Annie Larsen affair
Encyclopedia
The Annie Larsen affair was a gun-running plot in the United States
during World War I
. The plot, involving India
's Ghadar Party
, the Irish Republican Brotherhood
and the German Foreign office, was a part of the larger Hindu German Conspiracy, and it was the prime offence cited in the 1917 Hindu German Conspiracy Trial
, described at the time as the longest and most expensive trial in American legal history.
broke out, Germany decided to actively support the Ghadar plan. For this, the links established between Indian and Irish residents in Germany (including Roger Casement
) and the German Foreign office were used to tap into the Indo-Irish network in the United States. In September 1914, the German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg authorised German activity against India. The German effort was headed by Max von Oppenheim
, archaeologist and the head of the newly formed Intelligence bureau for the east. Upon Oppenheim fell the task of arranging the Indian student groups into a cohesive group. Oppenheim also convinced Har Dayal
of the feasibility of the project and was able to establish contact with the Ghadar party in the United States. In an October meeting of the Imperial Naval Office, the consulate in San Francisco was tasked to make contact with Ghadar leaders in California. A young naval lieutenant named Wilhelm von Brincken was able to establish contact, through Tarak Nath Das
and an intermediary named Charles Lattendorf, with Ram Chandra.
through a Krupp
agent by the name of Hans Tauscher. In the meantime, Papen arranged for Joseph McGarrity to make the necessary arrangements for shipping the arms purchase from New York to Galveston via the Mallory Steamship Company, an Irish-American shipping firm. From Galveston the guns were sent by train to San Diego, from where they were to be shipped to India via Burma. However, Charles Martinez, a customs official who had arranged the shipment to San Diego, was not told of the true destination, and hired the schooner
Annie Larsen
. For this purpose, an elaborate deception was hatched to convey the idea that the arms were meant for the warring factions in Mexico. J. Clyde Hizar, a Colorado
attorney in charge of placing the arms on board the Annie Larsen, posed as a representative for the Carranza Faction
. This ruse was convincing enough to elicit an offer of $15,000 from the rival Villa faction to divert the shipment to a Villa-controlled port.
However, ominously for the plot, the Annie Larsen was not suitable for a trans-Pacific voyage. Frederick Jebsen, a German reserve naval officer with close connections to the German embassy, arranged for another ship, the SS Maverick
, to be purchased under the illusion that it was to be used by "American-Asiatic Oil Company", a fake oil-trading company, and was to deploy between China and Borneo. The plan was for the Maverick to leave empty from San Pedro
around the same time as the Annie Larsen leaves San Diego fully loaded. The two would rendezvous off Socorro Island
near Mexico. The Annie Larsen would transfer its shipment to the Maverick which would then proceed towards South-East Asia. For this purpose, Jebsen also established, taking his attorney Ray Howard as partner, a fake company to hide the true ownership of the ship. The Maverick received a crew composed of sailors from two German ships interned at San Francisco. An American by the name of John B. Starr-Hunt served as supercargo on the Maverick, and was under orders to scuttle the ship if challenged by Allied warships. The impression at the docks was that the ship was to relieve congestion in the East Indian Coconut industry, in Java and Borneo.
The Annie Larsen sailed for Topolobampo
on 8 March 1915 under Captain Paul Schlueter for rendezvous with the SS Maverick
. Also placed on board was a person by the name of Walter Page as supercargo. Page's real identity was L. Othmer, the captain of the German bark Atlas, which had earlier been interned by the U.S. government in San Francisco. Page was given complete authority over the ship's movement and he set sail for Socorro Island
, off Baja California
.
