At the beginning of the war, when the British censors refused the American correspondents in Germany the right of telegraphing to the United States via England, the Berlin Government granted permission to the United Press, The Associated Press and the Chicago Daily News to send wireless news via Sayville.  At first this news was edited by the correspondents of these associations and newspapers in Berlin.  Later, when the individual correspondents began to demand more space on the wireless, the news sent jointly to these papers was cut down.  This unofficial league of American papers was called the “War-Union.”  The news which this union sent was German, but it was written by trained American writers.  When the Government saw the value of this service to the United States it began to send wireless news of its own.  Then the Krupp interests appeared, and the Overseas News Agency was organised.  At that moment the Krupp invasion of the United States began and contributed 800,000 marks annually to this branch of propaganda alone.

Dr. Hammann, for ten years chief of the Berlin Foreign Office propaganda department, was selected as president of the Overseas News Agency.  The Krupp interests, which had been subscribing 400,000 marks annually to this agency, subscribed the same amount to the reorganised company.  Then, believing that another agency could be organised, subscribed 400,000 marks more to the Transocean News Agency.  Because there was so much bitterness and rivalry between the officials of the two concerns, the Government stepped in and informed the Overseas News Agency that it could send only “political news,” while the Trans-ocean was authorised to send “economic and social news” via Sayville and Tuckerton.

This news, however, was not solely for the United States.  Krupp’s eyes were on Mexico and South America, so agents were appointed in Washington and New York to send the Krupp-bred wireless news from New York by cable to South America and Mexico.  Obviously the same news which was sent to the United States could not be telegraphed to Mexico and South America, because Germany had a different policy toward these countries.  The United States was on record against an unlimited submarine warfare.  Mexico and South America were not.  Brazil, which has a big German population, was considered an un-annexed German colony.  News to Brazil, therefore, had to be coloured differently than news to New York.  Some of the colouring was done in Berlin; some in New York by Krupp’s agents here.  As a result of Germany’s anti-United States propaganda in South America and Mexico, these countries did not follow President Wilson when he broke diplomatic relations with Berlin.  While public sentiment might have been against Germany, it was, to a certain degree, antagonistic to the United States.