During the first years of World War I, the United States remained neutral. And although he always sympathized with the Allied cause, that was not his war and, furthermore, he did not see his interests in danger. Public opinion was divided until in May 1915 a German submarine sank the English ocean liner RMS Lusitania near Ireland. with more than 100 Americans on board. It is true that the German embassy in Washington had issued a warning statement:
WARNING ! TRAVELERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage:are reminded of the declaration of war between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and hers, and that the war zone includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles, which , in accordance with the pertinent notices given by the German Imperial Government, ships flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, may be destroyed in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or its allies do so at their own risk. IMPERIAL EMBASSY OF GERMANY in Washington, DC April 22, 1915
Germany reacted quickly and alerted its ambassador, Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff , to keep public opinion divided and sabotage shipments of phenol (used to make explosives) to the British. Even though Great Britain was the first producer of phenol, it imported the scarce production of the American industry. Until... Thomas Edison appeared . Following the invention of the phonograph, Edison had launched his Diamond Disc record label. and the discs on which the recordings were made were made of a plastic substance called Bakelite which, coincidentally, results from the condensation of phenol with formaldehyde. So, given the scarce American production of phenol, he decided to create his own factory capable of manufacturing twelve tons a day.
Edison
The Germans were to prevent Edison's excess production from falling into British hands. Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff put it in the hands of Hugo Schweitzer , one of his agents who was also a chemist. Schweitzer, as a good chemist, recalled that phenol was also used in the manufacture of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and that from the beginning of the war, after Great Britain stopped exporting phenol, the firm Bayer had to reduce the production of aspirin. Appealing to Edison's conscience, Schweitzer convinced him to sign a trade agreement with Germany and use the excess phenol for pharmaceutical rather than military purposes. A master move…
Unfortunately, for the Germans, the plot was uncovered. The American secret service had Schweitzer's liaison with the ambassador under surveillance and succeeded the briefcase in which the entire plan was detailed. Nor could they stop the chemist because the US had not yet entered the war, it would do so in 1917, and the trade agreements with Germany were not illegal either. The one who did feel cheated was Edison, who quickly broke the agreement and sold all his surplus to the American army... and the latter to the British.
Sources and images:Highbeam, allBusiness, Wikipedia