However, it was at this stage that the plan started falling apart. The Maverick, which was in dry dock
at the time, could not sail for another month. Even during this time, rumours abounded that it was to be used to smuggle arms into Southeast Asia. The ship was searched a number of times by customs and security agents, who only found the ship's empty hold. Immediately before it left, it received an additional crew of five Indian Ghadar activists carrying fake Persian
passports. They carried with themselves large amounts of Ghadarite literature, and were tasked by Ram Chandra to establish contacts with Indian revolutionaries and arrange for the arms to be transported inland. However, awaiting for the Maverick for nearly a month, the Annie Larsen ran out of fresh water and, without a condenser on board, was forced to head for the mainland of Mexico. Arriving at the rendezvous point, the Maverick was informed of the Annie Larsen' s departure by a two-man crew left behind by Page. The Maverick waited for twenty-nine days for the Schooner's return. During this time, it was visited by HMS Kent
. The Ghadar agents were forced to burn the revolutionary literature in the boiler room while the Kents crew searched the ship. A subsequent visit by an American warship also revealed nothing save the ship's empty hold.
The Annie Larsen sailed to Acapulco
to replenish its supplies. However, it faced trouble as three of the crew members refused to sail in the ship claiming it was not seaworthy. Captain Sheultzer was able to successfully appeal for help from the USS Yorktown which was in the area. Its contraband cargo was not discovered by the Yorktown's boarding party. Allowed to use the Yorktown's wireless, the German crew were able to notify the German Consulate of their position and of the failed rendezvous. Sailing from Acapulco, the Annie Larsen made for Socorro Island
again. However, in adverse weather, this attempt failed as well, and after twenty-two days Scheultzer gave up, choosing to make for the northern port of Hoquiam, Washington.
Returning to San Diego after failing to meet the Annie Larsen, the Maverick was directed by Fred Jebsen to proceed to Hilo, Hawaii
, where it was redirected to Johnston Island by the German consulate for a second effort to rendezvous with the Annie Larsen. However, this failed too and it was subsequently directed to Anjer, Java
. At Anjer, a German operative named Theodore Helfrichs was instructed to dispose of the ship. However, it was seized by Dutch
authorities. Starr-Hunt and four of the Ghadarites attempted to flee in a ship, but they were captured by the British cruiser HMS Newcastle
. Taken to Singapore
, Starr-Hunt confessed his role in the plot.
In the meantime, through intelligence sources arising from British, Irish, European, and Mexican sources, the Justice Department
had a clear picture of the conspiracy and the true purposes of the Maverick and the Annie Larsen. The Home department of the British Indian government had begun the task of actively tracking Indian seditionists on the East Coast
as early as 1910. Francis Cunliffe Owen, the officer heading the Home Office agency in New York
, had become thoroughly acquainted with George Freeman and Myron Phelps posing as members of the Clan-na-Gael. Owens' efforts were successful in thwarting the SS Moraitis plan. The Ghadar Party was incidentally established after Irish Republicans, sensing infiltration, encouraged an exclusively Indian society. Following this, a number of approaches were adopted, including instituting a "Native" Indian intelligence officer to infiltrate the movement, as well as the use of the famous American Pinkerton's detective agency.
An Irish double agent by the name of Charles Lamb is said to have passed on the majority of the information that compromised the conspiracy and ultimately helped the construction of the prosecution. An Indian operative, codenamed "C" and described most likely to have been Chandra Kanta Chakraverty (later the chief prosecution witness in the trial), also passed on the details of the conspiracy to British and American intelligence.
On 29 June 1915, the Annie Larsen was raided at Hoquiam and its contraband cargo seized. However, Page was able to escape and later made for Germany. The Annie Larsens cargo was sold at an auction despite the German Ambassador Count Johann von Bernstoff's attempts to take possession insisting they were meant for German East Africa
. Additionally, some of the plans involving the Indian Berlin Committee
leaked out through Czech
revolutionaries and spy networks who were in touch with their counterparts in the United States
. The American network of the Czech organisation, headed by E.V. Voska, was a counter-espionage network spying on German and Austrian
diplomats. Voska, being pro-American, pro-British and anti-German, on learning of the plot from the Czech European network, spoke of it to Tomáš Masaryk
, who then passed the information to the American authorities. The Americans informed British intelligence.
