New-York tribune. [volume], May 10, 1919, Page 11, Image 11

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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ADVERTISEMEXTS_
DEAR FOLKS:
IAM a great believer in
the principle of prov
ing one's statements.
There are some people, you
know, who question the
value of a $20 gold piece.
Therefore, they seek some
expert to test its value.
I have been telling you
about the Wilson & Co.
Certified Ham and Bacon
?and I have not the slight
est doubt that many of you
have already made a satis
factory test of their excel?
lent quality?but I thought
I would try an experiment
the other evening.
I bought a Wilson Certi?
fied Ham and had it cooked
for dinner. I invited sev?
eral friends to take dinner
with me. I did not tell
them that they were being
served with a Wilson Certi?
fied Ham. I did not ask
them how they liked it. I
knew it had been cooked
just right and I think I
know how to slice ham as
well as anybody. I waited
to hear expressions of opin?
ion from my guests.
One?a young lady who is
a secretary to the National
Honor Guard of the Salva
tion Army, started the ball
rolling by remarking to my
daughter: "Why, Eleanor,
where did you buy this
ham? It is the most deli
cious I ever ate."
Then another guest, who is
a Y. M. C. A. secretary,
spoke up and said: "Isn't
this ham wonderful ? Why
it melts in your mouth, and
what a delightful flavor it
has."
And so it went, all around
the table. Everybody expressed
a very favorable opinion as to
the quality and taste of the ham.
You know a Wilson & Co. Cer
t-rtified Ham is big enough to
serve many people. There were
several people as guests at my
table?a couple of them being
golfers, with very keen appe
lites?yet there was enough ham
left to serve a couple of lunch
eons to several people.
When I told my guests finally
that they had been served with
a Wilson & Co. Certified Ham,
they said to me: "We don't
blame you for being so enthusi
astic about the quality of the
?"oods prepared by that firm.
They certainly make good all of
your claims about them."
Then they asked me a lot of
questions about my experience
with the workers in the Wilson
& Co. organization, which I an
swered, but they were especially
interested in a story I told them
about the Good Fellowship
which have been organized
in the Wilson & Co. plants.
A recent experience with the
Fellowship Club members in the
Xew York plant gave me the
cue to tell them how wonderful
the workers are and how they
pull together for their own bet
terment as well as for the better
ment oi the business.
The New York Fellowship Club
waa just getting under way.
They held an clcction of officers
and they electcd the General
Manager of the New York plant
as their President. There is no
Aristocracy of Wrorkers in the
New York or any other plant.
Officials and the rank and file of
workers mingle together on the
-same platform of brothcrhood and
wterhood.
One of the incidents of the meeting
oi the New York Fellowship Club
that impressed me was that two
'?sce-presidents of the Wilson & Co.
organization carne on from Chicago
tO attend and to talk to their fellow
workers.
A di'>. 1000 miles s'parating
the New York and Chicago plants
?oe? not intcrfcre in the least with
'he ehain of good fellowship that se
? lir.k.s a)! workers in these and
' Other plants into a bond of
:* ?? 1 iyrnpathy, cooperation and
anderstanding.
Thtt Good Fellowship idea is the
HtSkbonc oi the Wilson & Co. busi
>??"?* and makes it possible for the
wtti ?o prodtice the highest grade
of Ccrtihed Food Prodticta and to
**?d them everywhere with this re
***?ir;g *k>gan; "The Wilson Label
<'?-?' - Yout Tabl< "
Hint*r*ty. William ?. Frtmmmtt,
Wf rUlk Av?? fc?w Y?rk City.
I
Germany's Plot to Gas the World's Trade
America Paid Millions for
Being Spied On by Teutons
People of United States
Long Were Victims of
an "Insurance" System
Aiming at Exploitation
Protection Is
Not Siifficient
Pirate Companies Have
Been Gonfiscated, but
Espionage Will Revive
This is the fourteenth of the scriei
of articles on Gcrmany's new war
of economic piracy.
By Stanley Frost
"Before the war Germany and
Austria-Hungary had made great
progress in the matter of insur
ance, not only in their own coun?
tries but in the whole world. They
had made a specialty of reinsurance,
and had established forty-seven
large companies exclusively for re?
insurance, which made large profits
in Great Britain, France, Italy, etc.
