davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

be told not only which cargoes II would
be particularly desirable to sink, but
also which ones IL would be for Ger
man interests to spare.
"A report Of the proposed operations
Of this combine was submitted some
time agS to the Senate investigating
committee known as the Overman com
mittee by Charles r. De Woody, then
division superintendent of the New
York Office Of the Bureau Of Investi-
CATION.
In that report we find letter from
DR.. Albert to one Of tho heads Of the
German insurance pool, which shows
how Albert was striving to use the in
surance companies as means Of OBJ
taining the information needed by Ger
man submarine officers. The letter fol-
lows:
"Dear Sir: 1nasmuch as the pool ar
rangement specifies that risks shall be
underwritten only with my approval, it
is essential that l be acquainted with
the risks to be underwritten and that
authorize the underwriting Of same be-
fore the business is concluded.
II have no desire to create any hard
ship for you in the handling of the in
slffancc business for the pool. Ny ap-
proval, however, is part Of the pool
arrangement, and way should be
found which will enable me to dispose
Of my duties in connection with the
pool satisfactory to the German inter
ests and to myself.
II would therefore request that when
steamer to Scandinavia starts load
ing request be sent to me from your
Office for my authorization for an open
insurance line for the steamer in ques-
ton. l presume you will find a way to
present to me the details for approval
before risks are actually undertaken,
and not after"
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
'shey came TO be stored Ia The once 81
che Swiss Consul in New York.


Documents Kept TO Show
Record Of German. In United State.
Why. ono may ask, waa 40 much
damaging evidence SLOWED to remain
siN existence, when It could casily have
been placed In a furnace, or even in a
bonfire, and destroyed.
The answer is that Germany, At that
time. had not the remotest idea Of los
ing the war, and. In the event OF Ger
man success, the documents would have
been of immense value, not only to the
German government. but also to numer-
Gus individuals. Every hypenated
German living in America who had
done something against the Allies or
against America in behalf Of the
Fatherland would desire to have the
proofs Of his loyal service in his pos
session so that he might be in line for
whatever reward or decoration the
German chiefs might deem fitting and
proper.
Indeed, among the documents were
more than dozen Iron Crosses, which
had been sent here from Germany for
bestowal upon Germans living In the
United States. There was also a
Gold Cross. Of the Sixth Order Of the
Grown. that the Kaiser had ordered
sent here for some ono then in
America. Just who was to have had
this bit of grandeur has never, l be-
leve, been definitely determined.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

been translated H. was sent fsv :!
eminent agents ana axkAS B
about his acquaintance ana sa,se3 ~
with Albert. He, of course Il ds.; s;sletists
having written to Albert. RI n a.sd tss.
ter in his handwriting and hasl.s hasn Jetj
signature vas shown to hiss sssrins Ajtl
was suggested that, inasmucb - ana il
profound contempt for Amar;aa ss ne hss
probably held his citizenss;as saas, Id
lightly, in which case bs b.p rathaI
object to having his papers ssssd ssessd ns.|
him. 1t was further pointsd d1.sn a. frskI
II ne were no longer citizen Sas tas.|
be interned, and, when in,axne ' ne eouis|
property could be sold and ads'f,nsd, ,as, hs
might be deported from thssa' aver El
This whole prospect, partcnsss shores
danger of losing his pronsy pIy Il.
stirred his emotions that fb,Spsrsy, bs III
wall and scream like maa oegaa
was ready to betray anyboa'sa ,aan. II
by so doing he could saw n Il onls
termed his family honor" u |nat
garded as one of the mos, ~ Vas was
characters that the Albas.o s..oathsoas
brought to light. f' lettta
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Treacherous Streak
In Germans Revealed

