Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1917-09-28
Won Bernstorff Revealed as Head
of lntrigues in This
Country.
spy NET COVERED NATION
Kaiser's Representatives Paid for
Blowing Up Merchant Ships Leav'
ing New. York-Irish Revolt
Aided-other Secret Ac-
tivities Told.

The following exposure of Ger
many's espionage and desperate actiV
ity in America Is possibly the mos
startling made since the first declara
ton of war in August, 1914. 1t II
based on official documents held by
the United States government which
have not hitherto been made available
to the press.
lBy the Committee on Public 1nfor
mation.]
Washington, Sept. 25. Within
few days a German newspaper pub
lished in this country employed as the
headline to an article dealing with q
rumor of German-American disaffec'
ton in this country the derisive legend
"Lieb' Washington, magst ruhig sein.'
This is, Of course, a parody on the
refrain of die Wacht am Rhein," the
German national hymn:
"Lieb' Vaterland, magst ruhig sein."
Loved fatherland, be restful (or
undisturbed).
In the parody 1t carries sheer COM
| prehensible only to one who uDder-
stands the German mode of speech and
thought.
Type Of German Propaganda.
OF itself the instance is slight. But
it typifies certain important phase
of the German propaganda which
subtly but persistently seeks to pre-
sent Germany's course In America in
the most favorable light, even to the
extent Of defending the improper ac-
tivities of the Teutonic diplomatic rep
resentatives before their passports
were given them.
Because Of this continuing prcpa-
ganda certain documents in the pos.
session of the department of Justice
now assume peculiar Importance, In
that they prove undeBiably the init
mate relations between the accredii q
representatives of the kaiser In the
United States and plotters against the
laws and the security Of this country.
whose enterprise did not fall short Of
projected wholesale destruction Of life
and property.
Curious Chapter In History Of War.
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 diplomatic
history Of the war.
In the fall of 1914, when the Ger
| man plots against Canada were foment.
| ing in this country, there was estab-
lished at GO Wall street an "advertIs-
! ing" office presided over by a big,
suave man of Teutonic aspect named
Wolf Won Igel.
There were two peculiar features
about this office. One was that it was
! frequented during two years of singu.
| larly quiet and unbusinesslike exist.
ence chiefly by Germans who had
nothing whatsoever to do with adver-
Using. The other was a large safe,
bearing the insignia of the German i'm.
perial government. r.
Won IqeI Defies U. S. Agents. g..
TO this office there came one morn.
ing in April, 1916, while Won Igel was
preparing mass Of papers which. he
had taken from the safe for transfer
to the German embassy in Washington
four United States secret service
agents from the department of justice
who made their way past the guar.
dians always on duty, put Won 1gel
under arrest and undertook to seize
the papers.
The German was large, powerful
and brave. With the aid of one assO.
ciate he stubbornly fought the officers
striving to rescue the papers, to close
the safe, to get to the telephone and
communicate with his superiOrs. Re
volvers were drawn by the secret ser.
vice men. They produced no effect
upon the intrepid Won Igel.
"This is German territory" he shout.
ed. "Shoot me and you will bring on
war;
There was no shooting. But after
n protracted struggle the defenders
were overpowered and the papers
seized.
Find Proof Plot Was Laid.
hen the papers were examined by
= the department Of justice the reason
for Won Igel's determined fight be.
came apparent. Here in the form Of
letters, kilograms, rotations, checks,
receipts, ledgers, cashbooks, cipher
codes, lists of spies, and other memo
randa and records, were found indica-
tions-in some instances Of vaguest ma
ture. In others of the most damning
conclusiveness-that the German i'm
perial government, through its repre-
sentatives In then friendly nation,
was concerned with
Violation of laws Of the United
States.
Destruction of lives and property In
merchant vessels on the high seas.
Irish revolutionary plots against
| Great Britain.
Fomentine iIl-feelins against ths
United States In Mexico. !