New-York tribune., 1919-01-08
Money Passed Through St.
Louis Bank, Overman
Senate Committee Is Told
CASTOR Means on Stand
Paid 500 Daily by Boy-Ed,
He Admits; Fails in Ef-
fort 10 Attack Bielaski
Ncw York Tribune
yVdshinqton Bureau

Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7.-The spend
ING of nearly $3SO,000 by German
agents to buy ammunition for Villa IN
the summer of 1915 was revealed to-
day before the Ovcrman Senate com
mittee. investigating German propa-
ganda in this country, when Major h,
Lowry Humes, counsel to the commit
tcec, produced records of the accounts
from the Mississippi Valley Trust
Company, of st. Louis. A further in
vestigation of. the subject was delayed
till next Monday because some wit
nesses who had been summoned were
not ready to go on.
A record of the main items of the
accounts of the Albert propaganda and
commercial bureau, showing how it
raised and spent some $34,000,000 that
by Captain G. q. Lester, of the Mill
tary Intelligence Division, also of
counsel for the committee. This rec
ord was based on deposition by Karl
Henen. now interned, and others OF
Albert's confidential agents and his ac-
countant.
Means Commends Boy-Ed
At the morning session CASTOR B.
Means, acquitted last spring of the
murder of Mrs. Maude A. Robinson
King, and named by A. Bruce Bielaski,
chief of the bureau of investigation of
n ~,
who had done work for the Germans
both when connected with the William
]. Burns Detective Agency and later
as an individual, was on the stand.
He testified that neither Burns nor
himself had been in any way un-Amer-
lean, and gave Captain Boy-Ed great
credit for opposing bomb plots in
America.
He admitted that he had done the
work charged by Bielaski. and added
thereto long stories of his activities,
throwing a different light than that
which had come from other sources on
the work and character of Boy-Ed. He
admitted that he had been paid $100 a
day or more through long periods by
Boy-Ed and his successor.
Means made many insinuations and
some direct attacks on Bielaski, and
finally. after much mystery, induced
the committee TO TO into executive
session to hear further charges The
committee decided not to go into the
matter, whatever it was
Villa Ammunition Account
The account through which the pay
ments for Villas ammunition were
made, Major Humes showed by the
hank records and correspondence, was
carried in the Mississippi Valley Trust
Company, of st. Louis, in the name of
A al oil
nterned. 1t was opened April 5, 1915,
on letter given Summerfelt by Will
lam c.. Potter. vlcepres dent of the
Guaranty Trust Company, of New York,
the letter stating that Summerfelt
wished to have money transferred tc
his account by wire.
Another letter. signed by B. Burke
assistant secretary of the Guaranty
Trust Company, arranged the initial de-
posit of $4,000. Additions were made in
amounts running from $1,000 30 5000
0G0 at intervals through September, to
total of about $3S0.000, and the ac-
count was finally closed on November
"a by an order to retransfer $4,000 to
Summerfelt's account at the Guaranty
Trust Company.
Albert Opens an Account
On the same day that this account
was opened Major Humes showed an
account of 100000 was opened for Dr.
Albert with the St Louis National
Bank on a letter from Chandler g. Co.
of New York, which set forth that
Albert was q high official of the Ger
man government and was working ir
German interests. On April IL S50,00(
of this was withdrawn, and on Apr
20 the remaining S50,00O was trans
ferred to joint account of Albert anC
Bernstorff in the same bank. This wa.
closed out on November 3.
Major Humes considered the coinci
dental character of these accounts sig
nifcant, though there was no drec
connection shown between them. H,
also pointed out that Summerfelt dur
ing the summer months of 1915. wher
close associate of Franz Won Rinteler
and also OF FREDERICK Stallforth, nov
interned, who was active in Mexican
propaganda.
The payments for the ammunition
were made, correspondence showed, tt
the Western Cartridge Company, o
Alton, ILL.,, on its drafts with bills o.
lading. and the bank was under order!
to send these bills of lading, as soor
as they had paid the drafts, first tt
Louis Goziola, 100 South Santa F,
= Street, FL Paso, Texas, and later Il
Hippolyte, brother of the revolutio at
Means in his testimony told how HI
had been furnishing information t,
Germans on the cotton textile situation
and how, after the war started, he ant