Inasmuch as the German at the head
of this insurance scheme and some of
his associates are still in the United
States, l am by no means certain that
the whole plan will not be renewed.
Unless proper governmental action is
taken it may become, even yet, an i'm
portant factor in connection with Ger
many's hopes to wage a successful fight
against American commerce.
Many of DR.. Albert's personal letters
revealed much of the treacherous streak
that was found to exist in various Ger
mans living in this country. For
example, there was the case of Mr..
H., prosperous business man, having
Offices in lower Broadway. Fl. had
come, years previous, from a part Of
Germany near the home Of DR.. Albert.
Having prospered here and gained
much wealth, his personal vanity led
him to hope that Albert might go back
to the home town and tell abour how
we'll he was doing.
AS Albert was looked upon as an in
tellectual and he himself, on the other
hand, was Of comparatively humble
origin, he thought it would make
great impression upon his relatives in
the old country to have Albert say that
they had become acquainted here in the
United States. So he began to pursue
Albert with dinner invitations. Albert,
being snob, seemingly paid little
attention to these. and so H. felt obliged
to adopt more drastic measures for in
gratiating himself with Albert. He
began to write letters in which he vol
unteered the information that, though
he had been living in the United States
for nearly quarter of century and
had been naturalized for most Of that
time, he had only profound contempt
for all Americans.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Tape Sealed With Wax
Bore Official 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
al appearances the German papers
were stored in two large safes, several
sections Of metal filing cases and a
steel trunk.
Each safe and each filing case was
bound around with rope and with red
whte-and- black tape-in much the same
manner that a shoe-box is tied with a
piece of string at n store. The knots
in the tape or rope were invariably
covered with sealing wax of a special /
kind not easily initiated, and the wax
was stamped with the official German
seal.
Particular care had been given. ap-
parently, to the sealing up Of the larger
safe. Pieces of sealing wax, bearfnr
the official stamp, had been stuck at
intervals all along the cracks at the
edges of the safe doors. Official tane
had been wound back and forth be-
tween the handles Of the double door
Of the safe, and the knots were sealed
and stamped. The tape was also fast
,ned against the fiat surface of the
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

safe. In this way the seals could I'D
removed one at q time, without dis
turbing the impression Of the official
stamp. Later the seals could bo glued
back to the same places from which
they had been removed.
There was still the problem Of get,
ting the tape removed from the handles
of the safe doors. But the callers
hit on plan for doing this that made
thA foh siInnla.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Letter Leads to Arre.t
OF Clever Woman Spv

Here is a letter that VA, a.
a large number found in tbe spleal 4.
German correspondence roi,.;. salei
activities of the var,ous : 10 q
agents, and which led to tbs oeraA
a greatsmany such agents. "'fessss
imperial German Consul.,. 50
-. Ch'cago' ILL.,, Sept. 8, is,.s
hccording TO confidential, -
munication just received bv VOL CON.
order for 100000 rifles for -. me-. q
armory was received by w;rs Isoncaf
Winchester Arms Manufactn-;. oy ns
pany, of New Haven, on Angus.s Voas-
from London. sAss ~:
"a woman who Is IN tho .., IN
the Postal Telegraph and Cable casss q
pany' IN New York, is said 70 ~
gwen out the telegram in ouest s
Her name IS Wanda Kreutzinger IIs.t fpsa
al Telegraph Company. New y
Cisy. Ar the occasion should s,;a' WI
she would be ready TO give furtbo.s Nv
bal information. Ny confidential ~. .sf
asks that this matter be treated s.r;aS 81
as secret, so that the said lad
not lose her position. w
"The Administrator Of shs yn...f,
Consulate, '~
(Signed) "vON RAIswrrz.
ITO the Imperial Ambassador 1;
Count Won Bernstortf, Excell.ne,n
washington, D. c."
A note in pencil on this letter !, :. !
TO the Military Attache." Below
INK: IS the note: ITO Herr Won IeeI'a,
This letter alone was not sufss;s,.
to convict the Kreutzinger woman ~
it was necessary to have her caucbtss
the act of trying to give out sueh =
formation to the Germans. A eoy.r
ment agent was sent to "rope' Ser y,
a clever trap was successfully Iaid Z.
her. The story OF just how this =.
done, an interesting one, | hope to "a
at another time.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
A gold cross Of the Order of the
Prussian Cross, apparently pre-
pared for some German-American.

