AMERICA AND THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1915, Page 7

AMERICA AND THE WAR.

UNITED STATES PROBING WAR FIRE PLOTS. RIiMARKABLE REVELATIONS. San Francisco, November 10. • There is an amazing parallel between confessed plans of Robert Fay, the selfalleged German officer (in which he involved former Austrian Ambassador Dumba), and the happenings of the last few weeks. 1 What Dumba * and Fay planned may be gleaned from the letter by Ambassador Dumba to Count Buriaii, Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs, on August 20 last, a clause reading: "It is my impression that we can disorganise and hold up for months, ii not entirely prevent, the manufacture of munitions in Bethlehem and the Middle West."

In an interview on October 25 last, Lieut. Robert Fay. the German conspirator, said:—"Mr. Jenncrson, head of the German sooret service at Brussels, gave me 2000 dollars. I was to coinc to America. to stop the transportation of artillery munitions. I intended to work only on the high seas, and to disable, not sink, ships." ' What has actually happened is that nineteen mysterious fires and explosions in munition plants in the United States, involving a total loss of 25 lives and property valued at 5,050,000 dollars, have occurred since April 1, 1915. Eighteen mysterious fires and bombs aboard munition-laden ships sailing from American ports have been reported since the early months of the year. The Department of Justice at Washington have manifested an interest in the fires which broke out with alarming results on November 11 in manufacturing plants whose output is destined for the Allies. The Department's agents were instructed to find out from the local authorities probing the fires whether there was any suspicion that foreign agents had had a hand in starting the blazes, and if any evidence had been obtained indicating that they were the result of a general plot to cripple American industries. At the outset it was announced that the Government "arm of the law" would proceed immediately with a thorough investigation should the reports of the local authorities show that the circumstances of the fires warranted the belief that collusion existed.

A million-dollar blaze destroyed the rope plant of the John A. Roeblings Sons' Company, at Trenton, New Jersey. The company was engaged in the manufacture of large orders of chains and barbed wire for the Allies, and the plant had been running night and day for months. The flames burned furiously for 36 hour, 5, and the plant was completely destroyed. Almost simultaneously the immense plant of the Bethlehem Steel Company, at South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, owned by the steel Icing, Charles M. Schwab, was the s>eene of a great conflagration, and No. 4 machine shop was almost completely destroyed also. Only the skeleton of the big building stood when the fire was brought under control. Machinery and war material in the building were valued at millions of dollars. The value of the guns alone In the great workshop was stated to be several million dollars. There were about 1000 machines of different kinds in the buildings, running from lathes, shapers, and drills down to boring machines. These machines were worth from 400 dollars to several thousand dollars each, and it was estimated that the value of the machinery was several million dollars. Almost 800 men were at work when the fire started, and so rapidly did it spread that some employees had to make their escape by means of ropes. From workmen it was learned that the (Ire started in oil near the entrance to the plant. There was only a spark at first, when some workmen started to put it out by throwing on water. Then followed a mighty flash, and up leaped a flame as high as the structure, Recently the burned building was rebuilt, expanded and equipped at a cost of nearly 3,000.000 dollars. It was given over to the manufacture of guns of various calibre for the United States, England and her Allies, and some 800 of these guns were in process of manufacture when the fire broke out. At the Baldwin Locomotive Works, at Philadelphia, another war fire plot sidelight was.revealed, when the hand of the enemy was again in operation. Here 50.000 dollars' worth of locomotives, destined for Russia, were consumed in the conflagration. The same day 10,000 dollars' worth of damage was caused in the buildings of the American Synthetic Color Company, at Stamford, Connecticut, and the Hamilton Hardware Company's works at Waterburv, in the same State, was also badly damaged by a war "firebug." It. was indicated that evidence tending to show that nt least one of these (ires was set as the result of a "munitions plot" hart reached the authorities at Washington.

SAN FRANCISCO DIPLOMAT'S SPY STORY. While the United States Government secret service men were busilv engaged investigating the cause of the mysterious series of fires, a veritable bombshell was thrown into the enemy's tamp by none other than Dr. Joseph Goricar, former Austro-Hunganan Consul at San 'Francisco, who flatly exposed the. German conspiracy in the United States, and pointedly declared that Austrian consuls in America, working under the direction of Consul-General von Nuber and Count von Vcrnstorfl". the German Ambassador, were active in propaganda for destruction of munition factories and for I'o.menting strikes among the workers. The Austrian Embassy naturally denounced Goricar's published story as untrue in every particular, and announced that it would try to prosecute him for it.

In substance. Goricar is credited with saying that he resigned his post after 15 years in the Austrian consular service because lie declined to perform the work of a spy, thereby proving there was one man with a vestige of honor among the Teutons! Ex-Consul Ooivar charged that while lie was Consul at San Francisco, Commander Maximilan Burstyn. the Austrian naval attache at Washington, ordered him to gather plans of the fortifications of San Francisco harbor and along the Pacific coast, and particularly to get details of the works at Bremerton navy yard, where Uncle Sam's warships are' frequently anchored. Goricar's story charged that the American Ambassador, working with von Nuber, was in touch with the Austrian consuls at Cleveland, St. Louis, Pittsberg. St. Paul, Chicago, and Philadelphia, who spread propaganda among the foreign workers in the munition factories. Such activity, said Goriear, extended even to controlling the foreigners through fraternal and secret ormaisationa. The purported

tent of the activities of the Austrian consuls and the so-called spy system were described at length by Goricar. Tie ex-consul himself came to America first In 1909, and was consul at Pittsburg, Denver, and finally at San Francisco, where he served three years. VICIOUS PROPAGANDA WORK. A vast sum of money, amounting to between 35,000,000 and 40,000,000 dollars, has been spent in America in the last four months for propaganda work against the Allies, under the immediate supervision of Count von Bcrnstorff, the German Ambassador, and Dr. Heinrich Albert, Privy Councillor, who describes himself as the fiscal agent of his Government. A positive record lias been revealed of tile receipt by Ambassador Piemstorff and Dr. Albert of at least 10,000,000 dollars in the' time mentioned. A great deal of this money came.through the Guarantee Trust Company of New York, and most of it was immediately'transferred to the Chase National Bank and other banks in which Albert and Bernstorff kept a joint account. All the money has been spent for propaganda work of the most vicious character. One item alone, the maintenance of bureaus for dragging men out of munition factories, amounted to many millions of dollars, A wireless message from Berlin to Sa.vville, Long Island, was intercepted and read, as follows:—"Aceordonici. Pay on application to Gehcimr* Heinrich Albert, New York, two million dollars. Notify him. Let us know by wireless when part of payment is. due. Cable receipt of telegram." "Accordonica" is the code word used by both the German Ambassador and Albert in communicating with Berlin and designates the particular account for which the money is to be expended. When confronted on the subject by a newspaper man, Dr. Albert flew into a rage and almost used physical force on the unfortunate scribe, who had to beat a hasty retreat to avoid bloodshed. AMERICAN AEROPLANES FOR ALLIES. Eleven aeroplanes of gigantic proportions, and larger and heavier than any built before, have been contracted for by the Allies. They will be built at Springfield, in Massachusetts, by the inventor, W. W. Christmas, of Washington, an aeronautic expert. The Christmas machine carries fifteen tons of explosives, a crew of from six to twelve men, and. will be fitted with two Dusenberg engines of 800 horse-power each.