Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-05-26 | Page 2 | German Effort for Revolt in Ireland Bared

en EFFORT FOR REIT IN 11ANDHFD Kaiser's Untiring Plans to Cause Uprising by Aid of Sinn Fein Told by-Press by-Press Bureau. SUBMARINE BASE IS PROVIDED FOR Revolution Sought After Successful Drive and England Eng-land Stripped of All Ready Soldiers. LONDON", .May 25. Germany's untiring un-tiring efforts to foment revolution in Ireland with the aid of the Sinn Fein are laid baro in a statement from the official press bureau, reviewing this phase of tho Irish political situation since the beginning of tho war. Aftor tho abortivo rebellion of Master week, 1910, plans wcro made for a revolt re-volt in 1917, but this miscarried because be-cause of Amorica's entry into the war and Germany's inability to send troops to Ireland. An uprising in Ireland was planned for this year aftor the German offensive in the west had been successful success-ful and when Great Britain presumably would be stripped of troops. Concerning the recent arrests in Ireland, Ire-land, tho statement says that facts and documents, for obvious reasons cannot be disclosed at this time, nor can the means of communication between Germany Ger-many and Ireland. One phase of every plan called for the establishment of submarine bases in Ireland. In tho present circumstances, it is addod, no other course was open to the government "if useless bloodshed blood-shed was to be avoided and its duties to its allies fulfilled, but to intern the authors and abettors -of this criminal intrigue. " Two Phases Noted. priest was a certain Father .John T. Nicholson, an American citizen of Irish birth. He reached Germany safely and we find him in January, 1915, transmitting messages to America. "According to a report of Captain von Papon (Germany military attache in Washington), dated December 5, 1914, verbal ussurances were sent in response to Casement's request that an excellent impression hao been produced in Ireland. In the beginning of 19IH the plot ripened and on February 10 of that year Count von Hernstorff sent to a covering address in Rotterdam a dispatch signed with the name of Skal, one of his principal American agents. "The dispatch included an extract from the report of John Devoy, head of the Clan-na l iael, to the effect that action ac-tion in Ireland could not be postponed much longer since he feared the arrest of the leaders. It had been decided, he said to begin action on Faster Saturday and he urged that arms and munitions ho in Limerick by that date. Message by Bernstorff. "Von Bernstorff surreptitiously attached at-tached a message to Berlin, passed by the American government, a note fixing Faster Saturday for the rising and urging the dispatch of munitions in time. On March 4, Von .7m ow (German (Ger-man foreign minister), replied that the arms would be lauded in Traleo bay and asked that tho necessary arrangements be made in Ireland through Devoy. On March 14, Von Bernstorff replied that the Irish agreed. "The next day von Bernstorff telegraphed tele-graphed tho code to be used between tho Germans and the rebels while the arms were in transit and explained that a submarine might safely enter Dublin bay and go as far as Pigeon House without encountering nets. "On March 26, von Jagow replied that the arms would bo sent and that a special code word would be used every night as the introduction to the German wireless press service. Tn a message from von Bernstorff to Berlin, the Germans Ger-mans wore assured that thore were numerous nu-merous private wireless receiving stations sta-tions irt Ireland. "On April 18 and April 19 messages were sent from America to Berlin fixing the delivery of arms for the evening of F.aster Sunday, pressing for the landing of German troops and asking for an air raid on England and a naval attack on tho English coast. These attacks actually actual-ly took place between April 24 and 26. "It was declared to bo the hope of the rebels and their German and American Amer-ican friends to blockade the Irish ports against England and establish bases in Ireland for German submarines. "Tho rebellion broke out a day later than scheduled on Easter Monday, April 24, but, as the world is aware, German support miscarried and it ended in com-pleto com-pleto failure. The report of the royal commission on the rebellion in Ireland stateB: " '.It is now a matter of common notoriety no-toriety that the Irish volunteers had been in communication with the authorities au-thorities in Germany and were for a long time known to have been supplied with mone3' through Irish-American societies. so-cieties. This was so stated in public by John MacNeil (former president of the Sinn Fein), on November 8, 1914. It was suspected long before the outbreak lrf orTi.n nf flirt mnnpv pump frnm Cinr- man sources.' "The evidence on this subject in possession pos-session of the British government provides pro-vides the clearest proof of these suspicions. sus-picions. "It became clear very soon after the rising that the Sinn Fein leaders again were asking Germany for help. On .Tune 1". there was a message from Berlin Ber-lin to Washington referring to 'A259 of Mav 6, ' a message which is missing, and saying that Germany was perfectly ready to give further help if the Irish would only say what sort of help they required." the statement Irom tho press Bureau follows: "The revolutionary movement in Ireland, which culminated in the arrest of a considerable number of persons last week consisted of two closely related re-lated series of activities; . "A Attempts by the German government gov-ernment to foment rebellion in Ireland and "B Preparations made in Ireland to carry these attempts into action. "The story ot the active connection connec-tion between the -leaders, of tho Sinn Fein movement and the Germans, as disclosed by documents in possession of the British government falls into two parts the period prior to and the period pe-riod since the abortive Irish rebellion of Easter, 1916. ' ' The events of the first period can be told in some detail, but the second period, which concerns recent events, permits of no more than a summary. Begins in 1916. "The Btory begins as early as November No-vember 6, 1914, when Herr Zimraermann transmitted through Count von Bernstorff Bern-storff a message, from Sir Roger Casement Case-ment (later executed), asking that a messenger, a native-born American, if possible, be sent to Ireland with word that everything was favorable. He was to carry no letter for fear of arrest. Casement also asked that an Irish priest should bo sent to Germany with tho assistanco of the German legation in Norway to work in prison camps to corrupt Irish prisoners of war. This