New-York tribune., 1918-08-09
Witness Ayers Doctor
Wrote Hollweg's Anti
Allied Message to u. S.
Worked in Propaganda
Bureau in New York
Former Colleague Asserts,
However, He Always Used
Freight Elevator

~ n.c William Bayard Hale was in
b. II darng jane and July of 1915
as -he otiic :. correspondent of William
:. Hea-s5's '.sew York American he
gas IN the s4ry1ce Of the German For
ern 0fice.
This statement was made yesterday
b. Deputy State Attorney General Al
fred l. Becker after he had examined
witness who was closely associated
with Dr. Hale during the l4tter's stay
IN Germany in 1915 Although NJ
Becker would not reveal the name of
the witness,it WIS learned that he had
been connected with Dr. Hale as an as
sistant prior TO that time when DR..
Hale was in charge OF the German In
formation Service. at 11a3 Broadway.
In this connection. the witness said
that despite Dr. Hale's frequent dec
larations that he worked aboveboard
while he directed German propaganda
in this country. he always used the
freight elevators in the building at
11g& Broadway when going to his Of
fees.
Says Hale Wrote Interview
Perhaps the most interesting part of
the unnamed witnesses testimony re
vealed by Mr. Becker yesterday ives
that part which dealt with the famous
Fourth OF July message from the people
o. Germany to the people Of the United
States, which was printed in The New
York American" on July 9. 1916. This
message was signed by DR.. Hale and
nurported to be an interview with the
then Chancellor Won Bethmann-Holl-
veg. According to the witness the in
terview was written by Dr.. Hale in his
Berlin studio and then taken to the
Chancellor for his APPROVAL
Mr.. Becker quotes the witness as
saying that he himself went with DR..
Hale TO the Chancelor's Office and af-
he took it to the wireless station for
transmission to the United States.
When the message was received in
the United States it was printed in
THE New York American" under the
following headlines: Faith in Wilson
Cone, Hope To See Spirit of '76
Aroused Against British Domination;
Declares United States Has Lost Caste
by Submitting to Seizure of Mails,
Ships and Citize-.s; Declaration of
London Drawn and Quartered."
Mr. Johnson. assistant to Mr.. Becker,
discovered that in the interview Won
Nollweg said in almost Identical Ian
saage what Dir. Hale wrote in his book,
american Rights and British Protein
SONS printed during the summer OF
1915 In the reported interview the
Chancellor is quoted as saying: "How
long will you permit England TO in
force its municipal stations as if they
were international enactments; to eX-
act It's tryanncus police functions on
the high seas to violate your mails
Judges your ships and your people ?"
On page - of Dr. Hale's book pub
hshed year previous a line reads:
The government of Great Britain has
virtually set Up IN the midst of the
busy seas an arbitary court. claiming
unheard OF powers in exercising the
most tyrannocs police functions"
Hale's Rumanian Trip
The w,tncss, according to MIR
becKer, told in deail OF a trip DR.
Hale took to Rumania IN July, 1916,
on which the witness accompanied
nm. The most remarkable feature OF
the trip, said the witness, was the
Tact that, while other respondents
were continuously annoyed and their
baggage searched, DR.. Hale and the
witness were not molested and had
every courtesy extended TO them.
examination OF the passport fur
n.shed him and signed by Foreign
yY-a- laI
reason the military did not interfere
With DR.. Hale. The passport was
stamped The bearer is travelling on
the business of the Foreign Office"
the witness said.
Dr.. Hale, according to the witness,
travelled on tickets furnished by the
foreign Office, which also provided
seeplne accommodations on the
trains
The object of Dr. Hale's mission to
humanla was not made clear to the
witness. He said that DR.. Hale was
wei supplied with money and was in
constant communication with the
1erman Foreign Office by means Of
code While in Rumania DR.. Hale had
frequent conferences with leading
statesmen
Says Hale Used Code
- l'idt44i4E ~Ut cCOc NctC DeLWtcu
hale and the German Foreign Office
mr.. Becker quotes the witness as say
,ng that while IN Berlin he knew shat
hsle delivered q copy OF an English
Hlcfionary 20 zimmerman and kept
similar copy fo- himself. The code was
one used Dy the japanese All mes
ages we're conveyed by means of num-
ocrs, i've numbers being used for each
word. ne first two numbers Indicated
ne number of the word on the page
%ad the last three conveyed the NUN
"sr II the page. Thus TO send word
Il on page 20l the code used would
De 2l,30l.
lne witness sad that Hale told him
u was almost impossible 20 decode the
"eSsagee without the key. On one oc-
JASON tne witness made a copy Of a
c0ee message for Dr. Hale, he asserted
ne examination developed the fact
nat the witness was brought TO Berlin
ny Hale because ne spoke German They
N4o not get along very veil together
ana tne witness was discharged in Ger
many AMI forced 70 return TO America
at his oHn expense
Dtner witnesses interrogAted by Mr.
becker brought TO the attention Of the
kfosecuto the fact that in 1915 DR..
RAJ" deYe loped great interest in
'~oor, especially those labor bodies hat
"efr IN favor Of peace. Hale At this time,
~ccorcing 70 Mr.. Becker, volunteercd
nls tervices 10 labor organizations to
sSei@s IN the preparation Of peace and