commenced in the District Court in San Francisco, California
on November 12, 1917 following the uncovering of the Annie Larsen's cargo. One hundred and five people, including the former Consul-General and vice consul as well as members of the Ghadar Party
, as well as members of the German consulate in San Francisco. The trial lasted from November 20, 1917 to April 24, 1918. The trial was also sensationally notable for the assassination of the chief conspirator Ram Chandra. Chandra was assassinated on the last day of the trial in a packed courtroom by one of his fellow accused, Ram Singh. Singh himself was also immediately shot dead by a U.S. Marshal
. In May 1917, eight Indian nationalists
of the Ghadar Party, were indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to form a military enterprise against Britain. The trial in later years has been criticised for being a largely show trial that was to pre-empt any suggestions that the United States was joining an Imperialist war. In addition, the jury during the trial was carefully selected to exclude Irish persons with republican views or associations. The British authorities hoped that the conviction of the Indians would result in their deportation from the United States back to India
. However, strong public support in favor of the Indians meant that the U.S. Department of Justice chose not to do that.
, the Ambassador to United States at the time of the war, is known to have urged the British Foreign office not to make this a diplomatic issue. Spring-Rice's dispatches cite concerns with regards to American tolerance of the Anarchist movements
in American soil, the American government's inactions despite concrete knowledge (in Spring-Rice's opinion) of the conspiracies, as well as concerns regarding the image of Britain in American public opinion if Britain were seen to persecute oppressed people. Further, Spring-Rice was particularly wary of the Wilson government
's political commitments, especially given that the Secretary of State
William Jennings Bryan
was the author eight years previously of a pamphlet highly critical of the "British rule in India". This pamphlet had been classified as seditionist by the Indian and Imperial governments. Following Bryan's departure, the British secretary of state Robert Crewe-Milnes
attempted to persuade Spring-Rice to raise the issue in front of the United States government. American authorities in Philippines were also more cooperative at this time, and assured Britain of foreknowledge of any plans against Hong Kong. Following the conclusion of the Lahore Conspiracy trial, and as more evidence of German complicity came to light, Foreign Secretary Edward Grey was forced to override Spring-Rice's concerns. In February 1916, the concerns of the British government regarding the conspiracy and German complicity were officially presented to the American government.
However, although the new secretary of state Robert Lansing
was initially as uncooperative as Bryan, the first investigations of the conspiracy opened with the raid of the Wall Street office of Wolf von Igel, seizing papers that were later presented as evidence in the Hindu German conspiracy trial
. To much chagrin of the British government, however, it was not pursued further at the time. The issue precipitated a more general Anglo-American neutrality dispute, aggravated by belligerent preventive measures taken by the British far-eastern fleet in the High seas that threatened the sovereignty of American vessels. The seizure, at the mouth of the Yangtze, of German and Turkish passengers from the American vessel China by the HMS Laurentic in particular and the following argument by the British government that the seized planned to foment armed uprising in India provoked outrage from the American government, followed by a number of incidents including the SS Henry S incident. The US Atlantic Fleet dispatched destroyer
s to the Philippines. The relations were strained when in May 1916, the British government decided to relax its aggressive policy and seek cooperation with the US. The China prisoners were released that month, but relations did not improve before November that year, with a number of exchanges through the rest of 1916.
The issue was ultimately addressed by William Wiseman
, head of British intelligence in the US, who bypassed diplomatic channels to give details of a bomb plot directly to the New York police. This led to the arrest of Chandra Kanta Chuckrevarty. As the links between the Chuckrevarty papers and the Igel papers became apparent, the investigations by federal authorities ultimately expanded to cover the entire conspiracy, with the US agreeing to pass on evidence so long as Britain did not seek admission of liability for Breaches of Neutrality. At a time that Diplomatic relations with Germany were deteriorating, the Foreign Office directed the Embassy to cooperate with the investigations. These ultimately resolved the Anglo-American diplomatic disputes just as America entered the war.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The plot, involving India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's Ghadar Party
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
, the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
and the German Foreign office, was a part of the larger Hindu German Conspiracy, and it was the prime offence cited in the 1917 Hindu German Conspiracy Trial
Hindu German Conspiracy Trial
The Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial commenced in the District Court in San Francisco, California on November 12, 1917 following the uncovering of the Indo German plot for initiating a revolt in India...