manufacture them for themselves.
Special apparatuses are involved in fly
ing machines, alrships and speed boats.
These apparatuses are very different
from the normal apparatus used on
automobiles and motorcycles. We
have freely supplied them with ordi-
nary apparatuses; but, in accordance
with our agreement, we have entered
into apparent negotiations with the
representatives of the Allies, creating
in their minds the impression that
they would receive also the special ap-
paratuses at the present time. These
negotiations began Immediately after
the first declaration Of war, and it was
possible, on account Of their technical
character, to extend them many
months into the war. Our policy
lulled them into the certainty that
they would receive the special ap-
paratus, and only now have they real
lied our duplicity."
Other letters indicated that the real
permanent head of the German espion-
age system in the United States had
been the late Dr.. Hugo Schweitzer. H.
is believed to have led the espionage
work here down to the day of his sud
den death, in November, 1917.
Marine Insurance Combine
Disguised as u S. Concern
1t was Schweitzer, so various of the
stolen letters indicated, who origi-
mated the idea Of the purchase OF "The
New York Evening Mail" for purposes
Of German propaganda. When DR.. AL
bert was about to return to Germany in
l9l| he turned over to Schweitzer the
sum OF Sl,179,8S208, and a trife later
an additional $30O,0O0, all to be spent
by Schweitzer for work Of espionage
and propaganda.
among the more pretentious plans
Of Germany in the United States. as
revealed IN these papers, was the Or
ganlzatlon of mammoth marine in
surance combine, which, while German
owned and organized with money
furnished through Dr. Albert by the
German government itself, was to. be
cleverly disguised as an American
company. All the stock was to be
held by directors bearing American
names. Among those mentioned in the
as persons who could
pc dealt with in such a project in per
feet safety was the name Of a former
hlgh government official
The purpose Of this German marine
insurance combine was far reaching. In
the tlrst place, they would underbid all .
British and other companies and trv (
to gain monopoly on the marine in
surance business In the United States.
How. one may ask, could they afford
to underbid all other companies?
SIMPLY because the German govern
ment could we'll afford to pay large
premiums for the information it would
thus get regarding sailing schedules,
cargoes and manifests of all shipments
to the Allies from the United States.
lh!s vastly important knowledge was
to be promptly passed to the command
ers Of submarines. Then they could
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Swiss Consul Regarded
Trust ~ Almost Sacred

It IS unlikely that the Swiss Con-
sui had the remotest idea Of the
exact nature of the papers left in his
custody more than that they were
OF the greatest importance and must
be looked upon by no living creature
until they were safely returned, after
the close Of the war, to German
hands. As the representative Of
neutral government, the Swiss Con-
sui could regard his trust only as
something almost sacred. Indeed, when
a newspaper representative recently |
went to a chief Swiss official at the |
consulate and sought permission to
photograph the room containing, as
the Swiss official supposed, the Ger |!
man documents, the request was firm |
,ly though courteously refused, on the (
ground that 1t would be a breach of |
official etiquette
At the time the German papers were
stored in the Swiss Consulate there
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, if true, may
have had something TO do with his
attitude toward his own government
] is we'll known hat much friction
and jealousy had existed between Won
Eernstorlf and Or Albert Similar
iealousies had arisen among minor of
fc.Als. The German official group in
.his country. so it appears now. was
far from being q harmonious unit.
Five Real Americans Seize
( apers as Patriotic Duty hl
At any rate, oNe Of these Germans
ia ked rather freely about the. nature
Of the papers that were being left in
the Swiss Consulate. There had, of
course, been no particular secret about
the fact that the Swiss Consul. as
neutral official, would act as custodian
for a lot of German correspondence
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

