Plain Words from America - A letter to a German professor by Douglas W. (Douglas Wilson) Johnson
page 17 of 34 (50%)
page 17 of 34 (50%)
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officials in this country have admitted handling millions of dollars in
illegal operations carried on in defiance of our laws and in insolent disregard of international diplomatic courtesy. Our courts have convicted and sentenced to 18 months' penal servitude three high German officials of the Hamburg-American Steamship Line for a conspiracy to help German warships in defiance of our laws. These officials admitted spending nearly two million dollars of German gold in this illegal work. Our detectives estimate that German authorities have spent twenty-seven million dollars in America alone to influence us against the Allies, to stir up trouble against us in labour circles, and to foment a revolution in Mexico to our embarrassment. Our Government asked that the German Military and Naval Attaches be removed from this country because of their insolent violations of our neutrality, by activities in connection with which they handled immense sums of German gold for the propaganda to influence us against England and in favour of Germany. For every pamphlet, paper, or article sent to me by English, French, Russian, and Italian organisations I get several dozen from German organisations. I get but a few circulars a month from Allied countries. Not a week passes that I do not receive many from German sources. America has been flooded with German propagandist literature; very little ever comes from other countries. Full-page advertisements, paid by German agents, have appeared repeatedly in American papers, urging the merits of Germany's case. I have never seen one on behalf of the Allies. All over New York City, before I left for my summer vacation, were giant posters on the billboards, put there by a pro-German society, urging the people to ask President Wilson to stop the exportation of arms to Germany's enemies. I have never seen one poster of any kind put up by friends of the Allies. Indeed, America has been so deluged with German propaganda and German-paid advertisements, and requests for money |
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