"They had gained this remarkable
position (a) by their perfect or?
ganization; (b) by their system of
commercial spying; (c) by con
trolling and financing companies
pretending to be Italian, Russian,
etc., and (d) by their system of
appointing as agents of their re?
insurance companies the sons and
sons-in-law of the directors of the
insurance companies of France,
Belgium, etc. Their system of com?
panies devoted solely to reinsurance
gave them a basic knowledge of the
trade movements of other countries
and particulars of almost every
commercial transaction in the
world?the name of the merchant,
the name of the buyer, the price,
the class of goods and the destina
tion. A few days later all this in?
formation was tabulated in Berlin."
This is the summary approved by
the Commercial Committee of the
British House of Commons on the Ger?
man insurance system. Every word of
it, as the investigations of the Alicn
Property Custodian show, was true of
| America.
Insurance, and especially reinsur
| ance, as organized by the Germans, was
a system that made the countries
i where the Hun had established himself
j pay a handsome profit for being spied
upon. America was very thoroughly
I spied upon and America paid the Gcr
! mans a profit of millions a year on
I their system, receiving in return in
i surance that in case of a strain would
j have proved almost worthless.
| iVo Protection Against
Reneiced Spying
This system, thanks to the work of
! the Alien Property Custodian, has been
| broken up and the companies the Ger
j mans had here as being liquidated.
j But no measures have been taken
i which would prevent the immediate re
i appearance in American business of
j this branch of the German spy system,
and no measures, except the precau
tions of individual insurers, are possi
! b!e under the present law.
The Germans' reinsurance scheme is
another instance of the keenness of
their commercial strategy. When big
risks are to be taken, usually any run
; ning over $100,000, it is customary to
j divide them among several companies,
! bo that in case of loss no one will be
I hit too hard. The Germans made a
: specialty of the companies which
? should take up parts of such risks?
i usually rather small parts?and which
< thus received all the information on
which the original policy had been
issued.
By this and other means the Ger?
man companies in America were able
to:
Know the cargo, destlnatlon, value,
shippers, consignors and destinations
? of almost every ship that left an
American port, even after this coun
! try entered the war. This went so
far that German companies were car
rying insurance against U-boat at
tacks on ships sailing for the Amer?
ican government, and received as a
routine matter information which thc
American newspapers were not per
mitted to publish;
Know the plans, conditions and
state of activity in many of thc great
industrial plants of the country, in
! cluding some government munitiona
i plants;
Ship gold to South America to
I finance German propaganda there,
after this country entered the war,
1 and at a time when no one clse was
able to do this;
Insure the hcavy shipments of
foodstuffs and other goods which
were being made with the hope that
they would reach Germany, and if
they were seized by the British, ap
pear as Americans and prosecut*
claims for recovery before the Brit?
ish prize courts. Several times they
recovered their money!
Entered Many Fields
Of American Activity
The wide activities of the German
insurance companies are revealed by
i thfl list of things the Alien Property
Custodian has taken over from them.
j These includc death claims under life
.insurance policies, matured endowment
policies and annuity contracts, em
ployers' liability and workmen's com
pensation claims and "group" polieies,
claims under marine insurance con?
tracts of varioue kinds, claims under
flre, accident and casualty insurance
polieies, and a variety of small. claims.
The power of the German cornpanles
in this country was amazing a* weil tm
widespread, and a grandlose seheme for
extending that power and intrenchlng
it behind American incorporatlon and
American names waa undertaken while
the war was going on. Eighteen Ger
! man concerns and agencies in this
I country have been seized and are being
. liquidated?a most difficult process
which will take some five years to
! complete?and since there were so
j many German companies camouflaged
j under neutral and American names
j there remains at least a doubt whether
| the entire field has been sAvept quite
clean.
The insurance carried by the German
companies in America four months
: after we entered the war was esti
! mated by Senator Frelinghuysen, of
:' Xew Jersey, at $2,000,000,000 when he
' attempted to prevent the Senate from
i putting the German companies out of
| business on the ground that it would
| disrupt the whole American insurance
i situation.
