Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1918-05-18
WITNESSES TELL
Of GERMAN GUNS
STORED IN j. s.
New York Prosecutor Told of
Revolt Plot.
TO FOLLOW HUN VICTORY?
Million Rifles, Many Cannon and
Large Amount of Ammunition Re-
ported Stored at Forty
Places.

ported Stored at Forty
Places.
New York, May 15.-Reports that
thousands or rifles had been secretly
! imported from the Krupp works at
Essen in order to "Germanize" the
| United States were related at the in
qulry conducted by State Attorney
General Lewis into rumors of hoard
| ing of arms by German interests in
the United States.
100000 Guns Sent.
Edgar A. Holmes of this city, a wit
| ness, credited the reports to man
named James H. Crossley. Holmes,
! as a broker, tried TO buy the rifles,
but was unsuccessful, he said. During
| the negotiations, he said, Crossley told
| him that some 100000 rifles had been
! imported from Essen by way of the,
! Hoboken docks of two German steam
! ship companies and were to be used
in the United States if the Germans
were successful in reaching the Eng
fish channel ports.
Mr.. Holmes identified a copy of
letter written by himself offering to
sell 100000 Mausers and 1000 coo
| cartridges. The letter, dated June 8,
was addressed to Or. Thomas Darling
| ton of New York, former health COM
missioner.
In Touch With U. S. Officials.
| Holmes testified he had never seen
the articles, but had talked with an
engineer named Francis l.. Judd. who
| said he had seen boxes containing $50
600 rifles. Two months ago, Holmes
| said the United States tried to buy
them. but they were not produced.
| Holmes had been in touch with United
/ States officials throughout the negotfa-
| tons, he said.
| Gustave Lussing was named by
| Holmes as the man who was said by
various Intermediates to be able to
deliver the goods. Judd told Holmes
the rifles had been in an East side
warehouse in New York and had been
removed, but were within an automo-
bile ride Of an hour and "a half from
Broadway.
Told of Guns by Russian.
Charles III. Murray, q hotel owner of
| Washington. ID. c., testified he had
heard of the existence of the rifles
| through a Russian agent; Ivan Norod-
ny, who claimed they had been taken
! to an upstate New York farm and that
he had shot one of them himself.
/ Norodny said Lussing had a farm at
! Woodbury. Falls and that party of
! German officers, including Capt. Hans
/ Tauscher had visited it after dining
at the German club in New York.
| Through Norodny, Murray met Lussing
| and was shown an itemized statement
! Of the quantity of rifles hidden as fol-
| lows: 10000 Mauser guns, 10000
/ 600 cartridges, 100000 cal hines, 1000
/ rounds cartridges. 100000 rifles and
60 machine guns.
Guns Stored in Forty Places.
Lussing, according to the witness,
said they were stored in 40 places In
the United States. Robert T. Tucker,
q tanner of Charleston, s. c., testified
of hearing of the rifles through his ac-
/ quaintance with Russians in business.
Judd told Tucker, he said, he had seen
/ cannon and rifles at a warehouse in
Brooklyn According to the witness
a New York lawyer finally told hinr
the rifles had been sold
II am thoroughly convinced that
! those rifles are in this country and
that Lussing knows where they are"
/ enf ii al af ho 0inCn Of hi
| nation.
William III. Ford, attorney for Lus-
! sing, testified that he did not believe
| the rifles existed now because Lussing
! had received no answer from his prin-
| cipals in regard to an offer for the
| rifles made in behalf of the United
States government by Maj. Nicholas
Biddle of the army intelligence bureau
two months ago.
| Lussinc had never told who his prin-
! cipals were, Ford said, and he had
| concluded the owners were "Philadel-
phia parties and that the rifles were
| in that city.
81 had always believed these guns
! existed" said Ford, but never heard
until this hearing that they had been
Struggled from Germany. had always
supposed they were made by Ameri-
cans"
Ford testified that he and Lussing
expected to divide 100000 profits on
the sale Of S7S,00000O worth Of rifles
and cartridges. The lawyer added that
/ his client had a farm in New Jersey
| and had been interested in monorafl
aud coke oven projects.
YANK FELLS 9TH HUN PLANE
Serot. Frank L. Baylies OF New Bed