lse clearances and
manifests for vessels chartered to provision, from American ports,
German cruisers engaged in commerce destroying. The prosecution
proceeded on the belief that the Hamburg-American activities were
merely part of a general plan devised by German and Austrian
diplomatic and consular officers to use American ports, directly and
indirectly, as war bases for supplies. The testimony in the case
involved Captain Boy-Ed, the German naval attache, who was named as
having directed the distribution of a fund of at least $750,000 for
purposes described as "riding roughshod over the laws of the United
States." The defense freely admitted chartering ships to supply German
cruisers at sea, and in fact named a list of twelve vessels, so
outfitted, showing the amount spent for coal, provisions, and charter
expenses to have been over $1,400,000; but of this outlay only $20,000
worth of supplies reached the German vessels. The connection of
Captain Boy-Ed with the case suggested the defense that the implicated
officials consulted with him as the only representative in the United
States of the German navy, and were really acting on direct orders
from the German Government, and not under the direction of the naval
attache. Military necessity was also a feasible ground for pleading
justification in concealing the fact that the ships cleared to deliver
their cargoes to German war vessels instead of to the ports named in
their papers. These ports were professed to be their ultimate
destinations if the vessels failed to meet the German cruisers. Had
any other course been pursued, the primary destinations would have
become publicly known and British and other hostile warships
patrolling the seas would have been on their guard. The defendants
were convicted, but the case remained open on appeal.

About the same time the criminal features of the Teutonic propaganda
engaged the lengthy attention of a Federal Grand Jury sitting in New
York City. A mass of evidence had been accumulated by Government
agents in New York, Washington, and other cities. Part of this
testimony related to the Dumba and Von Papen letters found in the
Archibald dossier. Another part concerned certain revelations a former
Austrian consul at San Francisco, Dr. Joseph Goricar, made to the
Department of Justice. This informant charged that the German and
Austrian Governments had spent between $30,000,000 and $40,000,000 in
developing an elaborate spy system in