New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-04-18
De Mott Made No
Immunity Plea as
American Citizen
Attache of U. S. Commits.
sion Reports on Killing;
Dead Man Had Letter
From N. Y. Publication

From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, April 17-Paul r
De Mott, the Paterson, N. j., man shot
to death by his guard while attempt
ing to escape from a German military
prison. was travelling with two revolu.
tionary leaders in the Ruhr district
and had in his possession papers ad.
dressed to Soviet authorities, the State
Department was advised to-day by
American Commissioner Ellis Dresel
at Berlin.
The De Mott case was personally in
vestigated by Reginald Foster; special
attache of the American commission
at Berlin, at the scene Of his arrest and
shooting.
His report, communicated to the
State Department to-day by Commits
sfoner Dresel said that De Mott made
no claim to immunity as an American
citizen when he was arrested.
The following summary of Mr. Eos
ter's report was made public by the
State Department.:
DE Mott carried an American pass
port issued by the Department of State
at Washington September 80, 1919,
upon his application to go abroad to
engage in relief work in France. The
passport was extended by the Ameri-
can Consulate at Paris on March 8, 1920,
and amended to apply to the Baltic
States and Western Russia, including
countries necessary to pass through in
transit, and the purpose of the trip was
then stated to be newspaper work. 1t
was vised at that time for the Baltic
States and Western. Russia, by rail.
journalistic work
"De Mott o1co bod q cor+;Goo@, -
to him by the British committee of the
French Red Cross on September IL,
1919, accrediting him as representa-
tive of the Society of Friends Of
France. He also had letter from the
French Ministry of Liberated Regions
expressing appreciation for services he
had rendered and a letter of recon-
mendation, dated October 20, 1919, from
an American publication, The Modern
ist," published at rs East Fourteenth
Street, New York City, signed by James
Waldo Fawcett and Gorham B. Munson
de Mott and two German leaders
of the Red movement in Germany
were in a disabled automobile when
eminent troops, who were approaching
Mulheim on April s, surprised the
party. De Mott and the two Germans
with him were armed, and the papers
they carried and the remarks. they
made indicated their connection with
the Red army. They were locked up
in the basement of the Eye Hospital
in Mulheim, tried by court martial
within four hours of their arrest and
were sentenced to death on the evi-
dence found in the papers taken from
them. The finding of this drumhead
court martial was forwarded to the
military headquarters at Vessel for ap-
prevail.
"Sewed up, in De Motifs shirt were
two letters addressed L. Monatre (sg-
nature not clear, written in French to
l. Trotzky and Lasovsky (Dridzo).
These letters, Which were on station
cry of La Vie Ouvriere,' 9e Quai Je-
mappes, Paris, were dated March 10,
1920, and referred to an opportunity
of transmitting a few hasty words by
AN American De Motifs interest and
in the Red army move
ment in the Ruhr district were indi-
Gated in other papers found on him.
From the floor above De Motifs