“To blow up and destroy the great railroad bridges of the Canadian Pacific Railroad at Nipigon....
“To employ and send into said Dominion of Canada spies to obtain military information.”
Besides the acts enumerated in the indictment it was proved upon trial that Kaltschmidt and his gang planned to blow up the Detroit Screw Works where shrapnel was being manufactured, and to destroy the St. Clair tunnel, connecting Canada with the United States. Both of these plans failed. Associated with Kaltschmidt in these plots were Captain von Papen, Baron Kurt von Reiswitz, German consul-general in Chicago; Charles F. Respa, Richard Herman, and William M. Jarasch, the latter two German reservists. Testifying in the case Jarasch, a bartender, said: “Jacobsen (an aide) told me that munition factories in Canada were to be blown up. Before I left for Detroit, Jacobsen and I went to the consulate. We saw the consul and he shook hands with me and wished me success.”
Charles F. Respa in his testimony made the following revelations in response to questions by the government’s representatives:
Q. How long had you been employed before he (Kaltschmidt) told you that he wanted you to blow up some of these factories? A. About three weeks.
Q. Did Kaltschmidt at the time speak of any particular place that he wanted you to blow up? A. The particular place was the Armory.
Q. Did he mention the Peabody Building at that time? A. Not particularly—he was more after the bridges and the armories and wanted those places blown up that made ammunition and military clothing.
Q. The explosion at the armories was to be timed so that it would occur when the soldiers were asleep there? A. Yes—he did not mention that he wanted to kill soldiers.
Q. Did he say that if the dynamite in the suitcase exploded it would kill the soldiers? A. I do not remember that he said so, but he must have known it.
Q. Did you take both grips? A. Yes.