, described at the time as the longest and most expensive trial in American legal history.
Background
By 1914, plans for a pan-Indian revolution had been hatched. As World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, Germany decided to actively support the Ghadar plan. For this, the links established between Indian and Irish residents in Germany (including Roger Casement
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement —Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and shortly before his execution for treason, when he was stripped of his British honours—was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary, and nationalist....
) and the German Foreign office were used to tap into the Indo-Irish network in the United States. In September 1914, the German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg authorised German activity against India. The German effort was headed by Max von Oppenheim
Max von Oppenheim
Max Freiherr von Oppenheim was a German ancient historian, and archaeologist, "the last of the great amateur archaeological explorers of the Near East."....
, archaeologist and the head of the newly formed Intelligence bureau for the east. Upon Oppenheim fell the task of arranging the Indian student groups into a cohesive group. Oppenheim also convinced Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
of the feasibility of the project and was able to establish contact with the Ghadar party in the United States. In an October meeting of the Imperial Naval Office, the consulate in San Francisco was tasked to make contact with Ghadar leaders in California. A young naval lieutenant named Wilhelm von Brincken was able to establish contact, through Tarak Nath Das
Tarak Nath Das
Taraknath Das was an anti-British Bengali Indian revolutionary and internationalist scholar. He was a pioneering immigrant in the west coast of North America and discussed his plans with Tolstoy, while organizing the Asian Indian immigrants in favor of the Indian freedom movement...
and an intermediary named Charles Lattendorf, with Ram Chandra.
Arms shipment
With the approval of San Francisco German vice-consul E.H. von Schack, arrangements for funds and armaments were secured. Ram Chandra was to receive a monthly payment of $1,000. At the same time $200,000 worth of small arms and ammunition was acquired by the German military attaché Captain Franz von PapenFranz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
through a Krupp
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
agent by the name of Hans Tauscher. In the meantime, Papen arranged for Joseph McGarrity to make the necessary arrangements for shipping the arms purchase from New York to Galveston via the Mallory Steamship Company, an Irish-American shipping firm. From Galveston the guns were sent by train to San Diego, from where they were to be shipped to India via Burma. However, Charles Martinez, a customs official who had arranged the shipment to San Diego, was not told of the true destination, and hired the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Annie Larsen
Annie Larsen
The Annie Larsen was a schooner that was involved in arms shipment in the Hindu German Conspiracy during World War I.The ship came into the spotlight when it was seized on 25 June 1915 by US customs officials at Grays Harbour and found to be carrying large quantities of small arms and ammunitions...
. For this purpose, an elaborate deception was hatched to convey the idea that the arms were meant for the warring factions in Mexico. J. Clyde Hizar, a Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
attorney in charge of placing the arms on board the Annie Larsen, posed as a representative for the Carranza Faction
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
. This ruse was convincing enough to elicit an offer of $15,000 from the rival Villa faction to divert the shipment to a Villa-controlled port.
However, ominously for the plot, the Annie Larsen was not suitable for a trans-Pacific voyage. Frederick Jebsen, a German reserve naval officer with close connections to the German embassy, arranged for another ship, the SS Maverick
SS Maverick
SS Maverick was an oil tanker built in 1890 for the Standard Oil of New York, later Mobil Oil. After the ship had changed hands sometime between 1910 and 1915, it was used during World War I as part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy to foment rebellion in India and overthrow the British Raj...
