The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-02-06
Warning
German Code Message Be-
fore Lusitania Sailed.
To Rotschaft, Washington:

To Rotschaft. Washington:
"s69 a4-KJ-Welt nineteen fifteen
warne l75 20 ! stop 175 2 stop durch
G22 stop 70 IS stop Liz II 3i4
+ G."
The cipher message which proved
that Berlin directed the sinking Of the
I.usitania Is made public for the first
time in the Worlds Work magazine,
just out. John X. Rathom, editor OF
the Providence Journal. which exposed
numerous German plots in this coun-
try during the last three years in an
article giving in detail the methods he
nsed to unearth the work of the Ger
man agents. quotes this message from
his files, and explains how it was de-
coded.
This cipher message came through
from Nauen, Germany, to Sayville,
Long Island, at 9 o'clock on the morn
ing of April 20. 1915, and was caught
by the operator at a. wireless station
maintained by the Providence Journal.
1t was especially interesting because
1t followed none of the codes which
had been previously observed. 1t was
evidently important, because four at
tcmpts were made to put Il through
before the German station succeeded
In overcoming the unfavorable static
conditions which prevailed that morn
ing.
Attempts to Deeiphsr Fail.
Every attempt to decipher 1t failed,
until somebody with line on the in
ternal activities OF the German en-
bassy remembered that during that
morning Prince Hatzfeldt, OF the en-
bassy staff, had been looking for n
New York World almanac. The first
two words of the message. welt Ger
man for worldly 1916" supplied the
clue. Following the other numbers In
the message as representing page. line
and word In the World Almanac for
1915. the journal men decided the mes
sage as follows: WARN Lusitania
through press not voyage
across tho Atlantic"
Two days later the German embassy
printed the now historic advertisement
In the New York papers warning trav-
elcrs not to cross the Atlantic, and a
week later. on May z. tho Lusitania
was sunk by a German submarine.
Dramatic Touch.
A dramatic touch of suggestion of
death in the message lies in the fact
that the word mot" in it is taken
from the first sentence of an obituary
OF the late Joseph Pulitzer. former
owner OF the World. which published
the almanac. And another grim bit OF
irony in it Is that the last four words
were taken from an advertisement OF
n well known marine motor, headed
"The Seal Of Safety at Sea"
Two words of the message are
spelled out in German. They are
'warne." which In English is warn"
and "durch." which means Through"
The word "Botschaft' is German for
embassy
Bernstorff Lied.
Tho German ambassador, immedi-
ately after the sinking OF the Lusi-
tania. declared that the advertisement
he had published in the New York
papers was inserted on his own re-
sponsibliity and had no particular
reference to the L,isitania As printed,
this advertisement mentioned no shin
by name. But the cipher message now
reveals the fact that he deliberately
lied, and that Berlin directed the whole
tragedy.
incidentally. Mr.. Rathoms article
adds that on the evening after tho
Lusitania was sunk, when friends OF
Won Bernstorff declared that he was
overwhelmed with grief and secluded
in his rooms in n New York hotel. he
was in reality giving a dinner in the
apartments OF II friend in New York
and there toasted the commander OF
the t-boat which sunk the liner.