1916 to corrupt
a messenger of our Press Bureau in New York, one Alfred Hoff, whose
daily duty it was to take newspaper cuttings to Councillor Albert's
office. Two of his people stopped this boy in the street and invited
him to the British Consular offices; here he was received by the
Captain himself, who showed him a bag filled with bank notes and
promised him a liberal reward, if he would undertake to obtain
some letters from Dr. Fuehr's desk. Hoff pretended to fall in with
this suggestion, but at once informed his employer of the incident.
The Captain then made a second effort to bribe Hoff by the promise
of a money reward for every document from the Press Bureau, and
also a ride in a motor for the letters which it was his duty to
take from the Bureau to the German Embassy at Cedarhurst, during
the coming summer. One of the British agents told Hoff that he would
be well paid if he handed over the letters of Dr. Fuehr, which he
often used to seal and frank, and also certain other documents of
a specially confidential nature. Dr. Fuehr finally put an end to
this unsavory episode, which had been fully investigated by private
detectives, by publishing a detailed account of the whole affair in
the Hearst papers. At the same time he brought the matter before
the Public Prosecutor, who, however, was unwilling to interfere in
the matter unless it should be further discussed in the Press. This
limited comprehension of duty Dr. Fuehr could hardly be expected
to agree with.

During my encounters at this time with the Entente, I entirely lost
any respect I may previously have felt for their moral character,
which was reputed to be so high. I came then to realize that we
could expect nothing better from them in the hour of our defeat,
than a Peace of Versailles, which would make of no account all their
earlier loftier professions. We, in Washington, were therefore,
in duty bound, to strain every nerve to avert such a catastrophe to
our country. Unfortunately the activities of the agents dispatched
from home invariably deranged our plans in a most unfortunate manner,
and, while affording our foes the desired opportunities for damaging
our cause, achieved nothing of advantage in compensation. The English
Secret Police, and all the detective agencies of the United States
which were in their pay, were always at our heels, endeavoring
to establish some collusion on the part of the German Embassy in
these isolated cases of sabotage.