President Wilson said in part of his Flag Day address in June, 1916:

“There is disloyalty in the United States, and it must be absolutely crushed. It proceeds from a minority, a very small minority, but a very active and subtle minority.... If you could have gone with me through the space of the last two years and could have felt the subtle impact of intrigue and sedition, and have realized with me that those to whom you have entrusted authority are trustees not only of the power, but also of the very spirit and purpose of the United States, you would realize with me the solemnity with which I look upon the sublime symbol of our unity and power.”

The President in those few words summed up the conspiracies of the Teutonic Powers aimed at the integrity of the United States. When he made his charge, he had behind him a vast amount of evidence which never has been and never will be made public. He had as proof the details of Germany’s scheme to control the Congress of this nation and to manipulate it in a manner that would have rendered not only the legislative bodies an absolute check to the administrative functions of the Government, but would have dictated the course of the Republic in international affairs just as if the United States were a dependency of the Fatherland.

DISLOYAL CITIZENS

“The subtle and active minority” to which the President made such a sensational reference is a group of Americans—German-Americans swayed by sentiment for Germany and Americans influenced by gold—who have been following the dictation of Teutonic agents in America. They have received orders and sought to carry them out. They have been puppets that worked and argued in the interest of the Central Powers when certain men pulled the strings. They have been active workers in carrying out clever political policies and agitations that were part of schemes devised in Berlin to benefit Germany against her enemy. True, there have been faithful American citizens who have sided with Germany’s arguments—and their loyalty cannot be questioned—but there have been citizens who knowingly worked with German agents against the best interests of the nation. When a man strives and schemes with foreign agents against the honest endeavours of an American official, who is seeking to execute the law, he is guilty not only of disloyalty but of sedition.

From the outset of the war Teutonic agents intrigued to get their clutches upon the Federal legislative body. They schemed to use it as an obstacle to any move by the President. They sought legislation that would prevent the shipment of munitions from this country, that would have prevented the Allies from floating any war bonds in America, and that would have stopped Americans from sailing on passenger vessels of Allied merchantmen. Their aim was to make Congress vote and the President act just as the Emperor of Germany deemed most suitable to the interests of the Fatherland.

To that end they tried to manipulate sentiment among the voters by means of insidious propaganda. They hired lobbyists to work among Representatives and Senators at the National Capitol, and so thoroughly and accurately did these men do their work that the line-up of the House of Representatives and of the Senate was reported almost daily to Berlin on any important legislation bearing on Germany’s interests in the war. They reported the change from day to day of any Congressman’s attitude and the reason therefore. They strove to create a sentiment among the voters so that appeals would pour in upon Congressmen, filling them with fear of defeat at the polls if they did not obey what amounted to the Kaiser’s dictation.

At the start of the European War there began in Congress a vehement debate over the question of imposing a legislative embargo on the shipments of arms and ammunition to the Allies. In these debates men participated who undoubtedly were sincere in the convictions they expressed. Nevertheless, they were button-holed by Americans working for German agents, but all the flowery oratory in favour of “universal peace” proved unavailing.

In the late winter and early spring of 1915, a hireling of the Germans began to seek secret conferences with Congressmen in a Washington hotel and to outline to them plans for compelling an embargo on munitions. Money was mentioned and offers were made to seven or eight different Congressmen. It is charged by Government officials that a large amount of money was spent—but the project was in vain.

UNDERGROUND DIPLOMACY

Meantime, Count von Bernstorff and Dr. Dumba were seeking by diplomatic means to effect a stoppage of the flow of war equipment to the Allies. Each addressed appeals to the Secretary of State and each presented notes from his respective Government protesting against the shipment of munitions as unneutral. Their protests were unavailing and the answers of the Secretary of State were so clear and determined that it became clear to the Teutonic agents that their efforts along such a channel would be without success. Dr. Dumba ascribes the failure of Congress to shut off the export of munitions and the decision of the Administration against the Teutonic Powers, to the President, for in one of his letters to Burian he said in August, 1915:

“As last autumn, he (President Wilson) can always, through his personal influence, either force the House of Representatives to take his point of view against their better judgment, or, on the other hand, in the Senate can overthrow the resolution already voted in favour of prohibiting the export of guns and munitions. In these circumstances any attempt to persuade individual States to vote parallel resolutions through their legislative bodies would offer no advantages apart from the internal difficulties which the execution of this plan presents.”

