GREATEST HOAX- OF WAR

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1929, Page 12

GREATEST HOAX- OF WAR

DRAWING NITROGEN FROM AIR CLEVER GERMAN RUSE SUCCEEDS. HEAVY COST CAUSED TO BRITAIN. It is generally admitted that British Intelligence work during the War was as efficient as it is possible for any human agency to be. On one occasion only, writes 'Major Frederick Douglas, in the “Sunday Chronicle,” did the German Government really succeed in beating us at our own game, and on this occasion they not only succeeded in beating us but they cost the already harassed British taxpayer several millions of money.

Not since the citizens of Troy were bluffed by a wooden horse, has a nation been taken in in the way that we were by the cunningly conceived plot of the enemy in inducing us to believe that they had a process for extracting nitrogen from the air. From time to time, reports were received in London from reliable British agents that the Germans were obtaining this all-important product by means of a secret process from the air. The authorities in England were tremendously interested. Nitrogen was allimportant for our munitions, and there was a definite shortage of nitrogen-pro-ducing substances. MONEY NO OBJECT. British agents abroad received instructions to attempt to purchase the process. Money, of course, was no object. They were to procure the formula at all costs. The secret appeared to be closely guarded. Although for weeks we had been striving in every direction, we could get no nearer to it. Then suddenly like a bolt from the blue an offer to sell us the entire formula came from a totally unexpected source in Norway.

Excitement in Whitehall was intense. Chemists, engineers and financial experts crossed the North Sea to “treat” with the vendors.

From Norway they one and all wrote glowing reports of the marvellous process by means of which nitrogen was extracted, from the air.

Weeks of bargaining went on, and ultimately money was lodged in a Dutch bank to be paid over as soon as the British Government were satisfied that the formula was all that it appeared to be.

The price paid was enormous. As the vendors explained, it would hardly be safe for them to draw a royalty from the process, and the only way it could be disposed of was outright. Nevertheless, the British experts were cautious. While on paper the formula looked simple enough, there were still more details which they wanted to know. The vendors appreciated this quite natural desire and replied by building a plant on a small scale. In this they actually did. what was claimed and produced nitrogen irom air. The experts were now convinced. Telegrams were sent to Whitehall and a large percentage of the purchase price was paid over. Overjoyed at the result of their mission, the experts returned to England. One of the foreign chemists —he was alleged to be a Norwegian —agreed to come to England and to place his services at thb disposal of the Government. No more time was wasted. A wellknown armament firm was instructed to build a factory to the plans which the vendors had supplied. The factory when it was finished cost, in all, something over a million pounds.

All was now ready to commence operations. I received instructions to proceed to Norway, where I was to meet the distinguished chemist and to conduct him back’ to England. For some reason which we were unable to understand, he was . strangely reluctant about coming. At first he had been entirely enthusiastic, but now, when all was ready for him, he did nothing but procrastinate. To me, his excuses seemed perfectly reasonable. I supposed him actually to be a German, but I imagined that in view of his traitorous dealings, he feared What action his Government might take against him. A RELUCTANT EXPERT.

I left England with this idea firmly impressed on my mind, and I therefore determined to take elaborate precautions to protect the man’s life. He proved to be a heavy, blustering type of individual. That he was a German there was no question, although he had a Norwegian passport. His excuse for not wishing to fulfil his obligations was an extremely lame one. He said that business interests had since arisen which made it imperative for him to remain in Norway. Instinctively I disliked the man. I did not, of course, believe a word he said, and I began to doubt whether my first theory was correct. Try as I would I could not get him to move. As the days went on it became increasingly obvious to me that there was something wrong; I could find ouit nothing. It was pointed out to the chemist that until he fulfilled his obligations the British Government would refuse to complete their purchase. It was the realisation of this that ultimately caused him to consent to return to England with me.

Even then, before he would sail, he demanded that the British Government should give him a safe conduct to return to Norway whenever he desired, a proceeding which seemed to me to be totally unnecessary. ■ We crossed from Bergen to Newcastle without adventure and the chemist proceeded straightway to the new factory, where he was to superintend his process of extracting nitrogen from the air. - A week later he returned to Norway. I now understand why he had not wished to come to England and his reason for demanding a safe conduct to leave whenever he should desire. The work in the factory was successful up to a point. Nitrogen was extracted from the air, as everybody knew it could be, from the experiments which had been demonstrated in Norway. But there was one important factor which all of the numerous British experts had overlooked. There were certain by-products which were of such a poisonous nature that it was impossible to work the process on a large scale without poisoning every person employed in t'he factory. A number of German firms, with the cognisance of the German Government had successfully perpetrated one of the greatest swindles over before attempted.