SECRET PRINTS STOLEN BY SPIES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14448, 7 November 1917, Page 5

SECRET PRINTS STOLEN BY SPIES.

■'; HUNS BALL INTO TRAP; ._\ j '-■ '"' "■*■.■'." 7*NE"WVYdRK,^Sept. '28. .The theft by German' spies df the plans and finished parts of- -one Of the destructive; engines- of • war that American genius is .working on, was the cause of ...the arrest of >0 Germans late on Wednesday; might, aiid early yesterday morning. V Ih tne hom.es of many of ".-.these Germans .were ..f^uni-I- blueprint plans of. the •invention "which.'- was sup : po^ed' to be- jealously ■guarded; and which w^s- intended, 'at least its inventor- and .'the- Govtrnme'nt thbuight ' so^- to 'pia.y a hig"-part'iii.>n4ihg7the:U-boat war. ;• U."his-, leads, to -the belief Vthe Germans arb Yvorkiiig on the torpedo .defector w.|iibh'Ut.''iiß..'saic\ ?, 'ha's./ v bee-j'' perfected;ibj ait American '; inventor. And!; in "sonic ofrythe homes of* these Germa/h -^ies were •found . the'-.fim-hed. parts, of : this great de>tructive';e'ngiiie of war. . .In* the homes bf^othersVwer.e f p.uhd m German ; and -English, ' some, of , them , ir eotfe. .' Oii .'these last,,- code * experts -.'.from the Unite.d,> -States .navy .were working V6"ne room, m police he;a^quaj!.ters /ty*here\ the .Germans were brought •'." and .^d&taifted ( .until thiey :• were .interned oh . Ellis Island,V*was filled .with documents, seized, by- the .'raiders. • • iSeyeral •'. weeks ~ ago the .-, Government h^d information .that. German spies wer< occupying' confidential • positions m ithe factory where the invention was made, Investigation orivthe-part Vof secret iervipe ; agents •'developet- the fact- that ' the place^ was honeycombed Ayith natives oi Ger'ihany ancl i-oyal -Vsubjec-s.vof T .the, Kaiser, . Threej -of Vthe.VbiggestV executive positions ,ii}..;the' plant < were held hy Gfermans., ,'Pne;qf. the -chiefs of the draught ing department;, was 'a , German subject Another German-; subject, was foremar of, one of -the machine shops. Still Van other German' subject was. one of : . 'the aiiles ;of : . the. ■'; general sup.erihtenden.t (> 'd\ tlije 'pliant.} 'When. Government .'agent. called the ?atte)ntioh on of e -of the direc toj'S of ther,.p]ant toVthe fact tliat niahy GeWmah .subjects were employed- m the plant an'eiji suggested, that;, there be* German, spies among, them," the', direc. tor" m gu<jstjOh w^s incensed tha"*.- anyone would lidtjlre to suggest, that any of his employees could be disloyal. ' . After this little conference the Government, through the Intelligence Department of the nayy 7 and Department off Justice, working m conjunction with the New York, city Police Department* set a trap fpr ;the. Germans. VThe trap was a simple one. ,It riterely erit-iiled the employment an this Jplt*jnt pfjloyiiLAmpricans, some 'of German bir'th;;-7.,Sqme these, German-born citizens were: Social Pejmbcrats ''-'in, '.'their, own .country, and lilsje their leader, Karl Liebknecht, fo.es of '■■ P^iigaiar. \l'y AXy' Y-■'-These,' men- playedYtheir parts well;, | In- short; order :thpy.;.^ere .admit'tM hito I the confidences of German spies working i in .the,*plan,fe"> These German spies cpnfespedi'to them that ; the;'f . had purloined the hlheprints .showing! the m- detail. Others whjspere'd thattheyrhad

at t heir homes parts of the invention. And others confided over a stein of beer thiat other inventions made at the plant, now used by the United States and her Allies m the war against Prussianism, 'wene >ii_. their possession.*- --' The 'round-up oh Wednesday night 'yesterday' proved the ' trutli of those confessions, and the tangible proof of the activities of the Willi elmstrasse agents covered the floor of a room m : police headquarters . yesterday. TJiere were mere than 200 detectives used. To each the following instructions were given: "Hans Schmidt lived at 9 Blank street. He 4s an enemy alien. Arrest ; him. Use whatever force is necessary.. , Look, especially for blueprints, maps, and all sorts of documents. Seize all . you find. Search all furniture that may be used as places of concealment. Rip y iip carpets. Examine mattresses,, ticks, • pillows, and anything else that might '. be used as a hiding place for papers. , Seize all pieces of machinery and tools. i If there is a safe m the house, one of ! your '-men must guard it until it is opened and the contents recovered by <:■ yoii or/some other officer known to you. The -Germans were grilled immediately on their arrival. What, if any- , thinjr'7 was : learned, from them, was not divulged, although -it is said some; of the blueprints and plans Twere those of , factories m the United States . wh-ch are employed m making war supplies, and which it is bejieved were "to. have been blown up. Most _. of the Germans arrested were skilled mechanics. Others were draughtsmen and executives; But far more important, arrests are expected ' as the T.e- --: ptilfc of the contents of the .documents found m the homes* of the prisoners. . W nether any of the purloined blueprints of • ' the jealously invention .reached Germany is not, known. " 'mmmtmmmm^mmmmmmmmmm.