The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-08
'KOELBLE DENIES HE'S LOBBYING
 FOR THE KAISER
Asserts His Safe Has Been footed of Private Cor
 respondence.

New York. March 8.-Alphonse G. KoeIble, German-American lawyer, of 80 Maiden Lane, who is connected with most of the German organiza- tions that have been active in this city since the European war began,
 denied yesterday the charges brought against him by the New York World
 that he had been active in a, German lobby which was pushing the Gore
 and McLemore resolutions, warning American citizens off armed be1lige-
 rent merchant vessels, in Congress. MT. KoelbIe stated unqualif1edly that he was not interested or active in any pro-German plans, that it was untrue that an organized attempt was being made by pro-Germans to op- pose the President in Congress, and that an effort was to be made to con- trol the Republican National Conven- ton by means of a solid German American delegation.
 Inferentially. he ridicu1ed those German-Am mainly in the Middle West, who have advanced such plans as .tthe Wisconsin idea,' which aims at electing a President next fall who will be pro-German. He denied that he had authorized T. L. Marsa1is, described in the World as a New York real estate operator, with an office at 50 Church street, to
 
 gather information for him or to at tempt to influence Congressmen in fa- vor of the Gore and McLemore reso- lutions. He declared that the man had written to him of his own accord. Mr Marsa1is has desk-room in an of fee on the third floor of 50 Church street, but he has not been there for a number of days and is said to be ill at his home in New Jersey.
 Says Letters Were Stolen.
 ''Somebody stole some letters out of my safe,'' charged MT. Koelble. That somebody was not an employee or mine. My safe was burg1ed for those | documents just as deliberately as it 1 might have been burgled for mon | ey. propose to see if. it is pos l sibIe to imprison g. German lad for taking documents from the records | of bank, and impossible to punish | persons who steal records from a pr1- | vate citizen. In any case, shall | take legal action in the matter One thing can't understand is why, when they had the opportunity, they took such worthless letters as they did.
 'I know MT. Marsalis. He ire quentIy has come to. see me, and written to me, not at my invitation, however. He is a man who becomes greatly interested in things, and puts himself to great trouble in connec- ton with them. He has gone to
  own expense to express his own ideas You. will notice that the World itself says that he did not go to Washing ton until after the Gore resolution had been introduced. In any event, MT. Marsalis was not employed by i' me, nor have I been employed or re- Et tained by any German officials, or in this country. Yes [ have heard about this Wisconsin dea.' I don't know anything about conditions out West, but I do know that such 3. thing is impossible here. The Germans can't do everything, and we know it.
 personally, I am not pro-German. but anti-British. was ant-British before the war. I know my Ameri- can history. was born in this E country, and Pm for America, first and last, against anybody"
 Among the documents published are several purporting to be letters addressed to MT. Koelble from. Wash ngton by Mr. Marsalis, retailing con- versations with various Congressmen; letters from ex-Representative Rich ard Earth oldt, of St. Louis, comment ing upon the political situation, with reference to the German propaganda; a letter from Henry Weismann, presi- dent of the German-American Socie- lies of New York State, urging con ,entration of German-American inf1u- ence upon Congress-; a letter from Dr. C. J. Hexamer, president of the German-American National Alliance urging support of the Gore and Mo Lemore resolutions; a letter from Prof. Leo Stern, of Milwaukee, out lining the wisconsin idea;' and a circular sent out by Mr. Weismann suggesting a plan for better poHti- cal organization of German-Amer1- cans.