Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-12-27
CANADIAN OFFICIALS have
PUT TEMPORARY QU|ETUS ON
ALLEGED CLEVER C0NSPlRAT0 TOR
Van Koobergen Said to Be Possessed OF Excep-
tional knowledge of Espionage H a S re-
markabe Understanding of Explosives ana
Their Manufacture

! tired from the railway seiNieo 60
| started one of the get-rlcn-auion
schemes which usually proved as prof.
| table to him as they were disastrous
| to the thousands of friends WHOM
he lured into his various companies.
The first company formed In Canaua
was for the manufacture or lmltatloii
marble signs and name plates. folio"
! ing upon the failure Of the enterprise
in Montreal he went West. Mr.. NJ. "A.
van Roggen, the Netherlands consui
| Of Vancouver, British Columbia. says
| he was innocently made to play brieI
| but important role in convincing the
German officials at San Francisco that
! the blowing up of a tunnel on the Ca
! madam Pacific Railway line had actu-
ally taken place.
The Consul Relates
THE first l heard of van Koolber-
gen" stated Mr.. van Roggen, was last
June when I saw in the paper where
he was STAYING at the Hotel Elysium.
Thinking that he was as he said, rep
resenting San Francisco and Dutch
capital in San Francisco, l communi-
Gated with him, asking him to lunch
con- I received no reply from him at
]
ter part of the following month that
| got a letter from him written from
San Francisco.
He then thanked me for the invi-
tation, saying that he had only just
received my letter, forwarded from
the Elysium. He said that he would
accept the invitation on his return to
Vancouver, which depended, however,
on carload Of goods which was COM
ing from the East to Vancouver and
which had been somewhat delayed.
He said that he had seen in the pa
pers that a tunnel had collapsed and
that transportation was stopped ow-
ing TO the collapse and that General
Superintendent Peters was Investigate
ing the cause. He asked me if I would
be good enough to look up Mr.. Peters
and ask him how long freight trans
rortation would be delayed. He asked
me to send him the information in a
, telegram worded as follows:
Traffic interrupted days;
freight delayed --- days; traffic
resumed on -
He said that when ne received this
information he would be able to tell
Vancouver to take advantage of my in
vitation to luncheon Not seeing any
thing extraordinary in this l telepnoned
the Canadian Pacific Railway asking for
information regarding the freight re-
ferred TO by van koolbergen. l was
told that the freight would be delayed
= for only few days.
e, Later Mr.. r. W. Peters telephoned 10
me and told me that the company was
rather reticent about giving out infor-
J. nation. but that | could inform van
> koolbergen that the freight had actual
q ly been delayed for eleven days but
/ that the line was absolutely clear now
f Il was debating wire to this effect
n to van kColbergen when l was again
Z telephoned to by the Canadian Pacific
4 Railway and informed that it was un-
c necessary to telegraph to van kool.
= bergen as the company had already
y done so.
n Telegram a Forgery
S The telegram was to all intents a
II forgery. | realize that I was made a
n tool. The first time l saw van kool.
: bergen was when he was in Jail. 1 haG
. before and he simply smiled at ms
, stating that it made no difference His
" wife asked me to get her a half rate
fare to Calgary as she wanted to &c
. there to be with her husband at his
J., trial I was able to arrange this fol
% her While in goal van koolbergeI
n told me he had been in the Dominion
t Government Secret Service"
e Again referring to van koolbergen'.
II Incarceration in Holland Mr.. van Rog
II gen commented on the court proceed
u ngs in that country They have t,
e prove a case right up to the hilt be
u fore man is convicted, he said. Con
t Guiding Mr.. van Rogen says that i
& was with apparent ease that the Ger
man officials in San Francisco wer,
duped with the telegram. The wir.
u was simply signed ~. r" One would
think stated Mr.. van Roggen. tina
such wire coming from a consul would
II be signed in full 1t is wonder to m,
l. that the abbreviated signature did no
!. arouse suspicion"
Ia Under Surveillance
l. During his stay in British Columbia
= surveillance. Toward the later part OF
ID last spring when it was proposed tc
l. locate a central mobilization camp TO,
'e overseas forces for British Columbia
men in kamloops he slipped away from
J. Vancouver. stating that he was going
sr on fishing trip. In reality, it was at
i forwards learned. he made his way &c
% kamoops. at which place he made ar
, attempt to get into communication
l. with the German consulate at Sar
Francisco. His moves were closely
l. watched by Secret Service men. but as
x the camp was not located at KAN
u loops nothing was accomplished by his
e visit.
n After working his game at San
! Francisco, where he and his wife mas
' queraded under the name of Count
:. and Countess Du Monceau. van Kool-
bergs1 realized that his wife was not
% longer safe in that city and conse-
tquently decided to return to British
;s Columbia, where he thought he would
f4