The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-15
INVESTIGATION OF HUN RIFLE STORY
 NOW UNDER WAY
New York Brokers Who Tried to Make Purchase Think Whole Thing
 Is Myth

New York. May I4.--Inquiry by the state attorney generals office today into reports of hoarding of ammuni- ticn in the United States by German agents developed testimony by New doubted the existence of 100000 Mau- ser rifles and 1,000.oo0.0oO cartridges which they had tried to buy or sell.
 Edgar A. Holmes of New York tes- tlfed that he had been informed by James II. Crossley that the rifles had been smuggled from the Krupps works at Essen and would be used in an ef- fort to 'sGermanizes the United States if the Germans should capture the channel ports of France.
 GUSTAV LUSSING MENTIONED
 Gustav Lussing, who was born in the German province of Echleswig- Holstein and was naturalized 30 years ago, was mentioned most often in the testimonv. Most of the witnesses testified that he tried to sell the rifles but one claimed he had tried to buy 25oooo. Lussing was described by his lawyer, William IF Ford of New York, as a New Jersey farmer and promoter interested in coke ovens and monorail projects.
 Lussing was present under subpoena but was not asked to testify. Deputy At torney General Becker, in adjourning the nearing until tomorrow, said
 I want Mir. Lussing to hear everything that is said here It is understood that Lussing will testify later.
 Special efforts were made by Mr. Beck CT to learn the names of Lussing's prin- cipals Ford, after being released by Lussing in open hearing from the confi- dential relations of client and lawyer said that Lussing had withheld the names or the principals at all times.
 NEAREST IDENTIFICATION
 The nearest Identification of the owners Of the rifles was in testimony by Har- ford T. Marshall. New York lawyer that they were German-Americans who feared to endanger their regulations by discussing themselves A MT. Richards of Philadelphia was named by Marsha, T as one of the possible principals.
 Reference was made in Ford's testi- mony to the Bridgeport Projectile com pany, q German owned munitions con- eern. and to Joseph H. Hoadley. but thev were not named as possible owners of the rifles
 Ford had several clashes with Deputy Attorney General Becker and concluded lis testimony by saying:
 want to resent the implication that
 am Benedict Arnold A great grand 'ather was the last ancestor of mine in come to this country. There isn't gold enough in New York or Germany to ouy me"
 After testifying that a statement at to him that he could see the storage place of the rifles from his of- ice window was "a lie,'' Ford recante3 and admitted he might have made such q statement in relation to a small quantity of rifles.
 MANY REPORTS HEARD
 Various Witnesses testified to having. heard reports that the rifles were storad in 40 different parts of the United statas on farm that was only an hour and haif rom Broadway by automobile. and in warehouses on the east side oy and Brooklyn. One renort was related of a dinner of German of ficers, including Capt Hans Tauscber former agent of the Krupps here. at tha German club in New York. followed hv an automobile trip to the hiding place of the rifles
 The most definite testimony as to the location of the rifles was given by Fran cis l.. Judd, new York mining en- gineer. who had sought to buy them for the Russian government A man whose name he said he did not recall took him to storehouse on Liberty street. East side, Manhattan, he said and showed him an old Gatling gun, couple of old Colts. a one-pound field piece, and cases said to contain rifles and cartridges. Three cases were open. Five rifles were in each One was unwrappei It ap- was Mauser. the witness said. Judd left the hearing with a secret serv- ice agent to try to identify the build ing
 The testimony revealed that all efforts to buy or sell the rifles had ceased two months ago when the United States, through Maj. Nicholas Riddle of the army bureau tried to buy them. Major Riddle attended the hearing.