“I do not believe that there are very many men including Bhupen, who can show much better results along the line of work I undertook.”
Four columns to the typewritten page it ran on over seven sheets of foolscap, and wound up with a plea in plain English which showed that Gupta was angry:
“Seems no action taken yet. If want work, change methods completely. I insist the man in charge is not only useless but spoiling the work; important workers wasting time for want of coöperation and funds while that man is squandering money. Do not care what you decide, I inform you as it is my duty but you don’t seem to pay any attention. This is my last warning for the cause. Again I appeal to you to think more seriously and not spoil the work by leaving it in the hands of irresponsible and insane person. I again tell you that no one is willing to work with him because he does not understand anything, secondly he spends money in a ridiculous way, thirdly he does not do any work. Think seriously and reply.”
In order to show why Gupta was upset and also in passing to show how innocently he had coded his letter, we shall quote it in full, with those words in italics which had to be decoded months later:
“Dear Chatto: Am back from Japan. Had lots trouble. Thakur, real name Rash Behari Ghose, splendid worker in India still in Japan. Sent report twice, besides messages through German sources. Went to Japan as planned. Am surprised to hear from Tarak you said I had no right to go to Japan. See my reports submitted to the committee. Before leaving Berlin Shanghai authorities also wanted me for important work. This I was told at German Embassy so cannot understand why you failed to know anything about me. Have sent two reports since my return. Hope you got them. Tarak said you were not satisfied with my work and Bhupen Dutt said that such incapable men as I should not have been sent to America. Bhupen before leaving America said to Chakravarty ‘Gupta nothing but adventurer; should not have been sent,’ and as usual everybody knew and it naturally prejudiced men I had to work with. What right had Bhupen to make such remarks? I don’t claim to be a very capable man. You remember I did not want to come here. But how Bhupen measured my abilities? If no report was received how could anybody pass an opinion on unknown things? You may criticize my reticence. I do not believe there are very many men including Bhupen who can show much better results along the line of work I undertook. Results of such work cannot be shown in black and white but I challenge anybody who dares ignore the solid work done through our agencies. Time alone can prove it. You cannot compare the work lately undertaken with the program we started with. If we failed to start a revolution in Bengal as asked by you it has been for the best. If we failed land arms it was due more to Germans than anybody else. Our men worked, suffered. Still suffering. The whole plan under the direct supervision of Germans of more capable brains failed too. We have succeeded in laying foundation for future work. Our work in Japan has been unique. Even Lajpat Rai who slights our work, quite often admits in three months more solid work done there than any other part of the world outside India in number of years. I understand Chakravarty has charge of affairs. Met him. Tarak Harish says he was given instruction to form a committee of five including myself. He did not agree. Said all depended on his discretion. Fact is he has grudge against me and the fault lies with you. Report went to Berlin concerning his relations with Mrs. Warren. You told him I did it. I did not. Even if I did you had no business to mention my name. I like also to know how did the committee satisfy itself as to the charge being false. From Chakravarty’s letters only? He wanted me to apologize. I did not: will not. First I did not report; secondly suppose I did, in the interest of the cause. I was of opinion he had connection with Mrs. Warren. She came to know many things about work through him. Am still of same opinion. I do not care how many women man enjoys but he has no right to talk about serious work to women. I do not know what work he doing. Does not give me any information. The house he took with princely furniture shows at once German connection. Some of his pamphlets nothing but German propaganda. It may be your policy. We have centres in Japan, Burmah, Manila; regular communication with India through Japanese sources. Working but badly in need of funds. Started work with impression balance of funds credited to my account would be forthcoming but no sign of it. For better work need send at least one more man to Japan. Tarak going China, Chakravarty told him his men would watch Tarak for a month. If behaves well will be helped, given facilities. What grand diplomacy! Chakravarty told me committee not sure of Tarak so sent him away. Tarak said large funds have been sanctioned. He can draw without receipt. Will you blame me (if this be true) if I fail to understand the policy? Ram Chandra working in his own way. I did not interfere for fear of creating divisions. Only helped getting funds. Have now influence over him but as Chakravarty gone San Francisco I consider my duty keep quiet until hear from you. Have worked to best abilities and shall work but cannot do so at the instance of people who I am sure do not know the exact nature of work done last year and half. Am surprised at mean jealousies, even sacrificing work. Am shocked at your faith shaken in me and my work. Hope to hear soon all regarding work. Remember me to all. Did not mail the first letter as waiting for information from Berlin.”
How the Hindus used Price Collier’s “Germany and the Germans” as a cryptogram
Followed the postscript in English already cited.
The reader will probably be interested, even at the cost of interrupting the narrative, in the way in which this cipher code was discovered and the letter translated. By a partial decipherment by common methods of deduction, it was found to be almost sure that on a certain page of the code book—the name of which was of course not then known—the phrase “foreign legation” would appear. The cipher experts deduced, too, that the phrase “rush to a newspaper” must appear in a certain line of another page of the volume, and working further they assembled some twenty-five fragmentary words and phrases of whose position in the missing volume they were certain. The problem was to find the volume. The nature of the words and phrases suggested that the work was a recent one, probably dealing with history—and perhaps with the nature of a people. These limitations reduced the field of possibility to a minimum of 100,000 volumes, and the cipher experts set agents at work searching for such books. The caption of the letter, “Hossain’s Code,” threw them off the scent and they spent some time in scouring Allied Europe and America for such a code. There was none, for “Houssain” was merely a Hindu agent in Trinidad. Then, one of the agents hunting for the needle in the haystack found it—Mr. Collier’s book.
Gupta, it is evident, was a prejudiced judge of Chakravarty’s ability. Even when Gupta was arrested Chakravarty wiped out past scores, and went bail for the man who had blackmailed and traduced him. But Gupta was definitely in trouble this time. The evidence supplied of his trip to Japan, its purpose, and his collusion with Germans brought him to trial in Chicago with Jacobsen, Wehde, and Boehm. (Mr. Chatterji was a witness for the prosecution.) The three Germans, after a trial in which the State’s case had been admirably handled by U. S. District Attorney Clyne, were convicted and sentenced to serve five years in prison and pay fines of $13,000. Gupta was sentenced to two years, fined $200, and released on bail, pending an appeal. He jumped his bail and escaped to Mexico in May, 1918, while a number of his countrymen were being tried in San Francisco.