tho papers had been secretly taken
away by one Of the Germans who was
iutrustcd with the job OF storing and
sealing them up. Just what personal
use he intended to make Of them never
has been disclosed. They were found
by the merest , cnance, ,a.. .,s,, 80 ! nave nscn
steamer trunk In an obscure storage
warehouse some weeks later. The name
under which they were recorded theirs
proved to be a fictitious one. and the
true identity of the man who left them
has not been established.
When discovered these papers were
promptly turned over TO tho United
States government. It 50 happened
that they reached the possess sion Of goy-
ernment officials at about the sumo.
time as the other papers taken by the
five adventurcrs from the, consular
Offices.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Five Real Americans Seize
Papers as Patriotic Duty

At any rate, oNe OF these Germans
Ia ked rather freely about the. nature
OF the papers that were being left in
the Swiss Consulate. There had. of
course, been no particular secret about
the fact that the Swiss Consul. as a
neutral Official, would act as custodian
efor a lot of German correspondence
! Sut nobody had suspected that papers
! OF such noteworthy Importance, con-
8 tanning a mass of discriminating evil
sdence, would be left behind in this
acountry by the Germans. That knowl-
secse first came from one of the dis
ibassy. The information was passed
along until its chanced to reach the
ears OF two rcd-corpuscled Americans.
adventurous spirits, who saw an op-
porsunity to perform service for their
government that the government could
not perform for itself. Even if it had
been aware of the existence and startling
nature OF the papers, the United States
government 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 CIV
ing up such papers.
But the two American citizens, able
bodied, two-isted persons, having
picked up the valuable bit Of informa-
tion regarding, the Importance of the
papers and their resting place, de-
termined to let themselves IN on a real
adventure. They took into their prof.
ect three friends. one of whom was
familiar with locks and safe-opening
. devices. 1t was this group of five
who finally obtained the German
papers.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Government IL Unaware
OF Identity of Patriots

After tho last sealed strongbox at
the consulate had been opened the
papers, weighing moro than two thou
sand pounds, are supposed to have been
carried by automobile to a house In
the Bronx. There they were packed in
ordinary pine boxes. A teamster was
then employed to haul these boxes
from the Bronx down to the Office Of
government department. in New York.
There the teamster deposited them and
went his way, probably In accordance
Importance Of his burden became
known.
Thus It came about that the United
States government does not know even
to this day how, when or by whom the
papers were captured.
Having once obtained the papers, the
government set translators to work on
them. The variety of information then
acquired was really astounding, for the
seized correspondence showed how in
tricately Germany had allied it's indus
trial with its espionage system.
For example, there was German
which was the manu- 'acture and install
lation of what is known rs "inside
portation''-railroad dump cars,
travelling cranes and machinery Of a
similar sort, used in large industrial
plants. This was the American branch
Of great German house whose ten
tacles reached into all the e .Eat coun-
tries of the world For twenty years
they had put in bids for equipment for
various plants in this country, and
throughout this twenty years the speci-
fications, floor plans and elevations
were regularly placed ON file in the Of
fees Of one Of the military departments
in Berlin
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Traitor to Two Nations
Is Brought to Light

In other letters ne spoke at length Of
his views on the Lusitania disaster
and declared that the Americans whose
lives were lost got no more than their
just deserts. After this letter had
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

safe doors with sealing wax and this,
too, bore the official stamp.
Because the larger safe was the most
carefully sealed up, the visitors as
sumed that it must contain the most
valuable papers. They determined
therefore, to try to open that safe first
of all But even aside from the prob
lem of working the combination. 1t
looked like an impossibility to open
the doors without disturbing the tape
and seals.
Ingeniou. Method Used
To Conceal Tamperinx
If these seals were noticeably marred
it soon would be discovered that the
safe had been tampered with This
would prevent later visits, and further
more, If it became known that the
papers were gone, part Of the value
they might have in tracing German
agents might be lost.
The visitors saw that If they were
to open the safe and not have their
work afterward discovered they would
they returned a few nights later thew
were equipped with such tools and
devices as were required. The most
noteworthy of these was an electrical
contrivance which could be attached to
one of the electric light sockets near
the safe: The working part Of this
consisted Of Y-shaped instrument be-
tween the two prongs Of which was
stretched fine wire. This wire, when
heated by the electrical current, could
be passed underneath the seals where
they adhered to the fiat surface of the
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
German-Owned Companies
Monopolizcd Ignition Industry

