in
learning all the points of transmission
for wireless along the coast He had
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