Secret service men from New York headquarters are continuing their investigations into the activities of Oscar and Frank Schilling, accused of being chieftains of a widespread campaign of Nazi activities and propaganda. The secret service agents refused however to divulge the result of their investigations.
The activities of the Schilling brothers were discovered when a small fire broke out in the basement of the house they occupied at 34 Gillette Place. Both are still in the custody of police and will be held until police officials complete their findings.
A close police guard is being maintained at the building in which the Schillings maintained headquarters. Police searching the rooms discovered papers which indicated the projection of the Nazi activities on ships plying in and out of New York harbor. One trunk was found containing a large number of chemical formulae written on flimsy paper. Police are of the opinion that Nazi enthusiasts in the United States have been collecting formulae for industrial chemical processes in use here.
Literature found in the rooms occupied by the brothers also established that Walter Kappe, said to be the editor of the Cincinnati Freie Presse, German language paper, is identified with the activities of the Friends of New Germany, an active Nazi organization here. Kappe is said to have continually protested in his newspapers that he is not a Nazi. He denied he is in any way connected with the Friends of New Germany.
Also included in the literature found was a round-robin signed “national leadership”, bearing the signature of Fritz Gissibl, head of the Western division of the Friends of New Germany. The literature warns against “suspicious elements within the group” and empowers local leaders to use “the most drastic disciplinary measures against each and every interloper.”
Questioning in local German circles here indicated that until the time of his arrest Oscar Schilling acted as secretary of the local branch of the Friends of New Germany but that recently an attempt had been made to get rid of him on the grounds that he is an alien. Naturalized American citizens usually fill these posts in order to have a better influence on American opinion. Schilling himself refused to confirm or deny the statement that he had been secretary of the Nazi organization.
The findings also included a considerable number of blueprints of bridges in the vicinity. Searchers also found an involved code ending with the initials P. L. and an address in Hamburg, Germany. There was also literature which was made up of many bulky Nazi pamphlets issued by the Friends of New Germany and petitions demanding the curtailment of the boycott of German-made products.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
