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Show i m SOUGHT 1 1 II. S. IBM I FOR PUBLICITY 8 i g WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 Alexander JKonta, of New York, named by Alien Property Custodian Palmer as an ' sfgent in negotiations through vhich fthe German government sought to buy newspapers in this country before the United States entered the war, adniit-. adniit-. rjod to a senate committee today that jlie had communicaed with Dr. Bcr-ihard Bcr-ihard Dcrnburg, German propagandist : $ph the subject of the purchase of a New York newspaper. The Qonimit-ttec Qonimit-ttec is investigating brewers' activi- J-ties and German propaganda. 1, Konta paid he wrote to Dr. Dern-Sberg Dern-Sberg on the subject and that he was inspired by a desire to help the kaiser's kais-er's representatives carry out his plans 4'o get publicity for Germuny; to get ' a' newspaper that would be hostile to prohibition and to earn a commission. I F-- "i desired to aid Dr. Dernburg to Jget the paper in order that he would fyi'ave an opportunity to lay before the i jAmerican people " I -"German propaganda," interrupted ! Senator Nelson of Minnesota. "He granted the paper, not for himself, but !i -Jsr the German government and lie i nvas K German agent. Isn't that true?" j ; "He must have been." replied Kon-I Kon-I ' "The witness, who stoutly denied he i '-over had been disloyal to America, J ,also said ho had written in 1915 to SDr. Heinnerich F. Albert, then attache I of the German embassy here and well jtfhown as a propagandist, regarding an offer of 1,000 to be made to any persons who could prove that mis-; mis-; statements were mado In the German rgenerSl staff's daily official war an- snouncemenis. Konta saui nib unui TSever was made. ' ' ' Other testimony before the commit-' 'See today was that Count von Bern-Btbrff, Bern-Btbrff, the former German ambassador, J riiad visited the officers of the Amerl-, 'can Association of Foreign Language Newspapers in New York in March, i ;915, and that Immediately afterwards I i :an advertising campaign to prevent the i 'manufacture of munitions in this coun-j coun-j try for the allies was started. I vLouis N. Hammerllng, president of fffiis association, which paid 200,00(1 j 'for the advertising campaign, testified testi-fied yesterday that he did not know Ivon Bernstorff. It also was in evidence evi-dence today that Hanimerling had directed di-rected that Captains Boy-Ed and von ; JEapen, naval and military attaches at h .ih'e German embassy, be called on the i, telephone for him. I I JThe witness offering this testimony li 'jjyjis Arthur Gabryel, former vico- ;president of the association. Gabryel I said it was the general belief among 'rPoles that Hammerling was in the pay ' the Austrian government and that I . jKffien he informed Hammerling of this I I attthe latter called him in and told , hlm to keep his mouth shut, saying l that "what people don't know won't I hurt them." I After that Gabryel said he received 500 or 1,000 extra in his pay envelope. envel-ope. Such extra payments, he testified,- were not unusual. ! In his testimony before the com-I com-I mlttee, Konta told of meeting Hans j rTa"uscher, charged with participation J in the attempt to blow up the Welland .canal and of his association with Tau-ischer Tau-ischer and his wife, Madam Gadski, a i .grand opera singer, both of whom he (Said were "one hundred per cent pro-! pro-! iGerman." Konta read a prepared statement to fthe' committee In which, he denied bell! be-ll! rig disloyal and discovered his or-fji or-fji ganlzation of the American-Hungarian 11; Loyalty league under the auspices of Hi the committee on public information. I References to Dernburg, Albert and hi other German agents were brought out tj! by Major E. Lowry Humies in. charge B; of tho Investigation for the committee. If Kbnta said he had been pro-Ger-' man up to the lime of the sinking of f the Lusitania but his views underwent 1' another change, ho said, when Russia I started its advance in Transylvania, j He was anxious to see an Independent j Hungary, he declared, and the advance 3 of Russia toward Budapest caused his i I belief In the ultimate success of an I I independent Hungary to weaken. j In his prepared statement Konta l described different investigations of j his affairs by the government agencies, ii including the district attorney's office fl. in New York and the military Intel-lifl! Intel-lifl! ligence department, In all of which, ho M-j said, he was informed by those who f jj initiated the investigation that they I) 1 had been unable to obtain any data jj, relative to any disloyal acts or utter-lj! utter-lj! ances by him. |
