Arizona republican., 1918-12-05
KONTAADM|TSCO|N BEFORE COMMITTEE
 PROBING BREWERS
Was German Agent To Buy
 Paper-Knew Dernberg- Wrote Von Bernstorff- Was Also Pro-Teutonic

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4.-Alexander Konta of New York, named by Alien Property Custodian Palmer as an agent in negotiations through which the German government sought to buy newspapers in this country, before the United States entered the war, admit ted to senate committee today that he had communicated with Dr. Ser nard Dernberg, German propagandist, on the subject of the purchase of a New York newspaper. The committee is investigating brewers activities and German propaganda.
 Konta said he wrote to pr. DernberS on the subject and that he was ln- spired by a desire to help the kaisers representative carry out his plans to get publicity for Germany; to get newspaper that would be a check to prohibition and to earn a commission.
 q desired to aid Dr. Dernberg to get the paper, in order that he would have an opportunity to lay before the American people
 German propaganda" interrupted Senator Nelson of Minnesota. He wanted the paper, not for himself, but for the German government, and he was a German agent. Isn't that true?"
 "He must have been,'' replied Konta
 Denies His DisIoyaIty l The witness, who stoutly denied he ever had been disloyal to America, also said he had written in 1905 to Dr. Heinrich F.. Albert, then an attache of the German embassy here and well known as a propagandist regarding an offer of $1,000 to be made to any person who could prove that misstatements were made in the German general staff's daily official war announce ments. Konta said this offer never i was made.
 Other testimony before the commit tee today was that Count von Ber1fs- torff, the former German ambassador, had visited the officers of the Ameri- can Association of Foreign Language newspapers in New York in March, 1915, and that immediately afterwards an advertising campaign to prevent the manufacture of munitions in this coun- try for the allies was started
 Louis N. Hammerling, president of this association, which had s200,000 for the advertising campaign, testified yesterday that he did not know von Bernstorff. It also yas in evidence to- day that Hammerling had directed that Captains Boy-Ed and von Papen, naval and military attaches at the German embassy, be called on the telephone for him.
 In Pay of Austria, Said
 The witness offering this testimony was Arthur Gabryel, former vice. president of the association. Gabryel said it was the general belief among Poles that Hammerlin was in the pay of the Austrian government and that when he informed Hammerlin of this fact the latter called him in and told him to keep his mouth shut, saying that what people don't know wont hurt them"
 After that, Gabryel said he received $500, or s1,000 extra, in his pay en- velope. Such extra payments, he tes- tified, were not unusual
 In his testimony before the commit tee Konta told of meeting Hans Tauscher, charged with participation in the attempt to blow up the WellanG canal, and of his association with Tauscher and his wife. Madame Cad ski, a grand opera singer, both o1 whom, he said, were lone thunder pei cent pro- German
 Konta read a prepared statement tC the committee in which he denied be- ing diSloyal and described his organiZ- ation of the American-Hung Loy- alty league under the auspices of the committee on public information. Ref erences to Dernberg, Albert and othel German agents were brought out by Major E. Lowry Humes, in charge O. I the investigation for the committee. Pro- German Up to lusitania Konta said he had been pro-Germa1 up to the time of the sinking of tn.
 Lusitania. but his views underwear another change, he said, when Russia started it's advance in Pennsylvania He was anxious to see an independen , Hungary, he declared, and the advanc
 of Russia toward Budapest caused hi belief in the ultimate success of an ill ! dependent Hungary to weaken.
 In his prepared statement Kont s described different investigations 0 h his affairs by the governments agen : cies. including the district attorney : office in New York and the militar r intelligence department, in all c n which, he said. he was informed b r those who initiated the investigatio : that they had been unable to obtai f any data relative to any disloyal act S or utterances by him.
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