The German Spy in America / The Secret Plotting of German Spies in the United States and the Inside Story of the Sinking of the Lusitania

by John Price Jones

THE REVOLT IN IRELAND

The extensive conspiracy on the part of Germany to start a revolt in Ireland has been thoroughly set forth in the public prints in connection with the arrest and trial of Sir Roger Casement as a rebel. Sir Roger worked openly among the Irish prisoners in Germany, travelling backwards and forwards between Ireland and Germany by means of a German submarine. Nevertheless, a very large and important American phase of this whole revolution occupied von Papen’s attention prior to his recall. German agents here were in touch with the Irishmen in America, who were actively co-operating with Patrick H. Pearse.

German funds were poured into Irish hands in America, the money being used for the purchase of arms and the printing of seditious papers and leaflets. More than $100,000 was collected in America for Ireland between September, 1914, and April, 1915. Plans also were worked out with the aid of Germans in America to ship arms and supplies to the Irish rebels.

There also have been vague reports of dramatic schemes in America to arm the Arabs in northern Africa and start an uprising against British rule. There have been signs of dramatic plottings to stir up trouble in Afghanistan and in Egypt. It is a fact that various attempts have been made to ship rifles and cartridges from the United States to South America and then from South America to Africa. Some of these have proved successful. In other cases, the shipments have been stopped.