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Show SLACKER CHASER GIVEHREGEPTION NEW YORK TURNS OUT TO WELCOME WEL-COME MAN RELEASED FROM GERMAN PRISON Attempt to Bring Grover Cleveland Bergdoll Back to United States Makes Hero of Former Service Man New York, Corliss Hooven Griffis if Hamilton, O., who was released recently from prison in Mosbach, Germany, after serving part of a sentence for complicity in a plot to kidnap Grover Cleve'and Bergdoll, American draft evader, arrived home Sunday on the Albert Eatl'n and was given a reception at city hall. Griffis' parents with a party of friends and representatives of the American legion, went down the bay on the city tug Macom to meet him. They had planned to take him off the steamer and bring him to the Batter' aboard the tug, but through a misunderstanding the Albert Bal-lin Bal-lin pulled in her gangway when ha!f the welcoming committee were j aboard, leaving most of the members mem-bers on the Macom and Griffis Himself Him-self on the liner. When the Albert Ballin reached her pier, Griffis was met by several I members of the reception committee j and escorted to city hall. ' The captain of the Albert Eallin, J explaining the apparent miscarriage of the reception plans, said he had J not been informed that a committee j of welcome intended to take Griffis j to shore. ! Griffis, who posed for the photog-j photog-j raphers with an American fiag in j his hand and the Statue of Liberty 1 as a background, refused to a.ns-.ver ! questions as to who was behind the ! plans to kidnap Eergdoll, or whether j the plot had been laid in the United States before his departure for I Europe as a member of the grave I reistration service, or after his ar-j ar-j rival in France. I Asked whether the United Slates I government was Lack of him, he ! said he did not want to di.-vuss a question that might start an lnlerra-i lnlerra-i tional controversy. . He declared it was an "inspira-' "inspira-' tion" that caused him to go into I Germany after Bergdoll. Quer:eJ as , to who financed the kidnaping ex-j ex-j pcJition that had as part of its e juip-; juip-; meet an American motorcar, three j detectives and a hired chauffeur, he j said the trip didn't cost anything. |