naught--unpunished--the revered document of the Fourth of July, 1776,
and daring to _barter away the birthright of the white race_. . . . We
want to see whether the united voices of Germans and foreigners have
not more weight than the hired writers of editorials in the newspapers;
and whether the words of men who are independent will not render it
impossible for a subsidised press to continue its destructive work."

Gerard's investigation showed that a group of German-Americans in
Berlin were financing the _League of Truth_; that a man named William
F. Marten, who posed as an American, was the head, and that the editors
and writers of the publication _Light and Truth_ were being assisted by
the Foreign Office Press Bureau and protected by the General Staff. An
American dentist in Berlin, Dr. Charles Mueller, was chairman of the
league. Mrs. Annie Neumann-Hofer, the American-born wife of
Neumann-Hofer, of the Reichstag, was secretary. Gerard reported other
names to the State Department, and asked authority to take away the
passports of Americans who were assisting the German government in this
propaganda.

The "league" heard about the Ambassador's efforts, and announced that a
"Big Bertha" issue would be published exposing Gerard. For several
months the propagandists worked to collect data. One day Gerard
decided to go to the league's offices and look at the people who were
directing it. In the course of his remarks the Ambassador said that if
the Foreign Office didn't do something to suppress the league
immediately, he would burn down the place. The next day Marten and his
co-workers went to the Royal Administration of the Superior Court,
No. 1, in Berlin, and through his attorney lodged a criminal charge of
"threat of arson" against the Ambassador.