The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-22
Money From Berlin Used to Finance Agitation Among Various Oppressed
 Nati0nalities''
PROPAGANDA FAILED
 EXCEPT WITH IRISH
 RADICAL ELEMENTS
Many of Plans Discovered Said to Be .. the Most Melodramic
 Character

W ashington, May Fl. .--Dls-
 closures today that the govern ment has gathered evidence in
 this country of conspiracies be- tween Irish Sim Fein leaders and German agents to precipi-
 tate a rebellion in Ireland, was
 followed by announcement that
 government agents have uncov-
 cred similar German intrigues
 with other nationalistlc groups
 in the United States.
 German money, it was said, has
 been used to finance agitation among negroes and among Fins, Lithuanians
 and other of the so-called Oppressed
 nationalities," which, for years, have
 had nationalist grievances against
 Russia or other anti German allies.
 In most cases this propaganda has
 been carried on by Americans affili-
 ated with these groups, paid from some mysterious source believed to be the German government. Except
 among the radical Irish agitators, however, the propaganda did not ap- pear to make much headway.
 FEDERAL AGENTS ON INSIDE" For many months. it is now revealed, United States government agents have been inside the counsels of the Irish in this country. who plotted armed insur- rection of Irish citizens against British rule and have discovered conclusive evil dence that German money and promises to aid stimulated the conspiracies as means of diverting the British govern ment from it's war task in France. Di- rect action to stop the intrigue was thought not advisable, inasmuch as the government did not wish to meddle in domestic problems of the British em- pire but the information gathered was turned over in some cases to British rep resentatives, and it is understood that the recent arrest of number of Irish Sim Fein leaders was prompted partly by evidence of German-Irish plots discov- cred in this country.
 DETAILS WITHHELD Full details of the evidence were not made public, it was explained, because a
 number of persons are still under sur veillance. Some announcement of the reason for arrest of the British agitstors Is expected soon. however, either in Lon don or Washington. Officials today de- clined to indicate whether any state
 ment might be expected from the state ,i< ir,sr ba fri 9h ments
 The story of how the intrigue in this country was discovered, it was said, if published fully, would tell of many com l munications brought surrepttiously into | the United States in violation of regu- /, lations. Many of these were written with invisible ink and in code and when deciphered furnished clues leading to de- l lection of many qualifications of the plot Tha men responsible for the agitation were supplied with funds from deposits
 in banks, where German representatives l formerly kept their accounts. or from l my ysterious sources,
 REFERRED TO GERMAN PROMISE l Tie Irish radicals in their correspond-
 ence referred frequently to the promise ! of German aid in an uprising which was to be called for this month or next, when the Germans had expected to reach
 ths channel ports in their big drive.
 Ire Germans then were to send arms and ammunition and possibly troops to the l Irish coast to participate in the rebel l lion.
 ! Many of the Irish plans were meio- dramic in the extreme 1t Is stated. and ! involved all the clements of dramatic fic- ton They were so radical that govern ment agents felt safe for long while in permitting the scheming to continue in 1 the hope of detecting others involved. The series of sudden arrests of Irish by the British government may have been made l when it finally became evident that the l rebellion actually was about to be started.