GERMAN MICROBES FOR THE RUMANIANS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 39, 9 November 1917, Page 5

GERMAN MICROBES FOR THE RUMANIANS

ANOTHER CHAPTER ADDED TO THE HUN HORRORS Recent disclosures showing how Germany abused' and exploited the protection of the United States'; aftor this Government had taken charge of German af- ' fairs in Rumania, were revealed' by Mr. Robert Lansing, Secretary of State, in •. documents made publio recently (the substance being oabled briefly at the time). ;An official report by Sir. W. W. AnAmerican Charge d' Affaires in Bucharest, and documents from various Rumanian officials disclose the faot that ■ representatives of the German Government in Rumania had received, in connection with the representatives of Bulgaria, high explosives'and microbes, tho latter to bo used in poisoning cattle and ' draft animals. ' These oxplosives nnd microbes wero discovered buried in tho grounds of tho German legation and secreted within the building. Tha suspicions of Rumanian authorities had been arqus'ed by the delivery of certain boxes and parcels to tho German Consulato in Bucharest, and ■when some of these were taken to tho ' German Legation on August 27, 1916, tho day before Rumania declared war,- the Government determined to seize them. . Germany's affairs had by this time been entrusted to the care of tho United States Minister, Mr. Charles G. Vopicka, find he was asked by the Rumanian police to assign a member of his staff to observe the search. Mr. Androws was the man assigned, and this is his report:— "Upon my Teturn from tho exaniina. tion, which resulted in tho discovery of explosives and of tho box of microbes, both nf which tho Legation servants admitted having placed in the garden, the former confidential agent of the Gorman Minister. Br. Bernhardt, who had been left with the Legation at tho German Minister's request to assist in the care of German interests, admitted his knowledgo of the explosives placed in the garden, ■ told me that more had been left with tho Minister, that more wero in tho garden than had beonjfoundi that a still larger quantity had been buried in the houra of the legation, and that still worse things than this box of microbes worn contained in tho legation, and insinuated that they wonld havo been found even in tho cal>inets of dossiers which I had sealed. Dr. Bernhardt also stated that nil these objects had been brought to tho German legation after our legation had accepted the protection of German interests, which agfeed with the statement of tho servants. _ A similar confession was mado to tho Minister by this man. The protection of the United States was in this manner shamefully abused and exnloited. In this instance, at least, tha German Government cannot have recourse to its usual system 'of denial. "Fifty-one boxes wore taken from tho ground in the garden. Fiftv of them contained each a cartridge filled with trinitrotoluene saturated with mononitrotoluene, both powerful explosives. Tn thn.other box wore bottles of liquid found to bo cultivations of the microbes of anthrax and glanders. It doto a seal phowing it came from tho German Consulate at TCronstadt. Hnnsrnry, ,nnd in'side was found a typewritten note in Gorman, saying: '"Enclosed four phials for horses and four for oattle, to be. employed as formerly arranged. Each phial is sufficient for 200 head, to bo introduced, if possible, directly into tho animals' throats; if not. into their fodder. Please make a littlo report on' the success obtained there; in case of good results tho presence of Mr. Kostoff for one day nero would bo dcsirablo.'"