BLOWING UP CANALS
Captain von Papen next asked “von der Goltz” to see at his hotel two Irishmen, prominent members of Irish associations, both of whom had fought in the Irish rebellion and who had proposed to Captain von Papen to blow up the locks of the canals connecting the Great Lakes, main railway junctions and grain elevators. “Von der Goltz” says he received the gentlemen at his hotel, the men bringing with them a letter of introduction written by Captain von Papen. After having taken them to his room he got further details of the matter, maps and diagrams evidently cut out of books.
“Von der Goltz” also tells of going to Baltimore to enlist a number of German reservists who were staying on a German vessel there. In that scheme, he says, he had the aid of Karl A. Luederitz, German consul. He brought them to New York, but believing that his movements were being watched by Federal agents, he sent them back. Continuing his story of the conspiracy, von der Goltz writes:
“I saw Mr. Tauscher and he gave me a letter of introduction to the Dupont Powder Company, recommending B. H. Taylor, and the company supplied me with an order to the bargeman in charge of the dynamite barges lying on the New Jersey side near the Statue of Liberty. Captain Tauscher told me he would send the automatic pistols by messenger to Hoboken, to be delivered there to one of my agents at a certain restaurant, as he would be liable to punishment if he delivered them in New York without having seen my permit. The reasons why I did not apply to the police for a permit are obvious.”