The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-08-03
IS NEUTRAL;
SELLS TO BOTH
Nimble Swiss Gets French and
German Money, but Lands
in Prison.
IS CONVICTED WITH OTHERS
RepubIlc Anxious to Keep Out Of Trou-
Bile, but Is Nest of Plotters-Es-
pionage Trials Daily
Occurrence.

Berne.-A remarkable spying feat
was executed by a Swiss citizen named
Luginbuhl. He succeeded IN getting
paid from both sides, the French as
well as the Germans, receiving profit
able favors from both, and finally
landed in the meshes Of Swiss law.
Lueinbuhl was one of twenty-one de-
PENDANTS in a celebrated espionage
case lust concluded in a local court.
With one exception all were found
guilty. including Luginbuhl. Sentence
was deferred.
Luginbuhl was anxious to buy o
waste in France. He wanted to sell
# in Germany where ne could get an
immense price for it. To get the wool
ont Of France Luginbuhl had to obtain
permisslon from the French authori-
ties. He got into touch with French
agents and spies doing business In
Switzerland, who afterward were his
c~odefendants in the trial, and upon his
promise that he would make a trip
into Germany. find out certain things
the French spies were anxions to know
and report back. he would obtain per
mission to take the wool out Of France.
Told Germans Of Deal.
To sell the wool in Germany Lugin-
buhl made his trip into the kaiser's
domain. as promised, but he did more
than he had promised. He told Ger
officials all about the deal he had
made with the French spies, where
upon the Germans were kind enough
to write a report which Luginbuhl took
back to Switzerland and handed over
to his French friends, who paid him
$500 for IT.. Luginbuhl at that time
already had in his pocket the hand
profit he had made on the sale
of French wool in Germany. What
the Germans had paid him for double
crossing the French was not disclosed
during the trial.
1t took eight days to try the case.
Mourgeot, a French officer, was the
principal defendant in absentia. He
had escaped before he could be arrest
ed. The judge in p%ronouncing the YER
dict of guilty said Mourgeot had
broken the word Of honor given by
an officer when he escaped from a hos
pital. He was found guilty of hav-
Ing organized the French spy system
I'm Switzerland. He hired German de-
serters to tell him all they knew. All
this was. however, only a minor of
Tense, according to Swiss law.
Had Many Activities.
His principal crime was treason
committed against the Swiss republic
He observed the movement Of Swis:
troops near the French border an(
kept the French army command post
ed about them. He hired men Il
watch the transportation of cattle. HI
tried to poison cattle In railroad trains
by putting poison in the cars. He or
ganized a conspiracy to fOment a strik,
in the aluminium works at Chippis
which were sending goods to Germany
and tried to destroy the electrical plan
at Waldshut.
Three of his tools were French
men, who also succeeded in eludinl
the Swiss law. 1t was discovered Al
the trial that these men made it theil
business to buy factories that were
selling to Germany. They bought thC
factories with French money and made
an immense profit for themselves b,
the transaction.
The most prominent of the Swiss de
PENDANTS was Or. Bruestlein, a lawyer
Revelations disclosing his activities
created a sensation in all Switzer
land. The court condemned him Sc
verely. Among the ether defendant,
were a Swiss army sergeant and al
army policeman. Both were fount
guilty of taking French money 70
furnishing information about arm,
movements.
The whole of Switzerland seems t.
be a hOtbed of spies. Espionage trial,
are going on almost continuously IN
many of the cities. Germans. Aus
TRANS and Italians are implicated n,
well as the Swiss themselves. The
public is usually excluded from these
trials because Switzerland wants t.
avoid as much as possible being drawn
into the ramifcatlOns Of spydon
which might j~eopardlze the neutrality
of the republic.