Evening star., 1942-10-20
"A Bundists Convicted
Of Urging Youths 10
Resist Draft Law
Foce Possible Sentence
Of 5 Years in Prison
And $4,000 Fine
BY the Associated Press.

| BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Oct. 20.-Twenty-
| four erstwhile German American
Bund leaders, who Assistant United
States Attorney Harold r. Corcoran
said preferred the German father
land to this country, have been
convicted of conspiring to advise
resistance to selective service.
The "a men, each Of whom may
be sentenced to five years in prison
and fined $4,000, appeared calm
in Federal Court last night as
Manhattan housewife, Mrs. Mar
guerite Casey, chairman of a six
man, six-woman jury that deliber-
ated nearly six hours, announced
the guilty verdict.
Kunze, Willumeit Convicted.
Another defendant, Ferdinand
Callsen, 57-year-old deaf proprietor
of a South Bend 1nd) grocery and
former bund unit secretary, was
acquitted.
Among those convicted were for
mer National Bund Chief Gerard
Wilhelm Kunze of Camden. N. j.,
and DR.. Otto Willumeit, both of
whom previously were indicted in
Hartford, Conn, on charges of
conspiring to send military data
to Germany and Japan. Kunze
had pleaded guilty to the charge
and Willumeit had been convicted.
Gustav Hildebrand, former sec
rot W tree Nf thu
(Minn0 unit, who was not defend
ant, testified for the Government.
The indictment also had been
brought against these three, who
pleaded guilty: William Luedtke of
Saddle River Township, N. j., for
mer bund national secretary, who
was the Governments main wit
ness; Karl A. Bachmann of Buffalo,
N. Y, and John, August Grill,
Brooklyn.
Had Challenged Draft Law.
The defendants were charged
with conspiring to advise others
to resist service under the Selective
Service Act until this law and
all other laws of the country or of
the States, which restrict the citi-
zenship rights of bund members
are repealed" This referred to a
draft law clause barring bundists
from jobs vacated by draftees.
Prof. F.. x. Finn of Fordham
University, assigned defense attor-
ney, who served without compen-
sation, entered motion for a new
trial.
Judge Alfred D. Barksdale, who
will pass sentence tomorrow, told
the Jurors the verdict was fully
justified by the evidence and the
law"
The defense had contended that
the bundsmen had merely wished to
test the draft law.
Instructing the jury before it re-
tired, Judge Barksdale declared that
whether conSpirators accomplish
what they have decided to do is i'm
material in a conspiracy case"
Other Defendants In Case.
Other defendants were Wilbur v.
Keegan, Teaneck, N. j., bund law
yer; August Klapprott, bund Eastern
department head, recent resident of
Camp Nordlar l. Andover, N. j.;
Otto Fentske, New York; Max
Rapp, New York; Hugo Weiss, New
York; Gustav Elmer, bund treas
urer, New York: Herman Schwinn,
Western district leader; K. r. Wend-
landt, Buffalo, N. Y; Fritz Streuer,
Detroit unit leader.
Herman Agne, Philadelphia unit
chief; Walter Borchers, Jamaica,
Queens, unit leader; Bruno Glenn
ems Knupfer, New York; Joseph
Bachmaier, Erie, Pa, unit head;
Walter F. Schneider, jr., an Erie
leader; Joseph Belohlavek, Cleve-
land unit leader: William Otters-
bach, Seattle, Wash, unit leader;
Louis Schatz, Troy, N. Y, leader.
Carl Frederick Berg, Minneapolis
unit leader; Carl Bregler, Linden
hurst, N. Y; Ernst Martin Chris
toph, Summit, N. j.; John C. Fit
ting, Union City, NJ j., former theo-
logical student in Germany and
spiritual adviser to Bruno Richard
Hauptmann, who was executed for
the kidnap-murder of Charles A.
Llndbergh, jr., and William c.
Kunze, New York.
None of the defendants had taken
the stand in his own defense. The
jurors were asked to draw no in
ference from this.