, to be purchased under the illusion that it was to be used by "American-Asiatic Oil Company", a fake oil-trading company, and was to deploy between China and Borneo. The plan was for the Maverick to leave empty from San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
around the same time as the Annie Larsen leaves San Diego fully loaded. The two would rendezvous off Socorro Island
Socorro Island
Socorro Island is a small volcanic island in the Revillagigedo Islands, a Mexican possession lying some 600 kilometers off the country's western coast at 18°48'N, 110°59'W. The size is 16.5 by 11.5 km, with an area of 132 km².- Geology :...
near Mexico. The Annie Larsen would transfer its shipment to the Maverick which would then proceed towards South-East Asia. For this purpose, Jebsen also established, taking his attorney Ray Howard as partner, a fake company to hide the true ownership of the ship. The Maverick received a crew composed of sailors from two German ships interned at San Francisco. An American by the name of John B. Starr-Hunt served as supercargo on the Maverick, and was under orders to scuttle the ship if challenged by Allied warships. The impression at the docks was that the ship was to relieve congestion in the East Indian Coconut industry, in Java and Borneo.
The Annie Larsen sailed for Topolobampo
Topolobampo
Topolobampo is a port on the Gulf of California in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico. It is the fourth-largest town in the municipality of Ahome , reporting a 2005 census population of 6,032 inhabitants....
on 8 March 1915 under Captain Paul Schlueter for rendezvous with the SS Maverick
SS Maverick
SS Maverick was an oil tanker built in 1890 for the Standard Oil of New York, later Mobil Oil. After the ship had changed hands sometime between 1910 and 1915, it was used during World War I as part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy to foment rebellion in India and overthrow the British Raj...
. Also placed on board was a person by the name of Walter Page as supercargo. Page's real identity was L. Othmer, the captain of the German bark Atlas, which had earlier been interned by the U.S. government in San Francisco. Page was given complete authority over the ship's movement and he set sail for Socorro Island
Socorro Island
Socorro Island is a small volcanic island in the Revillagigedo Islands, a Mexican possession lying some 600 kilometers off the country's western coast at 18°48'N, 110°59'W. The size is 16.5 by 11.5 km, with an area of 132 km².- Geology :...
, off Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
.
However, it was at this stage that the plan started falling apart. The Maverick, which was in dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
at the time, could not sail for another month. Even during this time, rumours abounded that it was to be used to smuggle arms into Southeast Asia. The ship was searched a number of times by customs and security agents, who only found the ship's empty hold. Immediately before it left, it received an additional crew of five Indian Ghadar activists carrying fake Persian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
passports. They carried with themselves large amounts of Ghadarite literature, and were tasked by Ram Chandra to establish contacts with Indian revolutionaries and arrange for the arms to be transported inland. However, awaiting for the Maverick for nearly a month, the Annie Larsen ran out of fresh water and, without a condenser on board, was forced to head for the mainland of Mexico. Arriving at the rendezvous point, the Maverick was informed of the Annie Larsen
HMS Kent (1901)
HMS Kent was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of 9,800 tons displacement, of the British Royal Navy. She was launched on 6 March 1901, with her heaviest guns being 6 inch quick-firers...
. The Ghadar agents were forced to burn the revolutionary literature in the boiler room while the Kents crew searched the ship. A subsequent visit by an American warship also revealed nothing save the ship's empty hold.
The Annie Larsen sailed to Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
to replenish its supplies. However, it faced trouble as three of the crew members refused to sail in the ship claiming it was not seaworthy. Captain Sheultzer was able to successfully appeal for help from the USS Yorktown which was in the area. Its contraband cargo was not discovered by the Yorktown's boarding party. Allowed to use the Yorktown's wireless, the German crew were able to notify the German Consulate of their position and of the failed rendezvous. Sailing from Acapulco, the Annie Larsen made for Socorro Island
Socorro Island
Socorro Island is a small volcanic island in the Revillagigedo Islands, a Mexican possession lying some 600 kilometers off the country's western coast at 18°48'N, 110°59'W. The size is 16.5 by 11.5 km, with an area of 132 km².- Geology :...
again. However, in adverse weather, this attempt failed as well, and after twenty-two days Scheultzer gave up, choosing to make for the northern port of Hoquiam, Washington.
