The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1915. INTRIGUE IN AMERICA

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2621, 17 November 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1915. INTRIGUE IN AMERICA

The confession of the man Fay relating to plots to place bombs in munition ships makes another addition to the weighty volume of evidence which goes to confirm the revelations of systematic and widespread intrigue of the most dangerous kind by Austro-German agentsin America. Tho amazing part of the business is the open fashion in which prominent officials in connection with the German and Austrian Embassies have associated themselves with the efforts to foment political and industrial discord and the com-1 mission of crimes against the people of the United States as well as aga,inst the Entente Powers. The abtitude of the American Government is in the circumstances equally remarkable. It is true that Dr. Dumba, the Austrian Consul, was compelled to leave tho country, but only after the gravest disclosures concerning his sinister activities had been made. The revelations which led to his recall were recently supplemented by the confession of Dr. Goricar, late Consul for Aus-tria-Hungary at San Francisco. Dr Goricar _ declares that the United States is honeycombed with! Austro-German spies, and asserts that within the next few weeks America will be faced with a. grave situation, involving attacks upon railroads, warehouses, wharves, and shipping. Outrages have already occurred which have almost certainly been instigated by agents of Germany and Austria, and a section of the American people has been very outspoken regarding the inadequacy of the _ Government's measures for combating this campaign of crime. The action of the Washington authorities in insisting upon the recall of Dr. Dumba met with general approval, and there appears to bo no' doubt as to the general sympathies of the bulk of the American people. But the authorities appear strangely reluctant to act with decision, though their professions are admirable enough. It is true that in the case of Dr. Dumba their pronouncement was clear and to the point. Dr. Dumba, the State Department's Note declared, was no longer acccptable to the Government in view of his admitted purpose and intent "to conspire to cripple the legitimate industries of the people of the United States and to interrupt their legitimate trade." But in Dr. Dujiba's case there was no possibility of any other course being open to the American Government. Austrian and German official dispatches found in tho possession of a journalist named Archibald were utterly damning, and t-hoy also showed that Captain von Papen, the German Military Attache at Washington was implicated in Dr. Dujiba's intrigues. Some of the leading American newspapers have seized the opportunity to direct attention to the fact that the Archibald papers emphasise the nuisancc and danger of the whole Teutonic propaganda. The audacity of some of the German and Austrian agents is astonishing, and still more astonishing is the weakness of the _ attitude of the American authorities. We are told that a certain Dn. Nuber, Austrian Consul-General at Cleveland, Ohio, has . been malting .Austrians and Hungarians living in that State pass through a recruiting examination. These men are examined and sworn in, not for the purpose of being sent home, but for the reason that, as men enlisted and sworn, they are placed in t-h-3 category of soldiers in a neutral country, "and if' they aid tha cnemy—by makinit for instance—they, wouli

be liable to be shot if ever they returned to their native land. Such conduct brings to light a new phase of the dual nationality problem. It treats American citizenship as a matter of secondary importance. It assumes that Austrians and Hungarians living 'in America still owe allegiance to tho Austrian Emperor. This fully justifies.tho remark of the Chicago Herald that to the minds of the ruling class at Vienna the United States is not really a nation; but merely a collection of groups or i: colonies" of immigrants from various European countries. Another journal, commenting on this matter, says that to suppose that the United States will suffer foreign presumption in asserting "ex-territorial jurisdiction" over former subjects, which even Turkey no longer tolerates, is an impudenco not to be endured. Yet it is endured. One wonders how long America will tolerate the criminal methods of, the Teutonic propaganda—a conspiracy to paralyse legitimate industries. The Archibald dispatches made reference to a proposal to prepare disturbances in munition factories. Dr. Dumb a warmly supported the plot, and remarked: "I am under tho impression that wc could, _ if not entirely prevent tho production of war material in Bethlehem and in the Middle West, at any rate strongly disorganise it and nold it up for months, which, according to the statement of the German Military (Captain von Papen) is of great importance, and which amply outweighs the relatively small sacrifice in money-" This is but a glimpse at what has been goingon and is still happening in America. It is, of course, tho business of the United States, not ours. Tho organised Teutonic conspiracy, though it is designed to injure the Entente Powers by hampering the export of munitions, strikes directly at the industrial peace of the United States, is a gross interference with the liberties of the American people, and a grave menace to the internal peace and well-being; of the country. The authorities at Washington no doubt are alive to the dangers of the situation, hut their seemingly lethargic attitude has provoked strong protests in the American Press, which arc supported by the increasing evidence, of the extent and daring of tho conspiracy.