The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-03-17
And Then Stole His Letters,
Is Charged by DR..
Bertling
PLAN TO SEE
SEC. LANSING
German Agent Accuses the
English Secret
Service

Washington, March 1.-THE German
ambassador is expected to bring unique
subject of inquiry TO the attention of the
state department within the next few
days.
1t is alleged that fire within the last
few weeks at 1903 East Twenty-fourth
street, Manhattan, the home OF DIR. Karl
Oskar Bertling. director of the Amerika
Institute of Berlin, was of incendiary
origin. British secret service agents are
accused.
The New York World printed an ar
ticle yesterday about the activities OF
DIR. Bertling, which was based on letters
exchanged between DIR. Bertling and the
German embassy.
1t is charged that these letters were
stolen from DIR. Bertling's home at 100
East Twenty fourth street, Manhattan,
on the same day that the place was dam
aged by fire. DIR. Bertling is said TO
have come home in the evening and found
himself without more worldly posses
sions than the clothes he had on.
DIR. Bertlin, who was in Washington
yesterday, said that he had assumed that
all his personal effects We're destroyed
in the fire, but that something over a |
week ago he heard the letters published |
yesterday were in newspaper office. He |
has been in a state Of high excitement |
over the loss of his letters under such cir |
cumstances ever since he heard they had /
been put at the disposal OF newspaper. |
He was in conference with the German
ambassador and the embassy's legal adj
visers yesterday with regard to what
course of action to take.
If the embassy should decide not TO
put the affair in the hands of the state
department, he intends to hire lawyers
on his own account.
DIR. Bertling has been encouraged in the
belief that he can force newspaper pub
fishing his letters to reveal the source
from which they were obtained.
That is the sole object of the embassy
and DIR. Bertling. Germans believe that
if a connection between the fire and the
theft of the letters We're established
Americans would feel less keenly about
the German propaganda.
AT Tile tiuDdHSy III was Ahlu YESTERDAY
that DIR. Bertling came to the United
States following the outbreak of the war
n connection with German commercial
His presence here still is ex-
blamed by the fact that Great Britain
has been taking civilians off neutral ships
It sea. 1t is admitted that he has re-
eived his salary checks from the ambas-
ador and that he has given lectures on
he German view of the war.
DR.. Bertling said yesterday that if
British agents stole papers from his
Iouse during the fire they got nothing
more for their pains than was contained
n his letters published yesterday. He
dded that the New York district attor-
ey should interest himself in the case
S one of arson.
A cheerful view is taken of the ex
osure among all embassy officials, who
ay, that the "unfair tactics adopted in
he theft of private papers" will defeat
be British object in having the letters
Nothing more is known here
the Manhattan fire and the
cquisition of DR.. Bertling's papers than
he allegations of the German embassy.
Fire headquarters has record of
laze in 100 East Twenty fourth street
n Jan. 25. 1t happened at IL o'clock at
ight.