CHARGES AGAINST ARMORPLATE ESTABLISHMENT.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 426, 8 July 1913, Page 2

CHARGES AGAINST ARMORPLATE ESTABLISHMENT.

The Reichstag debate on the ordinary Army Estimates assumed a .sensational character on April 13 and 19 owing to startling revelations sprung on the House by a Socialist member, Dr Liebknecht, eon of a former leader of this party. Dr Liebknecht declared that m steel-plat© works situated at Dillingen, m the Saar district, French capital is employed, and that French shareholders have a potent voice m the management. This establishment has m the past furnished the German Admiralty with plates, etc., and 'has enjoyed large profits from orders. This means that German money has gone to the enrichment of French capitalists, and that German naval plans ran the danger of being divulged m France. ' — Alarming Public Opinion.— Dr Liebknecht further declared tihat the German Munition and Anns Factory, three " years ago, with fabricated news, carried on a 'Press agitation not only m Germany, but m France, with the object' of alarming public opinion m both, countries, and thus creating an atmosphere hostile to peace and m favor of increasing armaments. On April 20 (says the ' Daily. Chronicle's ' correspondent) the 'Vorwaerts' actually gives a copy of the letter which this firm is said to 'have sent to its Paris agent, with a request that the agent was to give an article, which the firm enclosed, to the 'Figaro,' and to do his utmost to get the 'Figaro' to publish it. This article was to the effect the French military authorities had decided to accelerate the supply of their army with new machine guns, and that double the number of these- weapons were to be ordered. Observe, this information was sent about .■-* French armaments by a German firm to ■ a French paper with the object of. having this "news" telegraphed back to Berlin as authentic, and thus creating alarm m German, military circles. At th-a conclusion of the letter to their Paris* representative the firm implore him to exert himself to the utmost to have the aiticle inserted, or an aiticle of similar tendency. .Dr Liebknecht's allegation, of course, is that information is faked, and that as almost all the manufacturers of war material in ' this country are formed into a cartel, or syndicate, it stands to reason that these Press manipulations benefit the entire ring. Dr Liebknecht's fiercest attack dealt with Krupp's fdmous works at Essen. He mentioned that at one time Krupp made overtures to the late ' Emperor Napoleon for business purposes, that some years ago he supplied the American Government with steel plates at £20 a ton less than that charged the German Government for the same goods, and that similar reductions were made to foreign countries when purchasing cannon. — Bribery Bureau.— Further, Dr Liebknecht stated that Krupp's for several years (past, has- maintained i;i Berlin a bureau conducting its business on more or lesß secret methods. Officials of the firm are alleged to have had dealings with military persons m the Ministry of War and elsewhere, from whom they- have obtained information which enabled them to crush all competition among rival firms. The information derived from these military persons, he says, not only dealt -with the tenders of rival firms, <but also with questions of gun^ construction. The allegation is thqß Krupp officials m Berlin were suppliea with large sums, amounting, it is stated, to hundreds of thousands of marks, for^. bribing these military persons, and that* the persons bribed were not only subor- f dinate officials but officials of rank and influence. 'Reports, it is .further alleged, were sent to Essen from Berlin on all these matters- (gun construction, rival tenders> etc.), and were there carefully preserved by Herr von Dewitz, one of the more important of the officials employed by Krupp's. These secret report* have since been confiscated by the police, and are now, it is alleged, m the possession of the . Minister of War or m the hands of authorities entrusted with investigating the entire affair. A number of these reports were handed to the Minister by Dr Liebknecht himself, and it was m consequence of this that the Minister initiated his inquiry. This inquiry is being conducted by a secret military court with jurisdiction over the military persons concerned, and by an ordinary court sitting m camera and dealing with 'civilians concerned. That is a brief statement of the affair as it was .sprung on the Reichstag. General Heeringen (the Prussian Minister of War) was practically unable to offer any satisfactory reply, and it was evident that all parties m the Reichstag were impressed by the — Gravity of the Situation. — All parties felt that at this moment, when such tremendous sacrifices are being demanded from the nation, revelations of , this character are not calculated to increase patriotic fervor or to remove difficulties from the Government's path m pushing their measures through the Imperial Diet. The Minister and friends of , Krupp's are already hard at work endeavoring to give a less shameful aspect to the matter. They declare that only subordinate persons on both sides are concerned, and, instead of exclusively putting their entire energies into discovering whether or * not the charges are true, they are seeking j to ascertain how Dr Liebknecht, of all pev-.y^ sons, got hold of this startling information. On this point they allege that it is a deed of revenge on the part of one of Krupp's employees, who has been dismissed for dishonesty. What people here aa-e asking is : "Ane those enormously wealthy firms, Krupp's, Dillingen, and the others, raking m their 25 to 30 per cent., and alleged to be employing these wholly reprehensible methods of business, to.be permitted to influence public opinion as they are said to have been doing?" In command of enormous funds, with which they are asserted to, have corrupted the Press and military officials, they are at the bottom of the insane cry for increased armaments which we have been hearing lately. Are the hundreds of millions which are now being , demanded by the Government for increased armaments to go into the pockets of .men who are alleged first to create wrongfully an atmosphere of alarm and panic and ■ then profit by it? Dr Liebknecht who has unearthed the scandal, ia member for Potsdam. Some time ago he served a term of imprisonment for anti-militarist propaganda. r

MY DADDY. My.daddy did not go to town Last evening after tea, But got a, book and settled down As comfy as could be. I tell you I was awful glad That daddy was about, To answer all the things I had Been trying to find out.

Photographer: "I have been taki^ 'some moving pictures « of life on yoT *m ' , ai lif r: " Did yoi 1 catch ray men at work?' Photographer; "I think so." farmer: " M\. well, science is a wonderim thing. It w more than I have ever oone." •■■>■"'"