South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-01-30
Wanted to Employ
Providence Editor
For Propagandist

That Karl Boy Ed. the notorious
naval attache OF the German en-
bassy at Washington offered a def
mite peace proposal from his gov
eminent TO Pres't Wilson as early
as May, 1915, is revealed in an ar
ticle in the Worlds Work maya
zine Gust published) BY John +.
RathOm, through whom the pro-
posal was transmitted. Mr.. Rat
HON is the editor OF the Providence
Journal, which has exposed numer-
Gus German plots in this country
during the last three years, and
his article tells in detail the meth
DDS he used 10 unearth the work
of German agents. Mr.. Rathom's
account of what took place is as
follows:
ION sunday May >. 1915. several
months after the Providence Jour
nal had begun it's series of expo
sures of German propaganda, which
at that time very few people in the
United States believed TO be true.
1 received a telephone message at 4
New York hotel where ] was stay
man club at liz Central Park. S.
After stating who ne was. he said
that two gentlemen, one of whom
was Capt Karl Boy-Ed. were very
anxious TO have a chat with me,
and asked me if / would see a rep
resentative of Capt. Boy Eds and
accompany him TO the clubhouse at
II o'clock that morning. / replied
that / would, and half an hour lat
er man who was afterward iden-
titled as DR.. Fuehr. one of Won
Bernstorff's New York spies, came
TO my rooms, stating that he was
from Capt. Boy-Ed, and had a car
at the door.
Il went with him TO the German
club and there, for the first time,
met Capt. Boy-Ed, who received me
in a large private room. He said
he had one or two important mat
ters to talk with me about, and
that while he realized the Provi-
dence Journal was antagonistic 70
him and to the German cause. he
felt that he wanted TO state frank
ly what was in his mind, and try
to establish better relations with
us He said that his people were
not at all satisfied with the way in
which the German side of the case
was being presented through Amer
lean newspapers, and he wanted TO
ask whether l believed from my
experience that the fault lay with
the character and method Of pre-
sentation of the material itself, or
whether the majority of the large
papers were so biased against Ger
many that they would not print the
matter submitted. l told him that.
regardless of the sentiments of
American newspapers, they we're
naturally and rightfully antagonist
ic TO any movement that looked like
a propaganda attempt TO use their
columns in any way, and that in
my judgment the material with
which newspaper offices had been
flooded by the German publicity
bureau was on it's face so false and
malicious that no decent newspaper
could handle il. He said he felt
that criticism of this kind was
somewhat just. which led him up TO
what he stated was the first of the
matters about which he wanted TO
talk with me. He then asked If
l would undertake the supervision
of a German news bureau, having
headquarters in New York and with
branch offices in Chicago, Denver,
and San Francisco, which would is
sue regularly to the press semi-of-
fetal statements from the over
seas News Agency, and also regular
translations of news stories and ar
ticles appearing in the German
newspapers.
He said he would be prepared
to pay $4,000 a month for the
maintenance of these bureaus,
which ought TO be run by skilled
American newspaper men having a
large and friendly relationship
among other newspaper men, and
he would be glad TO pay $4,000 a
month for my personal services,
with a bonus of $4,000 at the end
of six months and would also agree
that / was not to be known per-