of course only available for a short time, and, as soon as
they came under English suspicion and were consequently rendered
useless, had to be replaced by others.

The reproach that has been made from time to time that these enterprises
were confined to a small clique of confidential persons and firms
seems to be unjustified by the facts. The circumstances demanded the
closest possible secrecy, for otherwise the origin and destination
of the cargoes would have been discovered by the English secret
service before they left New York. This would have involved the
complete loss of the cargo as a result of the English embargo.
That firms already engaged, even though for a short time, in
German-American commerce could not be considered is obvious. Not only
were they known to the English, but in some cases their German names
already laid them open to suspicion. Accordingly, their occasional
requests that they should carry through enterprises of this nature
were consistently refused. This criticism is only made by a small
circle of German-American firms grouped round the German Union and
the so-called German-American Chamber of Commerce, and originated
in an anxiety, understandable but based on an inadequate knowledge
of the facts, to participate in the undertakings.

Although the export of raw material did not actually come within
the scope of Herr Albert's original commission, it often became
necessary, at special request or from the nature of the case, to
lend a helping hand in the export of raw material, particularly
wool and cotton. In this way, in the autumn of 1914, the American
steamer _Luckenbach_ was successfully run through direct to Germany
with several million pounds of wool on board. With regard to cotton,
Herr Albert, also in the autumn of 1914, by negotiations which he
carried on through me with the State Department and the Foreign
Trade Adviser, succeeded in obtaining English recognition that
cotton should not be regarded as contraband of war. Even after
this recognition, England made the export of cotton practically
impossible by intimidating the cotton exporters in every possible
way, among others by spreading the rumor that the ships would be
captured nevertheless, and by prohibiting English insurance companies
from underwriting such cargoes. Here Herr Albert intervened by
effecting the insurance through German insurance companies, and
proved by the loading and arming of cotton ships, e.g., the American