New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-05
Secret Service Believes
Headquarters of Con-
spirators Is in Boston
Endless Chain Letters
Contain Immediate Peace Plea
and Defence Of Germany's
U-Boat War

Evidence Of a plot to swamp the
postal system Of the United States and
carry on insidious German propaganda
is now in the possession Of Chief WILL
lam ]. Flynn of the United States Sc
cret Service.
The headquarters Of the German con-
spirators is believed to be in the Back
Bay section Of Boston. Proof pointing
to Boston's fashionable section was
found in the latest letter these German
agents have sent out.
It is believed that thousands OF
printed copies OF this letter have beer
sent broadcast over the country IN the
last few days. The recipient is asked
10 copy the printed form and TO mail at
least one copy TO friends of immediate
peace" The letter reads:
an his war message. April 2, WI
son smoke of Germany's promise 70 end
the U-boat warfare At Madison Bar
racks Lansing said: The immediate
cause OF war was the announced pur-
pose of Germany TO break its promise
as 70 submarine warfare
Germany never made any such
promise. In the note of May 4. 1916,
containing the so-called promise, Ger
many carefully stated that as to the
future she must reserve itself COM
plete liberty of decision
"For brief, but adequate, statement
of diplomatic notes that led TO war
send 10 your Congressman for Senator
La Follette's speech Of April 4, 1917
which was suppressed. See pages =
%. 80.
Endless chain. Please write at
least one copy and send this and that
10 friends Of immediate peace
Secret Service agents working under
Chief Flynn, il is understood, are now
in Boston trying to locate the Germans
issuing this letter, and the printer.
The speech of Senator La Toilette re-
ferred to in the German endless chain
letter was the one in which he de-
Tended his vote against declaring war
on Germany. In this speech he said:
an principle Germany had the right TO
blindly DESTROY ships by submarines
and mines" AID added that this coun-
try had helped England to "starve
women, children and old men in Ger
many"
Another German endless chain letter
that has been going through the mails
for nearly a month is known as NE
PRAYER for Peace" letter. The recipi-
cnts of this letter have been asked 20
write nine copies and mail them to
friends.
Federal officials lay to these German
agents the several prayer" endless
chain letters which have made their
appearance since the United States
entered the war.
The first of these was circulated
among Masons, but the efforts OF the
propapandjsts were nipped in the bud
BIZ prominent members of the craft
throughout the country. {. ". Jen-
rings, editor Of "The Masonic Stand
ard" published a vigorous protest
against the prostitution Of the frater-
nifty for such purposes.
That the letter was not written by
Mason was obvious from the fact that
it contained what purported 10 be
prayer said by Nasons of old" Such
a prayer, it is said, was never used by
Masons. The prayer" was prefaced by
the statement that all who would write
the letter and mail it to nine friends
would be the immediate beneficiaries
Of the goodness OF Providence, and that
those who broke the chain would meet
with dire misfortune.
After the Masons ended this endless
chain the same letter, with variations,
but with the same threat of divine
wrath for those who broke the chain,
made its appearance in other frater-
mites. Within the last month this
identical prayer" has been in circula-
ton among Catholics, who are told that
this was a prayer said by Catholics Of
old.
"There is no doubt in my mind that
all these letters were first sent out by
German propagandists with the idea Of
cluttering up the mails" said Fed
eral official yesterday. This latest let
ter of the German propagsndsts is not
only in violation of the postal laws, but
il is a violation of the espionage act,
and all persons who copy it and mail II
to immediate friends Of peace or any
one else are liable to twenty years i'm
prisonment and a fine of $4,000. All
these letters bear a striking resem-
htarce 10 each other"