South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-01-16
FATE IS
IN HANDS Of
ATTY GREGORY
Mysterious Woman in Case is
FianCee of Spormann-AS-
SertS Her Innocence and
Believes in Accused.
International News Service

international News Service.
BALTIMORE. Nd, Jan. 16.-The
fate Of Walter Spormann. alleged
German super-spy. rests today in
the hands of Atty. Gen. Gregory.
In the city Jail here today Spor-
mann waits the future-w hich may
hold forth a death penalty. Spor-
mann will be held here until Deputy
L. s. Atty. Lattane has collected all
of the evidence, which appears to
incriminate Spormann as the leader
of band of German plotters
against the United States. He will
then report TO Gregory who will de-
eide on what charge Spornann will
be tried
Believes Him Innocent"
The mysterious woman in the
case is known today. She is Miss
May Stoop, a pretty brunette of p
or % years old, the fancee Of Spor-
mann. When she was located in the
Raleigh hotel in Washington by
federal authorities, who have been
working on the case, Miss Stoop
said:
4 suppose 1 am the mysterious
woman referred TO. L have been en-
gagged 10 Walter for quite a while
and 1 believe him 10 be innocent.
II il is proven otherwise then, of
course, L shall renounce him.
"On account of his being a Ger
man L was opposed 10 his being en-
I pIOyed about the camps" Miss
| StoOp said Il told aim 50 several
times while We were t,lscuSsing stor-
| les in the newspapers about spies
and plots but he said that ne liked
/ the employment.
IL am an American girl through
and through, hrst and last and all
o. the time L would not do a thing
against my country and l would
break my engagement with him and
never speak TO him again if he was
a spy"
May Arrest Five More.
Five other arrests are imminent
| today. Two of the men now held un-
der surveillance are prominent citi-
| zens but they are said not to be res
iGents of Baltimore Federal au-
thorities claim that much Of the evi-
dence of a great spy ring in the
United States is located in this city
but that the prominent parties TO
the plot are distributed throughout
the United States.
Spormann spent a quiet night at
| the city Jail. The seriousness of the
/ offense with which he is charged. he
knows, but he takes it philosophi-
cally and seems inclined 10 believe
that he will be dealt with lenient-
ly.
Marius Asch, who was taken into
custody here yesterday. is looked
upon by the authorities as the big
gest asset in the case. Asch, who IS
an affable sort of a man, is said 10
/ be strongly American and has been
unpopular with alien enemies here
/ because he has displayed no friend
! ship for the cause Of the fatherland.
1t developed today that the appre-
hension Of Asch followed voluntary
1 information which he gave 10 the
authorities.
Brother in Jail.
Fred lick II. c. Spormann, broth
er OF the accused man. has been
placed in the city Jail While it is
| ilOL Stutt ally DtlltNtu LlidL NJ - OH
accOmplice I'm the case, neverthe-
/ less officials have decided 10 hold
him until some definite action has
been taken.
There is a decided feeling in Bal
timore today that if proved guilty
I Spormann should pay the supreme
/ penalty. Baltimore has become the
home of large numbers of alien
enemies since the war zones were
| created and numerous alien enem-
les driven from Washington have
taken up their abode here.
BaltimOreans are intense in their
| feeling against these alien enemies
who do not obey the law and de-
clare that the death penalty for
| Spormann would prove an excellent
example and would clear the city
OF the suspicion which seems 20
/ hang over il of being a spy center.