With that letter Dr. Dumba enclosed a memorandum adroitly suggesting the use of England’s seizure of ships as a means of inciting Americans to support embargo legislation.

“President Wilson” (he wrote) “will not hear of Congress laying an embargo, for the reason, as he clearly explains, that to do so would be unneutral. The result of this is to stultify all attempts at agitation based on embargo. This is a matter entirely in President Wilson’s hands. It is, of course, always possible that, despite the President’s declaration, a resolution might be laid before Congress contemplating the prohibition of the export of munitions as a measure of reprisal against England for her illegal seizure of American ships; but we should indulge in no illusions as to the success likely to attend such an enterprise.”

HOLDING THE CLUB TO CONGRESS

The German agents, as has been told, did not cease their efforts to arouse the sentiment of the country, hoping to force Congress and the President to take steps in the direction that the Germans wished.

The fear which a Representative in Congress has of displeasing his constituents was a factor carefully taken into account by the German agents. Every means of impressing upon a Representative the belief that the men who voted for him wanted an embargo were used. These were the motives behind a plan for holding an embargo conference in the Middle West in the summer of 1915. The details were carefully developed and the conference would have been held had not the secret workings been divulged through the publication of the Albert papers. One letter addressed to Dr. Albert by Herr P. Reiswitz, in Chicago, reveals the scheme in detail and shows that Count von Bernstorff was aware of the inner organization. The letter, dated July 22, 1915, says in part:

“Everything else concerning the proposed embargo conference you will find in the enclosed copy of the report to the Ambassador. A change has, however, come up, as the mass meeting will have to be postponed on account of there being insufficient time for the necessary preparations. It will probably be held here in about two weeks.

“H—— seemed to be very strong for the plan. He told our representative at a conference in Omaha: ‘If this matter is organized in the right way you will sweep the United States.’

“For your confidential information, I would further inform you that the leadership of the movement thus far lies in the hands of two gentlemen (one in Detroit and one in Chicago), who are firmly resolved to work toward the end that the German community, which, of course, will be with us without further urging, shall above all things remain in the background, and that the movement, to all outward appearances, shall have a purely American character. I have known both the gentlemen very well for a long time, and know that personal interest does not count with them; the results will bring their own reward.”

PULLING WIRES BEHIND SCENES

Germans made it a point to get behind resolutions presented to Congress in the early part of 1916 bearing on the submarine controversy. These measures, regardless of the aims of the legislators, had features that would be helpful to Germany in her desire to sink merchantmen on the high seas.

Senator Gore introduced a resolution “to prohibit the issuing of passports for use on vessels of a belligerent country,” and another bill “to prohibit a belligerent vessel from transporting American citizens as passengers to or from ports in the United States and to prohibit American and neutral vessels from transporting American citizens as passengers and contraband of war at one and the same time.” Representative Stephens of Nebraska and Representative McLemore also introduced bills and resolutions of similar character.

This lobbying and other secret propaganda in Congress was designed to render the President powerless in his demands upon Germany to cease torpedoing passenger ships. The Germans almost succeeded in getting Congress to enact resolutions, forbidding Americans to travel on such passenger vessels. While this legislation was under discussion, Berlin was kept accurately informed concerning the attitude of both the House and the Senate on those measures. The schemes of the Germans, however, fell through and President Wilson was upheld in his policy.

After President Wilson had sent his ultimatum to Germany, insisting that the attacks on passenger ships and merchantmen, in violation of the rules of international law, must cease, the entire horde of German propagandists, German spies and German sympathizers were lined up in a countrywide appeal to Congress to maintain diplomatic relations with Germany, no matter what her answer to America’s note might be. By a systematic scheme put into operation throughout the country, thousands of telegrams were sent to members of Congress and of the Senate beseeching harmonious relations with Germany. In the majority of instances these telegrams were according to formula and all the sender had to do was to sign his name to it. The telegraph charges were paid by an organization financed by German agents.

But their pleas were not needed, for Germany, facing at last—after many months of exchange of notes—the anger of the American people, finally yielded on the submarine question and the Lusitania controversy. All of Germany’s legislative propaganda and secret work had been futile. The exposure of the activities of her agents resulted only in causing many neutral Americans to revolt against her.