Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1917-10-03
HOW TEUTON SPIES
LAID PLOTS HERE
State Department Makes Some
Amazing Revelations Against
Germans.
BERNSTORFF IN EVIL WORK
While Protesting Friendship for the
United States He Directed ActiV-
tiles of Kaiser's Secret
Agents.

From the time the world war began,
of August, 1914, until the United
States entered the conflict against
Germany in April, 1917, the American
state department kept a sharp eye on
Teutonic doings of an unlawful ma
ture in this country, but kept very
quiet about it.
From time to time information came
to the surface that the kaiser's agents
and tools on this side of the Atlantic
were very busily engaged in making
trouble for us-by stirring hatred
against England, by making US sus-
picious of Japan, by attempting to
force us to invade Mexico, by using
the United States as a base of opera
tions against the entente allies, by
fOmenting strikes, riots, embargOes.
etc, to prevent our making and send
ing supplies to Germany's enemies.
Those among us not violently pro-
German came to hate Germany for
this, and to accuse the state depart
ment of being sound asleep for its fail
ure to take some action against the
autOcracy that was doing us grave in
jury, both direct and indirect.
But now it comes to light that the
state department was very much
awake. The kaiser's tools were not
putting anything over on sleeping
Uncle Sam. The old gentleman gave
Ambassador Won Bernstorff and his
oil
said nothing.
Now the time has come for eX-
pOsures, and the state department is
offering every day fresh revelation
of Germany's dirty work in this coun-
try during the last four or five years
for the kaiser's men were busy plotting
and preparing for the world war long
before hOstilities actually started.
Bombs and Microbes.
One of the most sensational ex-
poSureS, made q few days ago, was a
message sent by Count BernstOrff to
his imperial master asking for $780,
900 more" so that he could continue to
Influence congress against a declara-
ton of war by the United States
against Germany"
Another foul plot turned to the light
was the introduction into ROumania
by German agents of high explosive
bombs and tubes of deadly microbes,
under the protection of American dip
lonatic officers who had charge of
Germany'S interests in that country.
These bombs were to be used in blow
ing up railroads and public buildings
in Roumania and the microbes were
10 be used in starting a terrible dis
ease epidemic among the civil popula-
ton. Such are the kaiSer'S methods
he is the gentleman who claims to be
on such intimate terms with God.
Following is the most startling and
far-reaching exposure of the activities
of Germany's spy ring in America yet
made public. Every statement has
been compiled by the United States
committee on public information from
official documents in the possession of
the government, which hitherto have
been withheld from the press.
Work of German PIotters.
In Ihe fall of 1914, shortly after the
outbreak of the war, the German en-
basSy established a publicity depart
ment at 60 Wall street, under the
direction of Wolf Won Igel About two
years later this office was raided and
documentary proof obtained that Won
Igel was the chief spy and plotter of
a vast system maintained in the United
States under Ambassador Won Bern
storff'S general direction.
Paul Koenig, pretending to conduct
the secret service of the Hamburg
American Steamship company from a
New York office, was discovered to be
in reality one of the directors of the
German spy system in the United
States. He is now informed at Fort
Oglethorpe. In Won Bernstorff's code
he was known as "XXX."
In a report by Koenig to his boss,
Captain Won Papen of the German
embassy, Koenig describes an agent
who has made bombs to resemble
Jumps of coal to be placed on board
merchantmen sailing from New York,
for the purpose of blowing them up
while at sea.
DR.. Max Niven of Chicago is shown
as receiving $50 for the labor fund in
connection with establishing a branch
of German and Austro-Hungarian la
Dor information and relief bureau in
Detroit.
The German embassy maintained
confidential relations with the Irish
revolutionary movement, through John
Dewey of New York formerly of Chi