CAPTAIN VON PAPEN.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144856, 7 December 1915, Page 5

CAPTAIN VON PAPEN.

THE ARCHIBALD SEIZURE 1 ?. GERMAN INTRIGUE EXPOSED.

The German dispatches found on Mr. Archibald by the British, authorities on his arrival at Falmouth for conveyance from America to Germany, wero concerned mainly with the results of an unfortunate accident which befell Privy Councillor Dr. Albert, Financial Adviser of the German Embassy. He lost a packet of important documents on the New York Elevated Railway, the principal contents of which wero published by the New York World. The incident is recounted in the following extract from a letter of Captain Von Papen, Gorman Military Attache, to his wife:— W 7 e have great need of being “bucked up,” as they say here. Since Sunday a new storm lias been raging against us—and because of .what I’m sending you a few cuttings from the newspapers that will amuse you. Unfortunately they stole a fat portfolio from our good Albert in the Elevated (English secret service, of course!), of -which the principal contents have been published. You can imagine the sensation among the Americans!

Unfortunately there wero some very important things from my report among them, such as the buying up of liquid chlorine and about tho Bridgeport Projectile • Company, as well as documents regarding the buying up of phenol (from which explosives are made) and the acquisition of the Wright’s aeroplane patent. But things like that must occur. I send you Albert’s reply for you to see how we protect ourselves. We composed tho document together yesterday. It seems quite likely that we shall meet again soon. The sinking of the Adriatic (sic) may well be tho last' straw. I hope in our interest that tho danger will blow over. ATTACHE’S REPORT TO BERLIN.

Captain Von Papen’s report of August 20 to tho Ministry of War at Berlin on the World’s disclosures contains the following:— That Washington was aware of the imminent publication and were asked as to its utility cannot bo doubted. Evidence of this is shown in the suppression of all political papers. To what tho inducements of the Washington Government with regard to the publication were, the World gives tho clue in their article of yesterday's date, in which it is clearly stated that tho Government hero thought to put pressure by this publication on thd decision of the Imperial Government with regard to the Lusitania question. His Excellency the Imperial Ambassador has also indicated this point of view in drafting his memorandum to tho State Department. Apart from the political influences, the consequences of the publications affect us from a business point of view. Bridgeport Projectile Company.— The report of the treasurer of this society of June 30, which 1 forwarded on July 13 to tho Imperial War Office, was among the stolen papers. The statement published in the newspapers of tho president of tho Etna Explosives Company, that ho wished to repudiate tho powder contract with the Bridgeport Projectile Company, is naturally only newspaper gossip, and was weakened yesterday by a new announcement ot the firm. I do not think that the manufacturers will put many difficulties in our way with regard to the delivery of tho presses, for the careful phrasing of tho contract makes an attack upon tho Projectile Company, under the well-known Sherman Law, out of tho question, and the view that tho manufacturers had thought! that tho consignments wore intended for the Allies—that is to say, that wo obtained tho contracts under false pretences—is not strong enough from a legal point of view to expose the manufacturers to the expenses and consequences ot a legal action. The only actual damage consists therein, that the Russian and English Commission broke off their negotiations with the Bridgeport Projectile Company at once, and accordingly our prospect* of preventing other firms here from .embarking on the supply of war material by tie undertaking and the non-delivery of a shrapnel contract have come to nothing. PURCHASE OF CHLORINE. The purchase of phenol by Dr. Schweitzer from tho Edison Company, which wy.s discovered at the same time, has been settled by the public declaration that this phenol was only to be used for medicinal purposes. Most of all, our attempts with regard to the purchase of liquid chlorine have been hindered, as any control (“Bindung”) of tho Castner Chemical Company, which is friendly to England, through a middleman seems now out of the question, I will make use of the means put n't my disposal (information of Mr. Grithen) in order to come to an agreement with tho ElectroBleaching Gas Company. Tho culminating point of all attacks against us lies in tho assertion of the “unstraightforwardnoss and deceit” of German policy which, on the on© hand, carries on - with all the means at its disposal a propaganda for'the prohibition of the export of arms, and, on the other, secretly purchases war material for Germany. This accusation could not better be refuted than by the publication of tho memorandum which the Imperial Ambassador already on June 12 addressed to this Government at my request. . It is worthy of note that m reply to tho telegraphic request of his Excellency to the State Department to be good enough to publish this memorandum, the reply was; ‘ ‘Wo cannot find it, please send a copy.” ,- The existence of tho memorandum is evidence beyond all doubt that, in the first place, the purchase of war material by us was a consequential part of our propaganda for the prohibition of the export of war material, and that, in tho second place, our action mot in the widest sense the views ot the United States Government with regard to strengthening their own fighting power at the present moment. From this point of view the publication can only be regarded as advantageous. FILMS FROM GERMANY. In a cipher message addressed to the Chief of tho General Staff, Berlin, CapMain You Papon onclosefi the following

information, “which should, if correct, bo of great interest”: — _ A short while ago one of the officials of the British Consulate in Philadelphia came into M ‘Donald’s office and went through a number of bills of lading with him. I heard film mention the following names:—Carteret Copper Wire Company: New Jersey Pump Works, Elizabethport, N..J.; Crocker and Wheeler, Newark, N.J.; Jinzer and Co.The Englishman then tried to interest M’Donald in the “Chaplin Film Company.” Ho showed him an ordinary photograph of a peasant woman with a child on her. left and another lying on her right arm. When he hasi, by the aid of a chemical, removed all the* colour which covered the whole picture, clearer markings and shadings, which were very cleverly drawn in with a pencil, became visible. The woman was now wearing a dress of check material. Ho explained that the squares of the material wero a measure of distance, while the positions taken by the mother and children indicated the dispositions of the German array. For example, the child’s right foot was crossed over its left, which would mean “The Germans are crossing ” ; and the child had. taken hold of tho mother’s dress, the position of its hand indicating tho spot where the crossing was taking place. He stated that the “Chaplin Film Company” had prepared the photographs, and that some of their best workmen were employed on this work in Germany. Ho also mentioned the name of Herbert Corey in this connection, and said that lie had a large block of shares in the business. Ho further stated that these photographs were never stopped by the censor, andbad on many occasions been of great service to Germany’s enemies. AMMUNITION FOR NORWAY. Among other documents given to Mr. Archibald by Captain Von Papeni was the following letter, addressed to tho Ministry of War, Berlin:— News has recently been received! here from various quarters that the Netherlands Government and the Norwegian Government are buying war materials, such as powder, toluol, otc. I humbly- request the Royal Ministry of War to inform me it it has no objection to the sale of war, material by us to the said countries in the event of these Governments or 1 their representatives hero giving i guarantees that the goods will not bo resold. I think that probably t i could dump on the Norwegian Gov-1 eminent (“an die norwegische Regie-1 rung abstossen”) a great part of tbej Lehigh Coke Company’s toluol, which: is lying here useless. j Four of tho dispatches were in cipher. Appended to one of these (sent by Cap-1 tain Von Papen) was the following cryptic mcesago:— All internal questions hero togcthore with Irish Catholic movements place serious problems in way outside of existing difficulties. No encouraging news from India or Australia. Anti-Jap. feeling has not abated as was expected Australia.