The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-28
FIRE BOMB PLOT SPY
HIRED BY SCHIMMEL
Ebling Got $25 Week for Discovering Sailing Dates and
Cargoes of Allied Ships Witnesses Connect Alleged
Sugar Burners With German Scheme to Destroy
Shipping

New York, Jan. 2S.-When Carl
Schimmel, now in Berlin, was mas
querading about New York as ga poor
down and out German" in the Spring
4 and Summer of 1915 he had in his
employ F. w. Ebling, another down
and out German" whose particular
job was that of waterfront spy for
Schimmel and other high-placed plot
tiers who operated in this country dur
ing the first two years of the Euro
pean war. 1t was not until Schimmel
was safely back in Germany that the
American authorities learned that he
was a vital wheel in the Kaisers spy
machine, and not the shabby derelict
he pretended to be while in this coun-
try.
Ebling, who for some months has
been employed as an orderly at the
Bloomingdale Asylum, was called as q
government witness in the trial of
Franz Rintelen, the plot master and
thirteen other Germans who are be-
ing tried before Federal Judge Howe
on a charge of conspiring to blow up
the British freighter Kirk Oswald in
1915. Ebling, it is said, will make
startling disclosures as to the inner
workings of the German spy and plot
system in this country before he leaves
the stand. He had just started his
story when the court adjourned yes
terday afternoon. He will probably
be on the stand all day today.
Rintele1 and the men who are ac-
cused with him looked with set faces
at Eibling as he took the stand. They
took in every word he said, but there
was no indication of surprise at the
trend the testimony was plainly TAX
ing. Ebling had reached a point in his
testimony where the question had to
do with the placing of fire bombs on
allied ships when the adjournment
hour arrived. During the afternoon
session of the court James w. Gerard,
former Ambassador to Germany, oc-
cupied seat on the bench with Judge
Howe.
Carl Gustafson who was a carpenter
on the Kirk Oswald when the destruc-
ton of that ship at sea was planned,
was one Of the first government wit
nesses yesterday. Gustafson said the
Kirk Oswald sailed from New York
for Marseilles on May 10, 1915, laden
with sugar for. the French army.
when the Kirk Oswald arrived at
Marseilles," said Gustafson, 1.-The third
mate found three tubes (the bombs
were tubular in shape) in the sugar
cargo. L was present when they werG
p found and when I picked one of the
things up there was a burning sensa
ticn in my fingers, although there
were no marks of burn after I drop
ped it,
Can you identify these bombs, and,
if so, is this one of the tubes found on
the Kirk Oswald?" asked Assistant
United States District Attorney Os-
borne.
THAT is one of the things we found
at Marseilles. I marked that one my
self I could identify it blindfolded, ="
the witness replied
Cross-eXamination failed to shake
his positive declaration.
According to the governments con-
tention, the fire bombs used by the
plotters, of whom Rintelen was the
alleged directing head, were manu-
featured in a HoBoken shop owned
by DR.. Walter Scheele. DR.. Scheele
escaped from the country in 1916
When last heard from he was in Bra
iii.
Peter Madesen, who worked for
Scheele, was a government witness
yesterday.
IT was sailor and am now a rig
ger" said Madesen, land in June an6
July of 1915 L worked in the Ho-
boken place owned by DR.. Scheele.
worked on the first floor. The floor
was used as q laboratory by DR.
Scheele. There was sliding panel il
the front door to the place, and when
ever visitors came to the shop they
had to identify themselves before the
door was opened. After man gave
his name and other facts about him
self DIR. Scheele would be communi
Gated with, and If he said All right,
the visitor would be admitted. Other
wise he was barred. Vom Kleist (ont
of the defendants) was always admit.
ted. 1 have also seen the defendants
Captain Wolpert and Ernst Becker il
the place on a number of occasions.
After Madesen left the stand tn,
government called Charles j. Devlin
n stenographer, who was employed b,
the Fire Department at the time o
the arrest of the defendant, Ems
Becker. He testified to the accurac
of his notes and the transcription o
his notes of the examination of Beck
er by the authorities.
Detectfr7 George Busby of the Pc
lice Headquarters bomb squad testi
fled that he had found on April IL
1916, in Dr. Scheele's place mum
Der of bottles containing chemicals
These bottles were admitted as evi
dence by Judge Howe. According t
the labels some contained sulphur
acid, muriatic acid, hydrochloric .aciG
sodium nitrate, parawax, and potas
pemanganate. There were many 9th
ers containing fluids, but without Ia
bells.
Detective Sergeant Henry J. Semi
identified. transcript of the answer
mada by Ernst Becker to the question
of Fire Marshal Brophy after his al
rest. The document was admitted i
evidence and read to the jury by M
Osborne. The transcript showed thu
Becker after his arrest admitted hay
ing made the tubes which were use
as fire bombs as charged by the GOV
eminent. He said he was deck elet
trician on the. liner Friedrich d.
Crosse, which was moored in Hoboke
during August, 1914, and was instru
ted by Carl Schmidt, the chief engil
eer, to visit the home of DIR. Waite
p. SGheH1e in Hoboken, as the latt
hah some work for him to do.
RlTiSer