Within a short time, thousands of invitations were scattering throughout the country to labour leaders, small and large, and to heads of farmers’ granges, to attend the national convention of the peace propaganda at the expense of the organization. All railroad fares, hotel expenses and a liberal allowance for spending money were promised.
Under the fostering financial auspices of von Rintelen, who hovered conveniently near the New Willard Hotel, the members of a peace movement gathered in Washington, expenses paid. They adopted resolutions saying they desired “to promote peace.” The resolutions demanded the enactment of laws that would enable the Government to take over as exclusive government business the manufacture of all arms, instruments and munitions of war; demanded an immediate embargo upon shipments of war supplies to the belligerents; denounced the maintenance of military and naval forces, and called for a special session of Congress to promote “peace universal.” The executive board went immediately into executive session.
PAYING THE HIRELINGS
“How is this movement to be financed?” one of the newly-elected executive board asked another. He and one of the vice-presidents waited for an answer. They got none, he says, and the question was repeated by another. Then one of the officers answered:
“This thing is big enough, so that I do not care where the money comes from to finance it.”
Another member asked:
“What, after all, does this council want to do?”
“We want,” was the answer, “to stop the exportation of munitions to the Allies. Germany can manufacture all the munitions she wants.”
Von Rintelen’s deposit in the Trans-Atlantic Trust Company meantime was growing smaller by jumps of $100,000. It was drawn by cheques payable to cash, placed in another bank, quickly withdrawn, and on one occasion the money in bills was taken to the headquarters of a peace organization in a suit-case. Bank accounts of von Rintelen’s peace propagandists began to jump.
The executive board was busy. One of the first moves was a statement filed with Secretary of State Lansing alleging that nine ships in various American ports were taking on cargoes of ammunition in violation of the neutrality laws. That charge, undoubtedly prepared with von Rintelen’s aid upon information gathered by German spies, showed an accurate knowledge of the merchantmen loading with supplies for the Allies. There was, however, no violation of law, because the vessels were officered and manned by ordinary seamen who had no connection with the Allied governments.