"The Southern Insurance Journal" in
1917 made a compilation showing that
j in ten years the anriual incomes of the
German companies had grown from
j $14,193,235 to $53,494,740 in 1916, and
j that they had absorbed in those ten
years a total of $296,616,931 of Ameri?
can money. Even as late as last fall
when the Alien Property Custodian
was closing out the business of the
eighteen companies he was able to
seize, he found a premium income of
$14,680,005.
Low Reserve Made
Insurance Almost Worthless
Against this tremendous business
with the wonderful insight it gave into
American commerce of all kinds, the
Germans carried a fiimsy and almost
worthless reserve. A high authority
in Washington declared shortly after
we entered the war that. of the assets
to which the American insurors must
look for making good their claims $6" -
000,000 of the $68,000,000 required was
invested in German government bonds.
Further, he seid, the German companies
kept in America a reserve of only about
47 cents against each $1,000 of in?
surance, or about one-tenth of what the
American companies carry. So that the
man insuring with the German con?
cerns was paying Germany a good price
for telling his secrets to the German
government and getting almost worth?
less insurance in return. Ask thc San
Franciscans who had money in Ger?
man companies when the fire swept
that city!
In all this, of course, the majority
of those buying such insurance were
patriotic Americans deceived by the
German camouflage. The Germans had
incorporated many of their companies
, under American names even before the
war, and continued their business un?
der the direction of American firm
names and American agents after we
entered the conflict. The Alien Prop?
erty Custodian's investigations showed
| that some American agents had been
j faithful to them even to the extent of
j concealing German property from our
\ government and otherwise evading the
law.
The camouflage of American 'owner?
ship was frequent. In one instance it
was found that every share of stock
in an "American'' company was Ger?
man owned, except those necessary
for the directors to qualify, and that
the Germans had an option on these
shares. In the case of American
agencies of German companies attempts
were frequently detected to hide the
funds due the Germans, in hope of
sending them over after the -war.
Plan for Great
Underground Trust
The German insurance pool -was one
j of the most ambitious schemes under
taken during the war. It was originally
formcd to insure shipments of goods
intended for Germanv, as has been de
scribed, .but it developed into a scbeme
to unite all the German insurance
companies of America, and to continue
them after the war as a great under?
ground trust. This schemo was fully
under the controi of Hugo Schmidt and
Dr. Albert, open agents of the Kaiser.
Hermann & Co. was the "front."
The close care which the German
government took of these companies is
shown by the fact that they lost prac
tically nothing on the Lusitania.
The early efforts to clean up this
German system were not effective, as
the German concerns simply got be
hind American names and continued
their espionage as usual, seeing the
manifests of ships and the plans of
the munitions plants the government
was building. It was not until the
Alien Property Custodian began work
that they were really crippled. They
have now practically disappeared as a
factor in the American insurance world.
There is nothing to prevent their re
turn as soon as Americans will do busi?
ness with them again, or as soon as
they can buy into American companies
under cover.
In to-morrow's Tribune the final
article of this series shows how the
Germans are concentrating their
powers for the assault an America,
which is their chief hope.
m
Letter to St. Louis
Gets Trip to China
Missive Mailed Here Feb. 5 Is
| Returned After Being Treated
to Long "Burleson Voyage"
j A new Burlesonian method of hand
I nng mail has come to light which
; might be appropriately termed "Shang
i haung letters." A letter sent to St.
I Louis more than three months ago was
I returned to the sender yesterday, after
| having been, among other places, to
j Shanghai, China.
I The Jettcr was mailed from Brooklyn
February 5 last, addressed to Mrs B
H. Colby at 5879 Nina Place, St. Louis.
On its return yesterday to Mrs. Lawn
of 536 Eighty-first Street, Brooklyn, it
bore several strange markings. these
mcluded a new address, 505 Hearn
Building, Jacksonville, Fla., the num?
ber "322" repeated in several different
places and a censor's stamp. The lat
ter was numbered 1372.
