Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1937-04-10

I'll 10, 1887
warfare now promises to compel
England to make peace IN rev
'''' ZIMMERMAN"
IncredulOus
The State Department, incredufous,
Suspected it of being forgery ana
50 notified Page. Upon advice from
fhe British. he told them to check
telegraph files in Washington, and
there sure enough, was correspond
| ing coded message sent by Won Bern
| storff TO Won Eckhardt! Still unWlll-
ine to believe that Wilhelmstrasse
could have been so studip, the State
Department had Page in London have
RRitiih cfphAr experts decode and
translate the original intercepted mes
sage. Even then, its genulneness was
suspected. But it was released Tor
newspaper publication. zimmerman
confirmed its authenticity in speech
to the Reichstag.
The State Department had reason to
be incredulous and skeptical. its staff
had been reading in the American pa
pers of German satanic genius in spy
craft. Yet for weeks after the Zim-
norman message was pupllclzed 10
the world the German foreign office
continued to use the same CODE. VIII
helmstrasse apparently swallowed
story in the London Daily Mail to
the effect that British intelligence
was inferior to that of the United
states. The Americans were clever
people. They could secure German
kilograms as soon as they had been
decoded From this Berlin supposed
that the mischief had been done
through theft of kilograms in the
United States That was what Brit
ish intelligence wanted them to be-
lieve. It planted that story in the
Daily Mail!
AS Underwood Saw 1t
Oscar Underwood of Alabama, one
of those trying to head off the ma
tons plunge into war, said OF the
Zimmerman note:
"The Gravamen of this letter is
that in sipte of that (submarine
I warfare) they intend to keep
peace with the United States if
it is possible Was 1t an I'M
friendly act for the head of the
German foreign office to inform
his ambassador to Mexico what
course he should pursue in case
of an event that should sever
friendly relations? 1t seems to
me that the imperial chancellor
would have been derelict in his
duty if he had not carefully in
formed his minister what he
should do in the happening of
every contingency. That is the
real condition that surrounds this
note"
| The Zimmerman note Eertalned TO
the Mexican government headed by
Carranza. At the same time there
was an entirely different German plot
to get Mexico into war with the Unit
ed States through Huerta, whom Car
rama had deposed. Rintelen had
conversation in the United States
with the exiled general, who ascrlb-
ed his fall from power to United
States sponsored revolt. They agreed
that German U-boats were to land
weapons along the Mexican coast;
abundant funds were to be provided
for the purchase of ornaments; and
GERMANY would furnish Huerta with
moral support. In that eventuallty
Huerta would overthrow Carranza
and take UP arms against the United
States. It was to be a parallel to the
uprising in Ireland the Germans had
cooked up with Sir Roger Easement.
It was reckoned that with Mexico at
war with the United States, the latter
would have to place all embargo on
shipments of arms to the Entente
governments.
Trouble Over Arms
During this country's troubles with
the Huerta government in Mexico
German arms and ammunition were
ilded from German ships in Mexico
During the Boer war the Germans,
who openly sympathized with the
Beers adeverth4 ess furnished Eng
land with arms expressly destined for
use against the Beers; and this, al
though it was manifest there was nc
possibility the Beers would obtain
arms from German sources during the
War. During the Spanish-American
war, Germans supplied arms for use
against Americans in Cuba.
Yet Ambassador Gerard, in his "My
Four Years in Germany" tells of his
difficultie in obtaining audiences
with the kaiser. Wilhelm said: 81
have nothing against Mr.. Gerald per-
sonally but I will not see the ambas-
sador of country which furnishes
arms and ammunition to the enemies
of Germany"
Ambassador Gerard states ~Eron
early in 1915 until I left Germany,