Returning to San Diego after failing to meet the Annie Larsen, the Maverick was directed by Fred Jebsen to proceed to Hilo, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where it was redirected to Johnston Island by the German consulate for a second effort to rendezvous with the Annie Larsen. However, this failed too and it was subsequently directed to Anjer, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
. At Anjer, a German operative named Theodore Helfrichs was instructed to dispose of the ship. However, it was seized by Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
authorities. Starr-Hunt and four of the Ghadarites attempted to flee in a ship, but they were captured by the British cruiser HMS Newcastle
HMS Newcastle (1909)
HMS Newcastle was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 25 November 1909 from the yards of Armstrong Whitworth. She formed part of the Bristol subgroup....
. Taken to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Starr-Hunt confessed his role in the plot.
Resolving the plot
In the United States, the conspiracy was successfully infiltrated by British intelligence through both the Irish, as well as Indian channels. The activities of Ghadar on the Pacific coast were noted by W.C Hopkinson, who had grown up in India and spoke fluent Hindi.In the meantime, through intelligence sources arising from British, Irish, European, and Mexican sources, the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
had a clear picture of the conspiracy and the true purposes of the Maverick and the Annie Larsen. The Home department of the British Indian government had begun the task of actively tracking Indian seditionists on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
as early as 1910. Francis Cunliffe Owen, the officer heading the Home Office agency in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, had become thoroughly acquainted with George Freeman and Myron Phelps posing as members of the Clan-na-Gael. Owens' efforts were successful in thwarting the SS Moraitis plan. The Ghadar Party was incidentally established after Irish Republicans, sensing infiltration, encouraged an exclusively Indian society. Following this, a number of approaches were adopted, including instituting a "Native" Indian intelligence officer to infiltrate the movement, as well as the use of the famous American Pinkerton's detective agency.
An Irish double agent by the name of Charles Lamb is said to have passed on the majority of the information that compromised the conspiracy and ultimately helped the construction of the prosecution. An Indian operative, codenamed "C" and described most likely to have been Chandra Kanta Chakraverty (later the chief prosecution witness in the trial), also passed on the details of the conspiracy to British and American intelligence.
On 29 June 1915, the Annie Larsen was raided at Hoquiam and its contraband cargo seized. However, Page was able to escape and later made for Germany. The Annie Larsens cargo was sold at an auction despite the German Ambassador Count Johann von Bernstoff's attempts to take possession insisting they were meant for German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
. Additionally, some of the plans involving the Indian Berlin Committee
Berlin Committee
The Berlin Committee, later known as the Indian Independence Committee after 1915, was an organisation formed in Germany in 1914 during World War I by Indian students and political activists residing in the country. The purpose of the Committee was to promote the cause of Indian Independence...
leaked out through Czech
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
revolutionaries and spy networks who were in touch with their counterparts in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The American network of the Czech organisation, headed by E.V. Voska, was a counter-espionage network spying on German and Austrian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
diplomats. Voska, being pro-American, pro-British and anti-German, on learning of the plot from the Czech European network, spoke of it to Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , sometimes called Thomas Masaryk in English, was an Austro-Hungarian and Czechoslovak politician, sociologist and philosopher, who as an eager advocate of Czechoslovak independence during World War I became the founder and first President of Czechoslovakia, also was...
, who then passed the information to the American authorities. The Americans informed British intelligence.
Trial
The Hindu German Conspiracy TrialHindu German Conspiracy Trial
The Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial commenced in the District Court in San Francisco, California on November 12, 1917 following the uncovering of the Indo German plot for initiating a revolt in India...
commenced in the District Court in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on November 12, 1917 following the uncovering of the Annie Larsen's cargo. One hundred and five people, including the former Consul-General and vice consul as well as members of the Ghadar Party
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
, as well as members of the German consulate in San Francisco. The trial lasted from November 20, 1917 to April 24, 1918. The trial was also sensationally notable for the assassination of the chief conspirator Ram Chandra. Chandra was assassinated on the last day of the trial in a packed courtroom by one of his fellow accused, Ram Singh. Singh himself was also immediately shot dead by a U.S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
. In May 1917, eight Indian nationalists
Indian nationalism
Indian nationalism refers to the many underlying forces that molded the Indian independence movement, and strongly continue to influence the politics of India, as well as being the heart of many contrasting ideologies that have caused ethnic and religious conflict in Indian society...
of the Ghadar Party, were indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to form a military enterprise against Britain. The trial in later years has been criticised for being a largely show trial that was to pre-empt any suggestions that the United States was joining an Imperialist war. In addition, the jury during the trial was carefully selected to exclude Irish persons with republican views or associations. The British authorities hoped that the conviction of the Indians would result in their deportation from the United States back to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. However, strong public support in favor of the Indians meant that the U.S. Department of Justice chose not to do that.