Inquiry at the office of the superin
tendent of mails in this city developed
that the "1372" was the number used
by the censor in Shanghai. It was
stated that in all probability the let?
ter, while the mail aboard the train
going to St. Louis was being sorted,
was mixed in with the Shanghai bun
dle. Once these bundles are made up
they are not opened again until they
are aboard ship bound for their desti
nations.
The letter also bore a St. Louis post
; mark dated April 14. Explaining the
vanance in dates, the postal officials
( said that the letter had probably been
I sent from St. Louis to Jacksonville in
! April and the time between then and
j yesterday was consumed in seekingthe
addressee and returning the missive.
No explanation could be found for
I the oft-repeated "322." The opinion of
I the postal officials was that the let
; ter was "mistreated," a common occur
I rence nowadays, they admitted.
United States Railroad Administration ->
Director General of Railroads
Lehigh V alley Railroad
Through train of sleeping cars and coaches to
TORONTO
and
BUFFALO
has been restored.
Lvs. Pennsylvania Sta. 6:17 P. M.
(Seventh Ava. and 32d St.) ST
Lvs. Hudson Terminal 6:10 P. M.
Other important changes in train schedule.
Details may be had at all Consolidated Ticket
Offices, Pennsylvania Station and Hudson
Terminal.
1%
PER MONTH ON
PLEDGE OF
PERSONAL PROPERTY
THE PROVIDENT LOAN SOCIETY
OF NEW YORK
Office Hours: 9 A. M. to 5 P. M.
Saturdays, 9 A. AI. to 4 P. M.(
from flrst. Saturday In June to Srst
Saturday Ia September, botb ia.
cluslvt. 9 A, Ai. to i P. AS.
MANHATTAN
Foortk Aveaae, cor. 25ta Street
Eldridge St, cor. Rhringtoa St
Eait Homton St, cor. Enez St.
Sereetk At, bet 48tk k 49ta St*.
Leiiattea At., cor. 124tk St
Grend St, eor. Cliatoa St
E. 72d St, bet. Lexiagton * S Atk
Ei??tl? At.. eor. 127ft St_
UBONX
Conrtltndt At, cor. 148th St
BKOOKLYN
Saith St, cor. LJTiagitoa St
Grakan At, cor. OeMroUa St
Pitkha At, cor. Rockaway Av.
The United States
Government Offers
Subject to Allotment,
$4,500,000,000 of Victory Notes. Noover
subscription will be accepted.
Here are the facts that every investor should know:
Allotment?Applications from any one subscriber for an
aggregate amount of Notes not in excess of $10,
000 will be allotted in full.
Applications for an aggregate amount in ex?
cess of $10,000 from any one subscriber will be
subject to allotment by the Treasury Department.
Interest Rate? 43/4%, the highest rate of interest paid on any
United States Government security issued since
the Civil War period.
Conversion Right--The 4%% Victory Notes are convertible
at the option of the holder into 33A% fully tax
exempt Victory Notes at any time during the
life of the issues. The 3%% Notes are similarly
reconvertible into the 4%% Notes.
Tax Exemption? The 4%% Notes are exempt from all State
and local taxes, except estate and inheritance
taxes, and from normal Federal income taxes.
The 33A% Notes are exempt from all taxes,
-except estate and inheritance taxes.
Maturity?The Government agrees to pay off Victory Notes
in four years, on May 20, 1923, and reserves the
right to pay them off at par and interest in three
years.
Patriotism ?This is your last chance to pay your share for
the Victory we have won. Don't let it pass.
Act now?and leave no room for future regrets.
In order that every patriotic American in
New York City may have full opportunity to
subscribe until the last moment, the under
signed banks will be open to take subscriptions
to the Victory Loan
THISEVENING.
Bank of tbe Manhattan Co.
31 1'nion Sq.
Bank of l nited States
77 Delancey St.
5th \\e. & 32d St.
Madison Av?. & llfith St.
Bank of tt'ushlriRton Helg;hts
1915 Amsterdum Ave.
Bankers Trust Co.
42nd 8t. & 5th Atp.
Brjnnt Park National Bank
?,'10 YV. 42nd St.
Central Mercantile Bank
1 E. 14th St.
Central Cnion Trust Co.
6th Av*. * 60th St.
5th Ave, * 38th St.
42nd St. ? Madison At*.
