The Washington herald., 1920-02-22
'How Fiue Adventurous Xanks
Looted Consulate in New York
of Secret German Documents

\ ernment. the Swiss consul could re-
gard this trust only as something
\ almost sacred. Indeed, when a
newspaper representative recently
went to chief Swiss official at
| the consulate and sought permission
| to photograph the room containing,
as the Swiss official supposed, the
German document, the request was
! firmly though courteously refused,
| on the ground that 1t would be
breach of official etiquette.
At the time the German papers
were stored in the Swiss Consulate
there were at least two Germans
i connected with the Embassy in
Washington who felt that they had
personal grievances against their
chiefs and against the German
government. One of these is said
to have been in love with an
American girl. and this, IL true.
may have had something to do
with his attitude toward his own
government
| 1t is well known that much fric-
tion and jealousy had existed be-
tween Won Bernstorff and DIR. AL
bert Similar jealousies had arisen
among minor officials. The Ger
/ man official group in this country
so it appears now. was far from
being a harmonious unit.
Five Real Americans Seize
Papers ns Patriotic Duty.
| At any rate, one of these Ger
mans talked rather freely about
| the nature of the papers that were
being left in the Swiss Consulate.
! There had, of course. been no par
+; ticular secret about the fact that
the Swiss Consul. as a neutral en-
voy, would act as custodian for a
lot of German correspondence. But
nobody had suspected that papers
of such noteworthy Importance,
containing a mass of discriminating
evidence, would be left behind in
this country by the Germans. That
knowledge first came from one of
the disgruntled employees of the
German Embassy. The informa-
tion was passed along until it
CHANGED to reach the ears of two
lred-corpusclcd Americans. adven-
turous spirits, who saw an oppor-
tunity to perform a service for
their government that the govern
ment could not perform itself.
Even if it had been aware of the
iexistence and startling nature of
the papers. the United States gov
ernment could not have obtained
them. There was no international
law or precedent whatsoever by
which the Swiss Consul or the
Swiss government. being neutral
could be forced into giving up
such papers
But the two American citizens
able-bodied. two-fisted persons
having picked up the valuable bit
OF information regarding the inn
portance of the papers. and their
resting place, determined to let
themselves in on a real adventure
They took into their project three
friends, one of whom was fa-
miliar with locks and safe-open-
ing devices. 1t was this group OF
nve who finally obtained the Ger.
man papers.
Worked by stealth in Night
In Role of Honest BurgIars,
Their plan from the beginning
was TO act on their own initiative
and undergo whatever risk was in
volved as a matter of patriotic
duty. If successful, they would turn
over real prize to the governmen,
as a personal contribution toward
, winning the war. If unsuccessful
they were prepared to stand the
consequences. even though they
might include capture and arrest
Their task involved working by
stealth. in the nighttime. practical.
ly as burglars-but if burglars
they were obliged to be. they be-
came. indeed. glorious. exalted bur
glars. Except for what these five
men accomplished their country
would have been far less success
full in coping with German attacks
from within. Because of the i'm
portant knowledge it gained from
these records, the government was
able to reach out and put its fin
ger on German agents heretofore
unsupported.
As preliminary to the big task
they had cut out for themselves
the five men obtained the use OF
an office in the same building, al
IL Broadway. where the Swiss con-
!. sulate is located. Fortunately one
of the five was well acquainted with
a man who had a suite of offices in
1.-The building. They needed an office
for a sort of base of operations. fol
a place TO WnlCn tney might depOSll
Temporarily any papers they cap
ltured. They also needed an excuse
to be in the building night after
night. that they might learn the
hours of the nightwatchman ano
thus contrive to avoid him.
Tape Sealed With Wax
Bore OfficiaI Stamp.
! First, they had their lock expert
fashion a key to the outer door OF
the consular offices, and one night
. they went there to look the layout
. over. To all appearances the Ger
man papers were stored in two large
! safes. several sections of metal filing
cases, and steel trunk.
Each safe and each filing case was
bound around with rope and with
red-white-and-black tape-in much
the same manner that a shoe-box is
} tied with a piece of string at a
store. The knots in the tape OIL
rope were invariably covered with
sealing wax of a special kind not
ieasily initiated. and the wax. was
stamped with the official German
seal.
| Particular care had been piven an.