Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-08
BARON De Pills ORDERED
|NTERN[D DURING WAR
Action Follows Search of Houses on
His Amelia County Tobac.
CO Farm.
LONG BEEN UNDER SUSPICION
offered to Bet Large Sums i n Rich.
mond on Night Before President
Called on Congress for War With
Austria.

Acting at tho instance or local agents
OF the Department OF Justice, Fritz de
P:liS. OF Amelia County. has been ar
rested by the Sec.e, Service autnorj-
tics in New York and sn,erned a, Ellis
Stand az a dangerous and pcrn;cious
alien emy
For some days il has beer known th,;
the c~ulmination of the DC Pills coi-
hode III Richmond. when his farm In
Amelia was searched by the local
agents OF the Department of Justice
IN their quest for wireless apparatus
Or plant had not hccn reached. some
days s when il was learned that DC
fiis waS suspected of alien propa-
Sanoa. tho Secret Service authorities
determined that the best place for him
during the period Of the war was a.
an i~nternmcnt camp.
Local authorities have FOR a long
TINE been suspicious OF DC Fills. or
Baron Won Pil!s. once an alta che 10 the
court OF Franz JOSEF, the late Austro.
hungarian Emperor. IL his assertion
- to carry any weight. However. De
rms. being an Austrian citizen, his
Status was not plainly Defined and tho
secret Service agents were somewhat
puzzled as to what action they nigh,
take. But when President wilson
caiied upon Congress 10 declare 4 state
o. Var existed between the United
states and the imperial Austrian gov
eminent, all uncertainty was d:spellcd.
inc secret Service authorities then de-
tesnliaed TO make in dispos;-
ton OF his case.
OFFERED 'rO BET THAT
WAR WOULD SOON re OVER
Afser the search for wireless instru-
ncnts ON the DE Pills farm. in Amelia
County, it is said that t!l:s section OF
the country became too warm for kim.
IL Is definitely known that on the night
before the President made his speech,
when Congress convened tov the pres
eng session. and called for VA. with
Austria-Huasary, DC Pills offered to
wager heavily that President Wilson
would not call for waT with his native
country. and that the war would be
over III sixty days. lie Is said 20 nave
gone further and offered 20 lay a heavy
bet that in at least two weeks from the
tiaia that the President delivered his
message 10 Congress. a general arm!s-
tee would be declared on al battle
fronts.
When 40 one would accept his bets.
Dc Pills offered a bet tina lie could re-
peat the siss Of the Presidents speech
fo7 the following day. Even AZ this he
could aad no one to tal:e him up.
After leaving Richmond it is said
,iat De pills vent to J~acssonv!i,e
Fla. and at that place purchased q
ticket :or Cuba. although II is no.
known whether or not he really. wen,
there. suddenly he seems to have
changed his mind and returned TO Mex
York.
All the slime DC Pills believed that
s:ace the secret Service authorities had
searched his farm twice and apparently
.ound nothing, he was :inmune from ar
rest.
4 d-asnet was spread for u. pills on
his arrival in New York. and when il
closed in DC Pills was caught in the
net. Evidently his o~vc.coaGdemce
proved his downfall. After h.a aires,
he MAS taken to the office OF the as
aiitant district attorney of New York.
who. after eTilling De Pills for some
time. ordered his i~ntc-nrent AZ Ellis
Island.
INFLUENCED AUSTRIANS
10 SEND MONEY HoMI.
Aver leaving the imperial court OF
the Late Franz Josef of Aus;r:a, De
F!..S - said To have been emr!oy.d b-