Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-06-24
KA|SER'S LAND GOES
FOR j. s. SH|PYARO;
HUN PLOT FO|LEO
Foe of Enemy Aliens Takes EN-
peror's Richly Wooded Tract
on Florida Coast.
ACQUIRED BY INTRIGUE

Washington, June 24.-German money
Tint went to finance what is believed to
have been n plot to establish a German
base Of some kind on the gulf coast is
likely now to be used To build American
ships with which to defeat the Kaiser.
This plan, involving the use of 100000
scrcs of the finest timber land In Florida
and one of the finest harbors on the gulf
for a wooden shipyard of large proportions
has been laid before Chairman Hurley
bv A. Mitchell Palmer, alien property
custodian, who some months ago took
possession of the German American
Lumber Company, located at Milvile,
Fla. and found therein a nest OF German
intrigue with direct connections with the
Wilhelmstrasse.
HEAD rlOrTERs INTERNED.
Two of the former presidents OF the
German American Lumber Company
have been interned at Fort oglethorpe
as dangerous aliens. Evidence in the pos
session of the Department ot Justice
shows that while ostcnsIbly posing rs
German merchants and business men
thcv were in reality German secret
service agents.
In fact the records of the company
and other information now IN the hahGs
of the government would seem to show
that the German American Lumpcr 1oW-
many was more or less OF camouhaee'
and that what purportcd to he !'crinhh
commercial scheme may have oeth
nIan for acquiring some kind OF German
base on the gulf coast.
KNstRs AID OWNED sTock
All of the stock of the company about
Which this scheme centred is owned IN
Germany. most Of it by Prince Schom-
herq Won Hoffkommer. whose princIpality
of Hoffkommcr IS near Bremen nc
Prince Is n close friend of the haiser. and
,U of the operations were directed from
Germany. r
Tho German American Lumber Com
many IS A S2,5OO.000 corporation, owning
$50 900 acres Of timber land. TWO saw
mills. eighty miles OF railroad ana Two
Florida towns. Its history goes PACK %
1907 As picced together from the rec
ords nov IN the hands Of the govern
mont this history shows that Jullus
scbrn,or of the kaiscrs clique, began
Scrics Of mysterious trips about the gun
cnast when the lsthmian Canal project
vas receiving much attention AteT two
Years thus spent Schrcyer appeared ~
- Andrew : BAY. 80 miles east OF Pen-
sacola then totally undcvcloped, and be-
,sn b,,vinc all the land within miles.
rBoUGHr or IMrRovfNENTS
The land gradually was acquired n
such q way that its possessorS Nirtuai'N
controlled the bay IN American was
president during the time the land was
being purchased. but as soon as this Was
completed all the Americans were ous'fa
and then several Germans appeared.
4~ nTg%f-
dent Tho first Of these was ono J dward
Iutz who came from Hayu presumably
under orders, and who 1t now appears
was a secret service agent with numhcr
AT the NiIhelmstrasse. Following him
came Theodore Poppc and then II. =.
kulenkampf Under their direction thc
colnnanv fought against any exploitation
Of the hay for commercial purposes
opposed the building Of a railroad winch
would have opened up the tract ana also
the building Of roads
LIVED IN PKINCELY sTYLF-
house was built on bayou and
loaded with fine linen and SILVER irom
Rerlln and there the German directors
and their staff lived IN prlncely sly le,
The books Of the company show That
no effort was made 10 do anything oIt
q perfunctorv lumber business Tic ae-
counts were kept carelessly, It's oiicers
never discounted n bill, never demanded
any interest from the banks on thcir
deposits. but made enough sales TO pay
them a salary OF $4,000 year.
As soon as the trading with the enemy
act was passed last fall Department oi
Justice agents swooped down upon the
company and seized papers OF all kinds,
simultaneously some of its officers and
ex-ofilcers were picked up around the
country and interned.
HOUSE PROPAGANDA BASE.
German propaganda stuff was found in
every corner of the house Apparently
II had been a huge distributing center
under the direction - the Germans IN
charge. Also on the books now IN pos
session of the government appear mNs-
ferrous payments made 10 the officers
lor expenses amounting sometimes 10
$4,000 al a crack,
Inasmuch as II owns 30,u00WO ieet
oi timber aud one OF the finest ship
building sites IN tho country. MIR Pal
mer and the directors thought that the
hest use that could bc made of this pro
Zee; ri the Kaiser. whatever II Was,
would be 10 build wooden ships with
"a hch to defeat him This plan Is now
before the shipping Board