The first document found on von Papen was a letter from President Knight of the Bridgeport Projectile Company, dated Sept. 11, 1915, addressed to Heynen at 60 Wall Street—the building in which von Papen had his office—giving certain specifications for shells that were being made in the new Bridgeport plant; the second was a memorandum of an interview on December 21, between Papen, Heynen, G. W. Hoadley of the affiliated American-British Manufacturing Company, and Captain Hans Tauscher. The four men had discussed specifications for a time, and had agreed that firing tests of the projectiles could be made "in a bomb-proof place by electrical explosion." Delays in production at Bridgeport are evident in the last sentence of the memorandum:
"It was agreed that Mr. Hoadley, till date, has complied with all the conditions of the contracts of the 1st April, with the exception of the commencement of the delivery of the shells, which is due to force majeure, i. e., to failure to timely obtain the delivery of machinery and tools occasioned by strikes in the machine factories."
A letter to von Papen from Dr. Albert, then in San Francisco, undated but obviously written in December, 1915, contained these farewell sentiments:
"Dear Herr von Papen,
"Well, then! How I wish I were in New York and could discuss the situation with you and B. E.... So we shall not see each other for the present. Shall we at all before you leave? It would be my most anxious wish; but my hope is small. From this time, I suppose, matters will move more quickly than in Dumba's case. I wonder whether our Government will respond in a suitable manner! In my opinion it need no longer take public opinion so much into consideration, in spite of it being artificially and intentionally agitated by the press and the legal proceedings, so that a somewhat 'stiffer' attitude would be desirable, naturally quiet and dignified!... Please remember me to your chief personally. I assume that he still remembers me from the time of the 'experimental establishment for aircraft,' and give my best wishes to Mr. Scheuch, and tell him that the struggle on the American front is sometimes very hard.... When I think of your and Boy-Ed's departure, and that I alone remain behind in New York, I could—well, better not!"
Perhaps Dr. Albert would have accompanied the attachés had not the submarine situation been so acute. For while the Government had in its possession sufficient provocation for his dismissal, and that of Count von Bernstorff as well, the Government's desire at that time was peace, and stubbornly, patiently, it clung to its ideal in a dogged attempt to preserve its neutrality. Dr. Albert had run the British blockade with his supplies for Germany, and had roared protest when Great Britain seized cargoes of meat intended for Germany, although she paid the packers for them in full. He had floated a German loan through Chandler & Company, a New York house of which Rudolph Hecht, one of his agents, was a member; he had sold $500,000,000 worth of German securities; to sum up his financial activities, he had played every trick he knew, and his last year in America was unfruitful of result, for he was watched. He returned to Germany personally enriched, for time and again, prompted by stock tips from his German friends on stocks or "September lard," and by diplomatic information which he knew would influence the stock market, he made handsome winnings for von Bernstorff and himself.
FOOTNOTE:
[4] The captain added: "The sinking of the Adriatic" (by which he meant the Arabic, which had been sunk without warning on August 19, with a loss of sixteen lives, two of them American), "may be the last straw for the sake of our cause. I hope the matter will blow over." On October 5 the German Government, consistent with its assurance of September 1 that no more ships would be sunk without warning, disavowed the sinking of the Arabic, and offered to pay indemnities. So the matter "blew over."