The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-07-20
Nimble Swiss Gets French and
German Money, but Lands
in Prison.
IS CONVICTED WITH OTHERS
Republic Anxious to Keep Out Of Trou.
BILE, but Is Nest of Plotters-Es-
pionage Trials Daily
Occurrence.

was executed by a Swiss citizen named
Luginbuhl. He succeeded in getting
paid from both sides, the French as
well as the Germans, receiving profit
able favors from both, and finally
landed in the meshes Of Swiss law
Luginbuhl was one of twenty-one de-
PENDANTS in a celebrated espionage
case just concluded in a local court.
With one exception all were found
guilty, including Luginbuhl. Sentence
was deferred.
Luginbuhl vas anxious to buy wool
waste in France. He wanted to sell
it in Germany where he could get an
immense price for it. To get the wool
out of France Luginbuhl had to obtain
permission from the French authori.
ties. He got into touch with French
agents and spies doing business in
Switzerland, who afterward we're his
co%defendants in the trial, and upon his
promise that he would make a trip
into Germany, find out certain things
the French spies were anxious to know
and report back, he would obtain per-
lulSSlOA " ldht liz hOOi Oul VI ldhSCs
Told Germans of Deal.
To sell the wool in Germany Lugin.
buhl made his trip into the kaiser's
domain, as promised, but he did more
than he had promised. He told Ger.
man officials all about the deal he had
made with the French spies, where
upon the Germans were kind enough
to write a report which Luginbuhl took
back to Switzerland and handed over
to his French friends, who paid him
$500 for it. Luginbuhl at that time
already had in his pocket the hand
some profit he had made on the sale
of French wool in Germany. What
the Germans had paid him for double
crossing the French was not disclosed
during the trial.
1t took eight days to try the case.
Mourgeot, a French officer, was the
principal defendant in absentia. He
had escaped before he could be arrest
ed. The judge in pronouncing the YER
dict of guilty said Mourgeot had
broken the word of honor given by
an officer when he escaped from a hos
pital. He was found guilty of hay
ing organized the French spy system
in Switzerland. He hired German de-
serters to tell him all they knew. All
this was, however, only a minor Of
Tense, according to Swiss law.
Had Many Activities.
His principal crime was treason
committed against the Swiss republic.
He observed the movement of Swiss
troops neal the French border and
kept the French army command post
ed about them. He hired men to
watch the transportation of cattle. He
tried to poison cattle in railroad trains
by putting poison in the cars. He or
ganized a conspiracy to foment a strike
In the aluminium works at Chippis,
which were sending goods to Germany,
and tried to destroy the electrical plant
at W%aidshut.
Three of his tools were French
men, who also succeeded in eluding
the Swiss law. 1t vas discovered at
the trial that these men made it their
business to buy factories that were
selling to Germany. They bought the
factories with French money and made
an immense profit for themselves by
the transaction.
The most prominent of the Swiss de-
PENDANTS was DIR. Bruestlein, a lawyer.
Revelations disclosing his activities
created a sensation in all SwitZer-
land. The court condemned him Sc
verely. Among the ether defendants
were a Swiss army sergeant and an
army policeman. Both were found
guilty of taking French money for
furnishing information about army
movements.
The whole of Switzerland seems to
be a hotbed of spies. Espionage trials
are going on almost continuously in
many of the cities. Germans, Aus
trians and Italians are implicated as
we'll as the Swiss themselves. The
public is usually excluded from these
trials because Switzerland wants to
avoid as much as possible being drawn
into the r~amifications of spydom
which might jeopardize the neutrality
of the republic.