Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-11-22
HAMBURG AGENTS
ON TRIAL MONDAY
U. s. Government Alleges German
Line Chartered Ships to Supply
War Craft.
ONE OF FIVE NOT ARRESTED

NEW YORK. Nov. 21.-One hun
bred or more witnesses to testify
against high officials OF the Ham
burg-American steamship line at
their trial on charges of conspiracy,
which begins next Monday, have
been summoned by the government,
IT. was announced today.
The trail probably will last a
week. Four OF the five defendants
have pleaded not guilty and the fifth
has not been apprehended The
maximum penalty for the crime
charged is two years imprisonment
and $1,000 fine on each OF the two
indictments.
The defendants are Karl Buenz. manag-
ing director Of the line, in control OF
great fleet OF German merchantmen and
liners which sailed under the Hamburg
American house flag; Adolph Hoch-
meister. purchasing agent of the line;
Joseph Popenhaus, a second officer in
the lines employ: George hotter. superin-
tendent OF the line, and Felix seffner,
alleged supercargo on one OF the YES
sells which sailed with supplies for the
aid Of German cruisers.
seffner Not Found.
Seffner has not been found. A charge
unique in American Jurisprudence faces
them-conspiracy to defraud and deceive
the government by obtaining clearance
papers on false representations.
To facilitate the trial counsel for the
defense admits that the defendants char
tered certain ships and sent them with
supplies TO the German cruisers Karl
sruhe, Kaiser wilhelm and other Ger
man men of war. active in the Atlantic
in the late summer and early fall of 1914,
as charged but denies that these acts
constitute a conspiracy to defraud or
deceive the United states. The intent,
| II is claimed. was to deceive the allies,
| instead
50 we'll did the German agents know
that war was inevitable, the government
charges. that some OF the fifteen ships
involved were chartered weeks before the
war began and several actually sailed
on their alleged errands of war before
war had been actually declared. To
support these and other charges, numer-
Gus affidavits have been taken by the
government One of them relates to an
oc -urrence aboard the Maria Quesada, a
steamer sailing from Newport News, Va.
| in October. 1914. ostensibly for VAL
paraiso.
Won't Give Up Papers.
This vessel, the government charges,
had abosrd a German supercargo, as did
all the other vessels involved. When
the steamer failed to find the German
cruiser II was seeking, the affidavit
charges, 1t cruised about for some time
and finally put into Pernambuco. The
Brazilian authorities, apparently sus-
picious. sought its papers These. the
affidavit continues. the captain refused
to surrender. but placed them In bag
and threw them overheard. He then
notified the Brazilian cruiser sent out to
him. that he had lost his papers.
! Several days later. the affiant states
under oath. the papers. bag and all were
found in the belly OF a shark, which
some Brazilians had captured and drawn
/ up on shore.
In another instance, according to Roger
/ B. Wood the assistant district attorney
in charge of the prosecution, the govern
ment is prepared to prove that the Ham
burgAmerican line paid $4,000 to the
owners Of an American vessel which had
been sold. under a British prize court
order, The vessel was the Lorenz which
sailed August 6. 1914, from New York
with supplies. It Is charged. for German
cruisers in the West Indies, and the
amount represented its full value
Placed i'm New York Bank.
Seven hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars OF German money. the defendants
admit. was sent in chartering and out
fitting four vessels for relief OF the
cruisers This money. the government
Is prepared to prove. according to Mr..
| Wood, was placed in a New York bank
to the credit OF a man who was told
to spend 1t under direction of Captain
! h. Boyd, the German naval attache.
and was spent in accordance with these
| instructions.
Millions of dollars, the government
computes, were spent In chartering and
supplying the fifteen vessels which fig
ure in the charges.
What these vessels sought to carry to
the German cruisers. the government
charges, was virtually a complete list of
tho cruisers needs. from cigars. wine and
cigarettes, to coal. fresh water. sauer-
kraut and lubricating oil. In two cases,
Il Is charged complete water condensing
| apparatus was carried 80 that the salt
water might be condensed for drinking
purposes.