The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-24

German agents in the United States. It was dawn when the Schurz and Flor ida eollided and a few minutes later passengers on the rescue ship were startled by hearing cracking notes from the wireless room and then feeling the vessel leap forward under added steam, as she dashed to the rescue.
 Dressing hastily and coming on deck they saw in the distance the Schurz with deep gash in her side lying low in the water, while nearby stood the Flor ida, apparently undamaged As they drew nearer they saw scores of sailors from the schdrz bobbing about in the water, while many others were clinging to lifeboats and rafts.
 After the vessel had picked up many seamen it took aboard others rescued by the Florida Just as the last survivor was drawn from the water the Schurz disappeared under the waves. The Flor ida resumed her course and the rescue ship headed for this port.
 CAREER OF THE CHEER
 It was in october, 1914, that the schurz, then the Geier, first claimed the atten- ton of the world. With the Pacific cleared of German naval bases the lit- tie gunboat of only 1600 tons, put out from Tsing-Tau, China, to convoy the German steamer Loekson- to Honolulu, arriving there october 15.
 The next day came threat from the United States government to close the Marconi station at Honolulu for flashing word of her arrival and thereby threat ening Americas neutrality.
 The Geier took many days to coal and more to make engine repairs. Meanwhile the Japanese cruisers Rizon and Asama were reported off the en- trance of the harbor, waiting for her to put out, and the Japanese embassy at Washington was requesting that she either be forced to leave or else submit to internment-
 On November 8, 1914, having refused to run the gauntlet the previous mid night, the vessel was interned at Homo lulu. Meanwhile, two officers and two men having deserted. reached San Francisco on the Pacific Mail steamer Korea and were there interned and paroled.
 On January l, 1916, the Geier was ordered conveyed to San Francisco be- cause of the mental ailments to which her crew were said to have become victims because of the heat at Homo lulu. When, a few days later, Amer ican naval officers took charge of her IL WAS 1OunQ that 1eF engines nbQ been wrecked by fire said to have been started by her crew.
 CONCEALED ARMS
 A few days later it was discovered that, although her officers had been ordered to turn over all their arms they had concealed aboard the vessel quantity of machine guns and ammu- nition.
 Tn June, 1917. 1t was announced the Geier was to be used by the United States navy and that her name had been changed to Schurz
 Last December came the revelation said to have been published with the consent of the United States naval in- telligence bureau, that while the Geier was interned at Honolulu her wireless apparatus relayed messages to German agents in Japan while her bands played lively tunes to drown out the telltals sound of cracking electricity
 With the discovery of the diary of Karl Grasshof, captain of the Geier, it was learned that while Grasshof and subordinates were enjoying the protec- ton of the United States and while America was still neutral they had yio- lated the obligations of international hospitality by assisting Count von Bernstorff in plotting trouble for the United States and Japan by attempting to get sailors and officers from the Geier back to Germany by transmitting. spy messages, and by attempting to stir up i'll feeling by stories that the united States was planning to invade Canada