What is equivalent to our Military Intelligence Department in Germany, in turn took up the question of sabotage in our ammunition works, and of getting contraband stuff into Germany. Scheele, who was taken in custody by the United States, declared that this country was divided into military districts, and that supplies of arms and ammunition were gotten together. He even declared at one time that he knew of 200,000 Mauser rifles stored in a German club in New York City. He was taken there by Government officials and located the place where the rifles probably had been stored, although they had in the meantime been removed.
Von Papen, military attache at Washington, had much the same work for the army that Boy-Ed had taken on for the navy. He often appears in the revelations of the German spy system, as in the plot against the Welland Canal, and the Vanceboro bridge, for which Werner Horn was arrested. Von Papen had the charge of the Bridgeport Projectile Company, which was intended to disorganize our manufacture of munitions. He had some sort of charge of Scheele, the German chemist spy, who is, perhaps, the best known example now remaining on American soil of the German espionage system.
Special commissions to spread disease germs were sent to this country, as perhaps A. P. L. reading will have indicated. A good deal of this work failed because so many of the German spies were interned early in the war, and there has been no good opportunity since to replace these men properly, the war having traveled too fast when once America was in it.
But what, perhaps, has shocked and horrified Americans more than anything else (and it cannot be too often iterated) was the knowledge that long before this war Germany had a vast system of spies all through America. This system of international spies was originated almost a generation ago by the Prussian War Office. There were supposed to have been about 30,000 spies in France before this war was declared. England also was well sown with such persons in every rank of life. We had our share.
Dr. Scheele told the Department of Justice when he was taken in charge that for twenty-one years before the outbreak of the European war he had been stationed in Brooklyn as a representative of the German government. His “honorarium,” as he called it, was $125 a month. He had been a German major, yet owned a drug store in Brooklyn. A couple of months before war was declared by Germany, he was told to get rid of his drug store—that is to say, to mobilize in America for the German purposes in the coming war. He said the drug store was doing very well. Others of these fixed spies got salaries about like that of Scheele, a retainer of $1,000 nominal salary being more frequent. In charge of all these lesser regular spies, who had been absorbed in the American citizenship, were the consuls and the high diplomatic officials of the Imperial German Government in our country. It would be a very great deal to hope that this system has been actually extirpated. That it did exist is true without any doubt or question.
Any A. P. L. man whose work was identified with the larger eastern cities will note many points of contact of the A. P. L. with D. J. and M. I. D. in the testimony brought before the Overman Committee. It is, of course, not too much to say that A. P. L. was at the foundation of much of that testimony itself. Many of the facts above brought out are of record in the A. P. L. files.
In yet another line of Government work, the League has been very useful—that of coöperating with Mr. A. Mitchell Palmer, Custodian of Alien Property, whose statements, made elsewhere than in the committee, constitute a rather valuable extension of the committee’s information.
Reference was made before the committee to the Bridgeport Projectile Company. Mr. Palmer some time ago announced that he had taken over 19,900 of the 20,000 shares of the capital stock of that concern, and that there had been reported to him other property of approximate value of $500,000 held by it for and in behalf of Germany.
In a statement accredited to him, Mr. Palmer again bared the efforts of that malodorous quartet, Count von Bernstorff, Dr. Albert, Dr. Dernburg and Captain von Papen. It was the obvious intent of these to use the Bridgeport Projectile Company to prevent the manufacture and shipment of arms and ammunition to the Allies. The taking over of the stock of the Bridgeport Projectile Company, and the report by the company of the property owned by the German government, with the disclosures incident thereto, followed many months of persistent investigation.
It was planned to have this corporation buy up all the available supplies of powder, antimony, hydraulic presses, and other supplies and materials essential to the manufacture of munitions. The plan also involved the negotiation of contracts with the allied Governments to supply them with materials of war, apparently in good faith but in reality with no intention of fulfilling them. The ultimate expenditure of approximately $10,000,000 for this purpose was contemplated.