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Show bi mm OF III WEIL IT HUNJGENTS Witness Testifies Rifles Were Smuggled From Krupp Works to "Germanize" "Ger-manize" United States. TESTIMONY IS ALL INDEFINITE Government Offer to Purchase Pur-chase Firearms and Ammunition Am-munition Has Not Been Met. NEW YORK, May 14. Inquiry by the state attorney general's office today into reports of hoarding of ammunition in the United States by German agents developed devel-oped testimony by New York brokers and others that they doubted the existence of 1,000,000 Mauser rifles and 1,000,000,000 cartridges which they had tried to buy or sell. One of the witnesses, Edgar A. Holmes of New York, testified that he had been Informed by James H. Crossley that the rifles had been smuggled from the Krupp works at Essen and would be used in an effort to "Germanize" the United States if the Germans should capture the channel chan-nel ports. Gustav Trussing, who was born in Schleswig-Holstein and was naturalized thirty years ago, was mentioned most often of-ten in the testimony. Most of the witnesses wit-nesses testified that he tried to sell the rifles, but one claimed that he had tried to buy 250,000. Lusslng was at the hearing under subpoena. It is understood he will testify later. Special efforts were made by Deputy Attorney General Becker to learn the names of Dussing's principals. William H. Ford, lawyer for Dussing, said that Lusslng had withheld the names of the principals at all times. Ford had several clashes with Deputy Attorney General Becker, and concluded his testimony by saying: "I want to resent the implication that I am a Benedict Arnold. A great grandfather grand-father was the last ancester of mine to come to this country. There is not gold enough in New York or Germany to buy me!" Aptnesses Testify. y Various witnesses testified to having heard reports that the rifles were stored in forty different parts of the United States. V The most definite testimony as to the Sior.ation of the rifles was given by Fran-cV Fran-cV Lt. Judd, a New York mining engineer, engi-neer, who had sought to buy them for the Russian government. A man whose name he said he did not recall took him to a storehouse on Liberty street, east side, Manhat tan. he said, and snowed him an old Gatling gun, a couplo of old Colts, a one-pound field piece and cases said to contain rifles and cartridges. Three cases were open. Five rifles were in each. One was unwrapped. It apparently ap-parently was a Mauser, the witness said. Judd left the hearing with a secret service ser-vice agent to try to identify the building. The testimony revealed that all efforts .to bpy or sell the rifles had ceased two months ago, when the United States, through Major Nicholas Biddle of the army intelligence bureau, tried to buy them. Major Biddle attended the hearing. hear-ing. Robert T. Tucker, a tanner of Charles-Ion, Charles-Ion, S. C, testified of hearing of the rifles through acquaintance with Russians Rus-sians In business. Judd told Tucker, he said, he had seen cannon and rifles at a warehouse in Brooklyn. According to the witness, a New York lawyer finally told him the rifles had been sold. "I am thoroughly convinced that those rifles are in this country and that Lusslng Lus-slng knows where they are," said Tucker at the close of his examination. Identifies Letters. Kdgar A. Holmes of this city, a witness, wit-ness, credited the reports to a man named James H. Crossley. Holmes, a broker, trlod to buy the rifles, but -was unsuccessful, unsuc-cessful, he said. During the negotiations, hei said. Crossley told him that some I. 000,000 rifles had been imported from lissen, via the Hoboken docks of two German steamship companies, and wore in be used in the United States, if the Germans were successful In reaching; the Kngllsh channel ports. Mr. Holmes identified a copy of a letter written by himself offering to sell 1,000,-000 1,000,-000 Mausers and 1,000,000,000 cartridges, The letter, dated June 9, was addressed to D' Thomas Darlington of New York, Normer health commissioner. Uolmes testified he had never seen the ftrStfos. but had talked with an engineer names Francis L. Judd. who said he had een boxes containing 280,000 rifles. Two months ftgO, Holmes said, the United States tried to buy them, but they were not produced. Holmes had been in touch with United States officials throughout the negotiations, he said. Gustave Lussing was named by Holmes is the man who was said by various in-termediaries in-termediaries to be able to deliver the goods. Judd told Holmes the rifles had been in an east side warehouse in New York and had been removed, but were within an automobile ride of an hour and a half from Broadway. Russian Agent Implicated. Charles H. Murray, a hotel owner of Washington, D. C.. testified he had heard of the existence of the rifles through a Russian agent, Ivan Norodny, who claimed they had been taken to an upstate up-state New York farm and that he had shot one of them himself. Norodny said Lussing had a farm at Woodbury Flails and that a party of German officers, including in-cluding Captain Hans Tauscher, had visited vis-ited it after dining at the German club in New York. Through Norodny, Murray met Lussing and was shown an itemized statement of the rifles hidden as follows fol-lows : Forty thousand Mauser guns, 250,000 cartridges, 100,000 carbines, 1000 rounds of cartridges, 1,000,000 rifles and 600 machine ma-chine guns. Lussing, according to the witness, said they were stored in forty different places In the United States. William H. Ford, attorney for Lussing, testified that he did not believe the rifles existed now, because Lusslng had received re-ceived no answer from his principals in regard to an offer for the rifles made in behalf of the United States government by Major Nicholas Biddle of the army intelligence in-telligence bureau months ago. Lussing had never told who his principals prin-cipals were. Ford said, and he had concluded con-cluded the owners were Philadelphia parties, par-ties, and that the rifles were in that city. "I had always believed these guns existed," ex-isted," said Ford, "but never heard until this hearing that they had been smuggled from Germany. I had always supposed they were made by Americans." Owners German-Am ericatis. Lussing, agent for the rifles, at the request re-quest of Mr. Becker gave Ford permission to describe their relations. Ford described Lussing as a ioyal American citizen and1 said ho had been naturalized thirty years ago. Lussing is a native of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. "Do you believe the rifles exist now?" Ford was asked. "From the fact that these people have an offer from the government and don't answer, I conclude either that these rifles don't exist or these principals are trying to joust Lussing out of his commission," he replied. Ford testified that he and Lussing decided de-cided to divide two million profits on the sale of ?7S. 000,000 worth of rifles and cartridges. The lawyer added that his client cli-ent had a farm In New Jersey and had been interested In monorail and coke oven projects. Hartford T. Marshall, a New York lawyer, law-yer, testified that Lussing had told him the owners of the rifles were German -Americans, who would not reveal their names because of fear of endangering their reputations. Marshall sought to buy rifles from Lussing for his clients, Mc-Caffery Mc-Caffery and Rogers of Toronto, but concluded con-cluded from his interviews with Lussing thatjio such rifles existed. Lussing told Marshall, the lawyer testified, that if he were shown a sample of the guns a piece of paper would be pasted over a certain distinguishing mark. Marshall received the Impression that a Mr. Richards of Philadelphia either was one of the principals prin-cipals or represented them. |