The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-03
BRAUN SAID GERMAN
CAUSE RUINED HIM
Becker Gives Out "Fair Play
Publishers Bitter Rebuke
.. to DR.. Schweitzer.
BOOBIES VAIN AND GREEDY
Deputy Attorney General
Shows How TeutOns Tried
to Beat Censor.

The competition that prevailed among
the magazine champions OF Germany In
those halcyon days when Van Bernstorfr
Albert. Fuehr, Schweitzer and others
were distributing millions in German
money for propaganda purposes in the
United States caused unhappiness to
Marcus Braun, formerly publisher Of
Fair Play
From the files that contain the In
| teresting records Of his Investigations
! Deputy State Attorney General Alfred
l.. Becker yesterday drew letter that
| Braun wrote under date OF July 20,
1915. to DR.. Hugo schweitzcr. the mil
lionaire. who reaped great profits in the
manufacture OF drugs and chemicals :
Schweitzer who died in September.
1917, did rot stop his efforts In behalf Of
Germany when the United states became
a belligerent. it is charged by the Gov
eminent He was indicted, subsequent
to his death. with jeremiah A. OLeary
and others. BY q Federal Grand Jury,
! which charged conspiring to commit
, espionage. a capital offence.
The letter which Mr. Becker gave out
was an answer to one written BY Dr.
Schweitzer in reply to an earlier letter
| sent by Braun enclosing a bill for Fair
Play Schweitzer informed Braun that
lie had not ordered the magazine. lie
added that he did not favor so many
small weekly publications. but would
, approve OF a plan to combine them all
i::to one influential publication.
I Braun Rebukes schweitver.
Braun's reply was as follows:
MY DEAR DIR. SCHwEIrzER Your let
ter Of the 18th inst, addressed to Fair.
Ptoy, was shown to me. and ] feel that
] should say a few words in reply to
your statement
"1 fully agree with you that there
! should not be so many small weeklies
published and that n consolidation Of
several weekles should take place out of
which real powerful journal may re-
suit. 1t is. however, the fault OF just
such men Is you II so many publications
have sprung up and that not only fail
to do any good, but. Just the contrary,
har'n the cause in which YOU and I are
interested.
why should there have been any
necessity to publish any paper at all
since August, 1914? Weren't there
enough publications in existence that
could have been made useful? Fair
Play at that time had already existed
for three years DID any Of you gentle
men come near our Office or get into
touch with its management? No. New
publications had to be formed in order
to satisfy either the vanity or the greed
for money of some individuals. and an
other one came and then again another
and SO on ad infinitum.
Il know that | have financially and
otherwise ruined myself for the German
cause. and in return for my unseltish eff
forts the paper gets such replies as that
We have received from you. But that IL
neither here nor there. Fair Play will
, keep on lighting for what It considers
right. It may die. but it will never
bend"
Foh. Ploy did die ultimately, Mr..
Becker charges, but not until it had got
$4,000 or $4,000 from Won Bernstorfr.
| Braun was born in Hungary, according
to Mr.. Becker. He was formerly spe-
cial immigrant inspector and president
OF the Hungarian Republican Club.
Rambling Letter TO Berlin.
Mr.. Becker exhibited another kind Of
letter yesterday. It was, he said, an
example OF the apparently innocent.
rambling. sossipy communication that
may be something entirely different from
what It appears to be.
This particular letter. Of which Mr..
Becker holds carbon copy. was sent
for the Pennsylvania Car Company o,
Pittsburg to Ornstein & Koppel, its prin-
c!psl in Berlin. II was written on the
sta tionery of the Hotel Schenley in Pitts
burg 1t follows:
''Ar. Erich RotheabeTo.
DEAR MI. RoTHBNBERG: trust that
this letter will reach YOU promptly and
find you we'll and happy. Undoubtedly
you have received the various letters
our friend Pensco and ! wrote you up
to the end OF March and the first days
OF April.
Mr. Penaco has not written you
lately, although he is go far very we'll
and active. 1t is. however. not desirable.
according to physicians advice. that he
should exert himself to write letters.
You must. therefore. not worry II you
do not hear from Penaco. He IL all
right and I understand quite prosperous.
AS to myself and our other friends
can only report the best. We are
busy as usual, and as to my private and
business life there is nothing special
to report. as you are familiar with the
quiet anu TOutiTe OF 'liIe
in It's city. We have very mic. weather
| FOR &c last few weeks and it is a
genuine pleasure now TO have the train
rides every day. and TO enjoy the spring
fine resurrection of nature.
There is not much new to report,
and we can only hope that everything
will come out to the best. I am very
anxious TO hear how you are getting
along and am quite sure that married
life agrees with you very we'll / want
to avail myself of the opportunity OF
asking you to convey my best respects
to Mrs. Rothenberg, and with very best
wishes l remain, very truly yours
Meant 10 Defeat Censorship.
Explaining the letter as a means OF
secret communication Mr.. Becker said :
THE above apparently harmless letter
In an example OF the methods adopted by
certain business houses In communica-
ting with confidential correspondents
An investigation reveals that It was the
means taken to defeat the censorship by
the Pennsylvania Car Company In order
to advise its head ONCE in Berlin that
business was satisfactory. that the legal
advice has been secured and that the
sending OF information to Eerlin must
stop.
such a letter should excite suspicion
for several reasons. The envelope was
addressed in care OF A. Bruce, Stock
holm. Addresses In Scan1ha Wan coun-
tries are favored by Germans as cover
names. II was written from a hotel adj
dress. The unusual word Penaco is a
combination OF the words Pennsylvania
Car Co. A careful reading OF the
fourth paragraph Immediately suggests
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