The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-09-24
Official Expose
Details List Of
Activities in US.
Judge, Writers, Inventors, Lecturers NamedAs German
Aides Fomenting of Ill Feeling Between Nations
At Peace Bombing of Ships and Destruc-
ton of Life, Held Proved

| no knowledge, and in case they
were influenced would be entire
Iy innocent. do not know what
the organization was. This ex-
pose is apropos of German meth.
DDS of peace propaganda. and
there is no intention OF casting
suspicion on members Of con-
aress."
inquiry, it will be on the house
side, for members of the senate, al
most without exception, construed
| the BernstorR statement to mean
| that the "slush" fund was to be used
to create sentiment throughout the
nation which would have it's effect
on congress and Secretary L.ansing's
explanation served to strengthen this
feeling.
House Action Undecided.
Chairman H. D. Flood of the house
foreign affairs committee, after an
interview with officials of the state
department, had not determined
what action his committee would
| recommend. It was understood that
the state department held the view
that the department Of justice could
| obtain all the information necessary
1
The house has Before it, never
theless, definite statements by Rep
resentatives j. T. Hefiin Of Alabama
and w. s. Howard of Georgia that
IS or II members OF both houses
have been acting in a suspicious
manner" as regards pro- German
| propaganda. In view of the fact that
in a recent speech Representative
Hefin named the men whom he
thought had been acting suspiciously,
1t is possible that one or more of
these persons may demand an in>
vestigation.
The complete official expose fol-
lows:
Within a few days a German
newspaper published in this country
employed as the headline to an ar
ticle dealing with a rumor of Ger
man-American disaffection in this
country the derisive legend, Iieb'
! Washington, magst ruhig sein.'
This, of course. a parody on the
refrain of Die Wacht am Rhein,' the
German national hymn:
Iieb' Vaterland. magst ruhig
sein.'
Loved fatherland. be restful. Cor
undisturbed).
I'm the parody it carries a sneer
comprehensive only to one who I'M
derstands the German mode of
speech and thought.
of itself the instance is slight.
But 1t typifles a certain important
phase of the German propaganda
which subtly but persistently seeks
to present Germanys COURSE in
America 10 the most favorable Hight,
even to the extent of defending the
improper activities of the Teutonic
diplomatic representation before
| their passports were given them.
Because of this continuing propa-
ganda certain documents in the pos
session of the department of justice
now assume peculiar Importance, in
that they prove undsniably the in.
innate relations between the ae'
credited representatives of the kaiser
in the United States and plottsrs
against the laws, and the security Of
this country, whose enterprise did
not fall short of projected wholesale
destruction of life and property.
Such of these documents as were
essential to legal proceedings brought
against the Germans have been pub
| lished.
"Others are here made public for
the first time. They form a curious,
If disjointed. chapter in the dlplo-
matte history Of the war.
I'm the fall of 1914, when the Ger
man plots against Canada were To-
menting in this country, there was
established at so Wall street. an 'ad-
vertising' office presided over by
big, suave man of Teutonic aspect
named Wolf Won Igel.
There were two peculiar features
about this Office. One was that IL
was frequented during two years Of
Isingularly quiet and unbusinesslike
existence chiefly by Germans VINO
had nothing whatsoever to DO Win
advertising.
THE other was q large safe, bear
ing the insignia Of the German I'M
Iperial government.
| Secret Service Gets Busy.
ITO this office there came one
morning in April. 1916, while Won
lIgel was preparing a mass Of pape:s
(which he had taken from the safe
lfor transfer to the German embassy
lin Washington, four United States
secret service agents from the de-
Ipartment of justice, who made their
way past the guardians always on
duty, put Won Igel under arrest, and
undertook to seize the papers.
German Fights Officers.
THE German was large, powerful,
with the aid of the associate he
stubbornly fought the officers, striv-
ing to rescue the papers, to close the
safe, to get to the telephone and
communicate with his superiors.
''Reyolvers were drawn by the
secret service men. They produced
no effect upon the intrepid Won
Igel
shouted. Shoot me and you will
bring on war.
There was no shooting. But after
a protracted struggle the defenders
were overpowered and the papers
seized. The German embassy at
once entered its protest. These were
official papers. They were sacro-
'The diplomatic prerogative OF a
friendly nation had been overridden
land the person of its representative
insulted. To this the. state depart
ment replied that the invaded prem
ises at so Wall street were described
in the contract as a private business
ONCE for the carrying on OF adver-
tising, and that Won Igel had not
been formally accredited as a Ger
man representative.
Reasons Are Apparent.
when the papers were examined
Iby the department Of Justice the
reason for Won Igers determined
fight became apparent.
Here, In the form Of letters, tele-
grams, notations, checks, receipts,
Iledgers. cash books. cipher codes
lists Of spies, and other memoranda
and records, were found indications
lin some Instances OF the vaguest
nature in others OF the most damn
ing concIusiveaess-t the German
imperial government, through its
representatives in a then friendly
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