Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-01-31
MARTENS TELLS HOW
 SOVIET RAN THRU BLOCKADE OF NATION
Many Messengers, Who Start ed, Never Arrived, He
 Declares
COURIER SYSTEM IS
 LEFT UNEXPLAINED
Witness Forced Into Defense of His Position As Ambassador and Taie of CourierS is
 Unfinished

Washington, Jan. 30. How the courierS of Soviet Russia carrying funds to finance it's propaganda in America, ran the gauntlet of death and imprisonment in the surrounding states of Europe, was a story begun, but abondoned half told today by Ludwig C. A. K. Martens, soviet agent in the United States before the senate foreign relations sub committee Investigating Russian propaganda.
 Martens flatly declined to answer further questions put to him by the committee on the subject of the couriers, and left it to consider whether or not his plea of "diplo matic immunity" from further ex animation should be allowed, while he went on to recount his personal activities in endeavoring to get his government recognized by the state department and in placing provision al contracts for $25,000,000 worth of food clothing and machinery with AthciJtoH DtSlHeSS HouSeS.
 This latter effort, he said, had resulted in placing two or three let tcrs before President Wilson urging recognition thought the state depart ment has remained firm in it's re- fusal to recognize him in any way.
 Out of 20 of the mysterious mes sengcrs who started during the last wear from Moscow with funds and lot to lr, Mo, ,.{n cold had gotten through the barriers of armies and international frontiers Several had been shot summarly in Finland three that l know about" Martens said, casually. Of 10 who tried to get thru Germany, nine were caught and jailed. The first man to reach him, however, carried $30,00 and his credentials as so- viet ambassador to the United States fThe couriers carried money in the form of Finnish marks, or Scandi- navian. currency, Martens said, and had various varieties of passports. Here he began to evade, though Sen ator Moses of New Hampshire. chair man of the committee and Senator Rrandegee, Connecticut, were prod ding him on with questions as to messengers routes, and methods of travel and disguses.
 Declines to Tell Story.
 "I decline to answer" he stated finally when asked to name one of the couriers and repeated his words quietly when the topic was pushed further. He, too, had sent cour- iers, he admitted, but of their for tnres had not been advised Alto rether $150,0OO had come to him thru the underground route and also an instruction, so he said, not to orerd any of the money lon politics or the support of internal factions or parties in the United States"
 A list of contracts for goods en- tered into by Martens was submit ted to the committee, with the eX- planation that the firms named had agreed to furnish the goods only up- OF condition that they were given licenses by the state department to export the products to soviet Rus sia. The largest contract cited was for $4,5O0,000 worth of printing presses to be furnished bv the Le- high Machine company of Lehighton, | Penn.
 Only $1O,000 had been paid on the contracts, he said. and none of the goods had been shipped.
 "You depended on the relations opened with American business con- cerns to help you get recognition ?" Chairman Moses asked.
 "Yes," Martens replied, adding that he knew of many letters and repre- sentations made by Americans friendly to the soviet government to American officials and speaking par ticularlv of at least two which went uals, who he intimated, would likely | secure hearing.