The Albert letters show that there
of German insurance companies which
collected for their own use detailed
plans OF all property insured by them
with special reference to the hazard
from fire, explosions and other causes.
Duplicates Of these plans and drawings
we're invariably dispatched to the Ber-
lin Office. And we wondered at the &C.
curacy of our factory fires and cxplo-
sions!
From some Of the voluminous corre-
spondence Of Dr.. Albert and his asso-
ciates the government learned that
through certain German owned conf
panies IN this country the files of the
central Office at Berlin were kept up to
date with all plans and improvements in
military trucks, gasoline boats and aero
planes.
How Companies
Deceived Allied Agents
Here is the translation Of a letter
sent to Dr. Albert from the manager
of one Of these companies:
"Honored Mr.. Albert:
"1n connection with the obstruction
policy upon which we agreed at the
beginning OF the war in matters con-
corning deliveries of our products, es-
pecially the special magnetic apparatus,
should like in the following to make
statements from which one will see
clearly that the accomplished obstruc-
tion policy has in every way been
successful
sin short, we had great difficulty at
the beginning of the war in withhold
ing the much needed airplane ap-
paratuses, from the Allies, and In pre-
venting the Allies, especially the Ene-
lish. from Immediately attempting to
The Washington herald., 1920-03-11

Don't sell your liberty bonds.
If you need funds, 60 to any
bank and secure a loan.
The Washington herald., 1920-03-11
PUBLIC ENTERS
STOCK MARKET
Gold Imports and Bet
ter Exchanges Cause
Broader Buying.
READING TAKEN UP
Old Time Leader Displays
Extreme Activity in
The Rail Group.

New York, March 10.-Reports Of
gold imports actually on the high
seas resulted in a sharp advance of
sterling today and this brought
money rates down slightly and in
turn sent the stock market into new
high territory for this movement.
While industrials furnished most
Of the days business the rails were
also very active. Reading was
really the leader of the whole mar
ket. Even the coppers moved up
ward sharply, that group being un-
der the leadership of smelters. Tire
stocks were higher and also the to-
baccos. Steel stocks were all
stronger because trade reports were
cheering.
In spite of the heavy profit-tak-
Ing in the afternoon the market
closed at about the best prices of
the day with material gains in ac-
tive issues.
Reduction of Taxes.
The stock dividend decision now
that it is rightly understood, is
hailed with delight by the financial
world although the tax collectors
are rather upset by it. Commits
sioner Roper says it will entail
L reduction of $500. 900, 900 in Fed
eral taxes for 1919. That is one
reason it is so bullish on the stock
market. This remission of $500, 900.
boo is the first break in the upward
movement of taxes since the wal
began and will relieve the situation
tremendously. In addition to that
feature of the decision it paves the
way to new stock dividends. That
they will be declared in great num-
oer goes without saying. The ac-
tion of Magnolia Refining Company
In increasing its capitalization from
$4,000. 900 to $120.O0O,O0O to furnish
stock for dividend purposes shows
which way the wind blows.
The year 1920 will be one great
orgy of stock dividends and the
market will act accordingly.
Announcement that the steel cor
poration had increased it's volume
Of untitled orders only 216,64O tons
Tor the month of February was un-
important. Everybody knows the
country needs more steel than can
be produced. The only question is
as to the ability of the people to
pay for 1t at current prices and the
ability of the companies to get the
labor to produce it.