South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-05-15
RUSH INQUIRY
Of HUN ARMS
IN NEW YORK
One Witness Says That Rifles
Had Been Struggled to be
Used After Germans Had
Control of Channel.

NEW YORK. May Is. - Inquiry
by the state attorney generals Of
flee today into reports of boarding
of ammunition in the United States
by German agents developed testi-
mOny by New York brokers and 9TH
ers that they doubted the existence Of
one million Mauser rifles and one bill
lion cartridges which they had tried
to buy or sell.
One of the witnesses, Edgar a.
Holmes of New York testified that
he had been informed by James ii.
Crossley that the rifles had been
smuggied from the Krupp works at
Essen, and would be used in an et-
fort 20 "Germanize" the United
States if the Germans should cap
ture the channel ports.
Poses as Farmer.
Gustav Lussing, who was born in
the German province of Schleswig
Holstein and was naturalized 80
years ago, was mentioned most of
ten in the testimony. Most of the
witnesses testified that he tried 10
sell the rifles. but one claimed that
he had tried to buy 100000. Lus-
sing was described by his lawyer,
William H Ford of New York. as a
New Jersey farmer. and a promoter
interested in coke ovens and mono
rail projects.
Lussing was at the hearing under
subpoena but was not asked 20 tes-
tify. Deputy Atty Gen. Becker in
adjOurning the hearing until to-
morrow. said:
Il want Mr.. Lussing TO hear ev-
erything that is said here" 1t is un-
derstood that Lussing Will testify
later.
Wants Names of Principals.
Special efforts were made by Mr.
Becker to learn the names of LUIS
sings principals. Ford, after being
released by Lussing in open hear
ing from the confidential relations
of client and lawyer, said that Lus-
sing had withheld the names of the
principals at all times.
The nearest identification of the
owners Of the rifles was in testimony
by Hartford T. Marshall a New York
lawyer. that they were German
Americans who feared TO endanger
their regulations by disclosing
themselves. a Mr. Richards of
Philadelphia was named by all as
one OF the possible principals.
Reference was made in Fords tes-
timony 10 the bridgeport projec-
tile company" German owned
munitions concern. and TO Joseph r.
Hoadley. but they were not named
a possible owners OF the rifles.
NO Benedict Arnold
Ford had several clashes with
Deputy Atty. Gen. Becker and con
cluded his testimony by saying:
Il want to resent the implication
that I am a Benedict Arnold. A
great-grandfather was the last an
cestor Of mine TO come to this coun-
try. There is not gold enough in
New York or Germany 70 buy me"
After testifying that a statement
attributed 10 him that ne could see
the storage place Of the rifles from
his office window. was a "lie" Ford
recanted and admitted he might
have made such statement in re-
lation 20 a small quantity OF rifles.
Various witnesses testified 20 hav-
ing heard reports that the rifles were
stored in forty different parts OF the
United States. on a farm that was
only an hour and "a half from Broad
way by automobile and in ware
houses on the east side of Manhat-
ton and Brooklyn one report was
related OF dinner OF German Off
GERS including Capt. Hans Tauscher.
former agent Of the Krupps here
at the German club in New York. fol-
lowed by an automobile trip 10 the
hiding place Of the rifles.
Gives Location of Farms.
The most definite testimony as 10
the location OF the rifles was given
by Francis L Judd, a New York
mining engineer who had sought
10 buy them for the Russian gov
eminent A man whose name he
said he did not recall took him TO