The Web : $b The Authorized History of the American Protective LeagueHough, Emerson
History
The Web : $b The Authorized History of the American Protective League
Hough, Emerson
American Protective League; Propaganda, German; World War, 1914-1918 -- Secret service -- United States
Captain Lester showed that the group sent to America had definite
instructions. One was to deal with commercial matters, another with
political, and a third leader was to take up the South American and
Mexican relations. General headquarters in New York were at 1123
Broadway, arrangements having been made for these quarters in advance.
The Hamburg-American Company, whose status toward us in the war is now
notorious, took charge of the first work of the German Press Bureau.
The original artist in this labor was replaced by a newspaper man,
whose salary from Germany was later discovered to have been $15,000. A
former major of the United States, once a newspaper man, was declared
to have been hired at $40 a week to report to these German headquarters
any confidential interviews he might have with Washington officials.
The Lutheran church propaganda was brought definitely before the
Overman Committee. Dr. Albert and Dr. Fuhr had this form of propaganda
in charge. Captain Lester said that there are about six thousand
Lutheran congregations in the United States, with a membership of
nearly 3,000,000, and that the propaganda was directed through pastors
who had been born in Germany, or were alien enemies, or were of German
parentage. There were over one thousand two hundred individual cases
investigated. Readers of these pages will recall a few instances of
the work of the American Protective League in looking into these
many instances of disloyalty. Captain Lester said: “We have found in
localities that the word had gone down the line to groups of clergymen
that they were to preach sermons in favor of Germany, and that this
had been done. I investigated a case in New York where the clergyman
admitted to me he had received instructions to preach such a sermon.
From August, 1914, to April, 1917, in hundreds of Lutheran churches,
the continuous preaching was in favor and hope of German victory.”
It transpired that British Military Intelligence had in possession a
great mass of documents taken by General Allenby in the capture of
Nazareth. These were found among the effects of that Major Franz von
Papen who once had been military attache in Washington, and whose
name has become more or less familiar through some of the disclosures
regarding von Bernstorff and his activities.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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