The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-24
Z AMERICANS ARE
 SENT ID PRISON
 BY GERMAN COURT
Detectives Sentenced for ''lI- legal Assumption of Power" in Attempting to Arrest
 Draft Evader
By Associated press


 Mosbach, Baden. March 23.-Carl Neur and Franz zimmer, American detectives. have been sentenced to terms in prison in criminal court here for illegal as- sumption of power" in attempting to ar rest and abduct Grover C. Bergdoil, American draft evader in Eberbach last January. Neuf. against whom charge of "inflcting bodily injury had been preferred, was sentenced to jail for Is months, while zimmer's term in prison was fixed at six months. The additional charge against Neuf arose from bullet wound suffered by a young woman when a revolver was fired during the att tempted ahduction.
 F'cur Germans who were tried as ac- complies of the Americans, were found guilty and sent to jail for terms vary ing from five to eleven months. It was shown one had driven the detectives car and that the other three had accompanied the two Americans on their trip to ap- prShend Bergdol in Eberbach
 ? Tn passing sentence on Neuf. the Ger man court declared tho American detec- tive was aware that, aside from the charge of desertion. no other indictment was pending against BergdoiI, but that nevertheless the detective shad attempt- ed to arrest Bergdol without the co-oper-l ation of the German police, and take him into the occupied area although Neuf was aware that such procedure constituted an illegal assumption of au- thority in unoceuped territory The use of weapon declared the court con stituted negligent infiction of bodily injury"
 The penalty upon Neuf was fixed at 15 months in jail the court said, because the detectives conduct constituted "a gross breach of the law. and an invasion of the rights of the German authori- ticss' Ns
 The other defendants were guilty, the court ruled, because they knew their acts were not permissible. and were punishable under the criminal code.
 The six defendants were assessed the costs of the trial. Each of them was credited on his jail sentence with eight weeks of preliminary confinement.
 NO ACTION TAKEN
 Washington. March 2s Secretary Weeks said today that so far ass the war department was concerned. no request had been sent to t&A German government for sclemency for Carl Neufs and Franz Zimmer American detectives who have bach. Baden, < as a result of aA attempt to arrest Grover Cleveland BergdoiI, American draft evader, in Eberbach last January.s M
 Mr Weeks said he would confer later with Secretary Hughes in an effort to settle the question of whether the state department or the war department prop erly had Jurisdiction in the ease Mean- time it is said the state department has taken no action
 The war secretary refused to admit that Nuef and Zimner were officially connect- ed with the army of occupation at Cob lenzb He said he would make com plete statement on the subject tomorrow after he had concluded his study of the records of the men. together with re- cent reports from Major General Alleni commanding the American forces on the Rhine.
 The war department, in the last days of former Secretary Bakers administration and into the new administr*tion, has con sistently taken the attitude that the question of. the arrest and trial of the two Americans by the GerniAna authori- ties was a state department affair