Impact on Anglo-American relations
By 1916, the majority of the resources of the American department of the British Foreign office were related to the Indian seditionist movement. Before the outbreak of the war, Cecil Spring-RiceCecil Spring-Rice
Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice GCMG GCVO , was a British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1912 to 1918.-Early life:...
, the Ambassador to United States at the time of the war, is known to have urged the British Foreign office not to make this a diplomatic issue. Spring-Rice's dispatches cite concerns with regards to American tolerance of the Anarchist movements
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
in American soil, the American government's inactions despite concrete knowledge (in Spring-Rice's opinion) of the conspiracies, as well as concerns regarding the image of Britain in American public opinion if Britain were seen to persecute oppressed people. Further, Spring-Rice was particularly wary of the Wilson government
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's political commitments, especially given that the Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
was the author eight years previously of a pamphlet highly critical of the "British rule in India". This pamphlet had been classified as seditionist by the Indian and Imperial governments. Following Bryan's departure, the British secretary of state Robert Crewe-Milnes
Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe KG, PC , known as The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as The Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British statesman and writer....
attempted to persuade Spring-Rice to raise the issue in front of the United States government. American authorities in Philippines were also more cooperative at this time, and assured Britain of foreknowledge of any plans against Hong Kong. Following the conclusion of the Lahore Conspiracy trial, and as more evidence of German complicity came to light, Foreign Secretary Edward Grey was forced to override Spring-Rice's concerns. In February 1916, the concerns of the British government regarding the conspiracy and German complicity were officially presented to the American government.
However, although the new secretary of state Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
was initially as uncooperative as Bryan, the first investigations of the conspiracy opened with the raid of the Wall Street office of Wolf von Igel, seizing papers that were later presented as evidence in the Hindu German conspiracy trial
Hindu German Conspiracy Trial
The Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial commenced in the District Court in San Francisco, California on November 12, 1917 following the uncovering of the Indo German plot for initiating a revolt in India...
. To much chagrin of the British government, however, it was not pursued further at the time. The issue precipitated a more general Anglo-American neutrality dispute, aggravated by belligerent preventive measures taken by the British far-eastern fleet in the High seas that threatened the sovereignty of American vessels. The seizure, at the mouth of the Yangtze, of German and Turkish passengers from the American vessel China by the HMS Laurentic in particular and the following argument by the British government that the seized planned to foment armed uprising in India provoked outrage from the American government, followed by a number of incidents including the SS Henry S incident. The US Atlantic Fleet dispatched destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s to the Philippines. The relations were strained when in May 1916, the British government decided to relax its aggressive policy and seek cooperation with the US. The China prisoners were released that month, but relations did not improve before November that year, with a number of exchanges through the rest of 1916.
The issue was ultimately addressed by William Wiseman
Sir William Wiseman, 10th Baronet
Sir William George Eden Wiseman, 10th Baronet was a British intelligence agent and banker. He was a general partner at American investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Co. from 1929 till 1960.- Biography :...
, head of British intelligence in the US, who bypassed diplomatic channels to give details of a bomb plot directly to the New York police. This led to the arrest of Chandra Kanta Chuckrevarty. As the links between the Chuckrevarty papers and the Igel papers became apparent, the investigations by federal authorities ultimately expanded to cover the entire conspiracy, with the US agreeing to pass on evidence so long as Britain did not seek admission of liability for Breaches of Neutrality. At a time that Diplomatic relations with Germany were deteriorating, the Foreign Office directed the Embassy to cooperate with the investigations. These ultimately resolved the Anglo-American diplomatic disputes just as America entered the war.