New Britain herald., 1918-02-06
MAXIMUM PENALTY
 FOR BOMB PLOTTERS
Judge Regrets He Cannot Be More
 Severe With Rintelen'S Gang

New York, Feb. 6.-Nine German subjects and two American citizens, among the former Franz Rintelen, in innate of the German Grown Prince, who directed various German plots in the United States prior to the entrance of this country into the war, were convicted in the Criminal Branch of the Federal District court of New York yesterday of attempting to blow up the British transatlantic cargo steamer Kirk Oswald.
 Judge Harlan E. Howe of Vermont, before whom the case was tried, inn posed the maximum penalty permitted by law in each instance, and several times remarked that he deeply re- gretted that he was not able to i'm pose sentences far more severe. The conspirators were tried under the old law and not under the recently passed Espionage act, it being impossible to bring them into court under the new law which was passed subsequent to the commission of the crimes charged in the indictments.
 Just before the case went to the jury it looked for a few moments as if it would be interrupted by the sud- den illness of Lawrence Farley, the foreman of the jury. MT. Farley, who is a middle-aged man, became faint, and Assistant District Attorney James w. Osborne, 2d, in charge of the case for the government, was informed that maybe "a little drink of some- thing stimulating would help MT. Farley MT. Farley agreed with tho suggestion, and then same the prob lem of getting the stimulant. This is how they solved the problem:
 Has "Nip' of Exhibit "A''.
 In the next courtroom to that in which the German plotters were tried a man was on trial charged with sell ing intoxicating drinks to United States soldiers in uniform.
 Exhibit A in the evidence in the case next door is nearly full" the clerk of the court whispered to MT. Osborne.
 |'Go get it. or words to that effect, said MT. Osborne to the clerk.
 The clerk disappeared and in a few moments was back with an amber bottle, almost full of slightly darker liquid.
 This is Exhibit A, and I am told it is all right the clerk said to MT. Osborne.
 MT. Osborne grasped Exhibit A" firmly about the neck and turned to MT. Farley. Take @ little nip of this," he said as he handed Exhibit A" to the foreman.
 MT. Farley sniffed the contents of the battle, shook his head approvingly and took good swallow Five min- utes later he was the healthiest look ing man on the jury. It was feared for 8 time that some of the other jurors might grow faint, but Exhibit A"disappeared into the other court room before any had time to collapse.
 With MT. Farleys health restored the case proceeded. MT. Osborne closed for the government. The II Germans winced many times during the speech of MT. Osborne, who de- nounced them as murderers who, coming to friendly land, were will ing to strike a. neutral friend in the back in order to prove loyalty to the Fatherland.'
 Picture to yourself" said MT. Osborne "the enormity of this crime. They placed fire bombs on a ship so as to cause that ship to burn at sea and go down with her innocent crew, who had done no harm to these patriotic murderers.
 The jury retired at 1:10 and at 4:15 returned to the courtroom, where MT. Farley in a firm voice announced:
 We find them, all of them, guilty as charged in the indictments'
 The prisoners stood up. In the order of their importance they were: Captain Frantz Rintelen, chief of the conspirators; Captain Otto Wolpert, a rg-American pier superinten- dent; Captain Karl Von klelst, an American citizen; Eugene Relster, properietor of a German hall in Brooklyn. Ernest Becker, North German Lloyd steamship engineer; George Pradel, also of the North German Lloyd; Wilhelm Parades, an other North German Lloyd employe,