Chatham & Phenix National Bank
fireenwich * lVarren Sts.
Bowery & (irand St.
Broadway & 18th St.
?th Avo. * 14th St.
.".th Ave. & 33d St.
57th St. St 3d ATe.
86th St. St Cexinjrtorr Ave.
Broadway St 61st St.
Broadway St 105th 8t.
licnox Ave. * II 6th St.
I.enox Are. St 125th St.
Broadway St 144th St.
Canal St Thompson Sts,
Colonlal Bank
Colambus Ave. St 81?t St.
Broadway St 68th St.
Broadway & 79th St.
Broadway * 9lst St.
Broadway St 102nd St.
Colunibns Ave. * 9lst 8t.
r olnmhus Ave. & 105th St,
116th 8t. * 7th Ave.
Columbia Bank
Broadway & Canal St.
Colambia Trost Oo.
858 Fifth Ave.
100 We?t 126th St.
Commeroial Erchanice Bank
830 Broadway
Broadway St 2I)th St.
Commonwealth Bank
190 Bowery
Empire Trnst Co.
580 5th Ave.
Kqultable Trnst. Co.
Madison Ave. & 45th St.
Farmer* l.oan A Trust Co.
4 75 5th Ave.
Fifth Ave. Bank
530 5th Ave.
I iftli National Bank
131 B. 23d St.
t.urfleld National Bank
5th Ave. & 23d St.
(?othani National Bank
1819 Broadway
Greenwich Bank
Broadway St 45th St.
Guaranty Trust Co.
5th Ave. & 43d St.
Madisou Ave. & 60th St.
Harrimun National Bank
627 5th Ave.
I.lncoln National Bank
60 E. 42 nd St.
I.lncoln Trust Co.
Broadway & 72nd St,
Metropolttan Trust Co
716 5th Ave.
Muttial Bank
51 YV. 33d St.
New Netherland Bank
41 IV. 34th St.
New York County National Bank
79 8th Ave.
N. Y. I'rodure Exehanre Bank
Broadway St 86th St.
Columhus Ave. St 93d St.
Madlson Ave. St 60th St.
7th Ave. & 58th St.
3d Am. St 118th 8t_
Manhattan St. St Amaterdani Ave.
11th St. St 2nd Ave.
Government Loan Organization
Second Federal Reserve Distrirt
Ubcrty Loan Committee, 120 B'way.NY.
rae.iflc Bank
49th St. & 7th Ave.
Public National Bank
Delancey & Ludlow St*.
1123 Broadway
Madison Ave. & 116th St.
*eco?d National Bank
5th Ave. & 28th St.
sherman National Bank
5th Ave. St 32nd St.
State Bank
376 Grand St.
5th Ave. & 115th St.
5th Ave. & 26th St,
tOO Essex St.
Cnion Exchance National Bank
5th Ave. St 21st St.
C S. Mortirajre St Trust Co.
Broadway St 73rd St.
Madison Ave. 4: 75th St,
125th St. ?* 8th Ave.
YorkviUe Biuah
1511 3rd Ave.
Corn Kxchaog-e Bank
Astor Place & I.afavette PL
Broadway & 16fltb St.
Broadway & Spriog- St.
Broadway St 55tb St.
I'ost Ave. & 207th St.
Norfolk & Grand St#.
126 E. 86th St,
Avenue D St 10th St.
5th Ave. St 20th 8t,
385 E. Fordharo tioad
?403 West 42nd St.
4th Ave. & 29th St. %
Fulton St Pearl Sta.
7 East 42nd St.
fvenox Ave. * 125th ?t,
(olnmhus Ave. A 72nd St.
l.rxinytoii Ave. St 60th St.
85 E. 126th St.
st. Nichola* Ave. ? 181tt St.
Park Ave. A 52nd St.
7th Ave, St 33rd St.
l.*xin*Jt?n Ave. St 72nd St.
60 Church St.
Tremont St Arthur Ave*.
12 West 28th St.
M Inion So. *>*t
Broadway St nsth St.
Broadway & Murray St.
Amste.rdam Ave. i'lt.UI St.
253 Broadway
?1 Ea*t 125th St.