The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-09-26
flllI Pl0Is EXPOSED
SrATE DEPARTMENT GIVES OUT
MORE DAMAGING FACTS.
Won Bcrnstorff Directed a Horde OF
Ascrct Agents I'm Criminal Activities
Against tho American Government.


Against tho American Government
Washington. Sept. 22.-Further dis
closures of farreaching German prop.
uganda. intrigues and plots I'm this
country prior to the diplomatic break
with Germany were made today by the
committee on public information. In q
bulletin styled. "Officiar expose" the
committee quotes numerous letters
and extracts from letters seized by the
department. Of justice in April, 1916,
in q raid upon the New York office OF
Wolfe Won Igel. Won Igel. in carry
ing ON Ills manifold prot German and
ahti-American activities. was in con-
stant touch with the German embassy
and with Count Won Bernstorff, then
the German ambassador to the Unit
I Cd States.
I'm the form Of letters. kilograms,
notntlons. checks. receipts, ledgers,
cash books. cipher codes. list of spies
and other memoranda and records"
committee says. I'VE found indications
lin some instances of the vaguest ma
ture. In some others. Of most damning
oncluslveness-tha the German i'm.
perial government. through its repre-
sentatives In then friendly nation,
was concerned with:
Violation Of the laws 70 tho United
Staten Destruction Of lives and prop
erty on merchant vessels on the high
peas.
y. Irish revolutionary plots against
Great Britain.
"Foinenting ili-feeling against the
United States In Mexico.
'subornation OF American writer's
and le,turers.
Financing Of propaganda.
maintenance of q, spy system under
tho gulse OF commercial investiga-
tion bureau.
"subsidixing OF q bureau for the
purpose Of stirring up labor troubles
In munttion plants.
Tho bomb industry and other re-
lated activities"
Tho committee. OF which Secretaries
Lansing. Baker and Daniels are men,
bers and George Creel chairman, has
this to say concerning Holland:
1T has long been an open secret
that Holland Is merely a way station
for shipments of contraband into Ger
many. Here is official confirmation
from the Won Igel records. which
would seem to indicate suspicious
and confidential relation between the
Holland Commission and the German
of'icial accredited to this country, or
possibly a belief by the Germans that
they could not successfully get the
munitions TO their own country. The
message. In code with interlinear
translation. Is entered as A-2493' and
headed German Embassy. Washing
ton. ID. C.. April 2s, 1916 1t runs as
follows:
Telegram from Berlin by secret
roundabout way for Cary Heysen.
Consign Holland 100000 chests
'cartridges) and 200 tons powder.
Please get In touch with Holland
commission. Sender. war minister,
foreign office. In representation.
(Signed) Hatzfeldt.'"
Prince Hatzfeldt was an official of
the German embassy.
In the Hamburg lines
bureau Of investigation. the committee
states, an innocent pretending
agency was at the outset the secret
service of the Hamburg American
Steamship Company. Under Paul
Koenig. It's manager. 1t became an
adjrnct Of the German diplomatic Sc
cret service"
A letter dsted July 90. 1915. from
80. r." one Of It's operatives to "7-
900" characterized by the commit
tee - Captain Won Papen. former
German military attache). tells of the
payment Of $3.50 to an unnamed per-
son. under peculiar precautions, after
the recipient had made this state
ment:
II intend to cause serious damage to
vessels OF the allies leaving ports OF