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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1915)
5 0 ASjtmoA CmULi Scitocc cat Ansa, jtaly " THE HONORABLE THE IXln These DaySntcrnationdl delations May HirqUpon fe Intelligence - Office dra? an under oex wire ca OS-iJlXrt ClMSit. ThatWorKs Smoothb -THE HONORABLE TTTE SUNDAY . OHEGONIATV. . PORTLAND, JTTXE 20, 1915. t - t - r.JhJ .... ,.V - . - 'Cjjll ;;i i r v j I , ASHIXGTON, X). S. A short time ago a prominent official of the Department of State was asked for a definition of the word "diplom acy." It was just after Secretary Bryan bad sent the Lusitania note to the Ger man Foreign Office. The official hesi tated a moment. "The Secretary," he remarked, "favors the Idea that diplomacy Is the art of keeping' cool. That idea is true enough, but It doesn't cover sufficient territory. Diplomacy, I should say, is the art of getting' a good" cable." If you separate yourself from the atmosphere of the second floor of the department, where the Secretary of State has his office, and where the diplomats . themselves come flocking every day, and descend to the first floor, where the big intelligence office of the department Is located, you'll see why diplomacy. In this day and genera tion, depends on a cable that works well. - In other words, no office of foreign affairs of any government can be much better than Us system of transmitting and receiving intelligence from the borne office and Its agents abroad, and ice versa. Before the day of the under sea .cables there was not a great deal of merit to the Intelligence system of any foreign office: and, while the cable raised the efficiency of such systems to an enormous degree, it was the European war that actually put such, establishments to their first real test and taught officials particularly State Department officials that a poorly working cable or telegraph line can come very near to defeating the ends of real diplomacy. There are four methods of diplomatic and consular communication employed In the big intelligence system which centers on the first floor of the State, "War and Navy Department building here In Washington. Telegraph and cable nearly always are used jointly In the transmission of a message abroad, or, when cables will not work properly, due to too rigid censorship somewhere, the wireless is sometimes called into play. After all. It is the mall which carries the bulk of state Intelligence, and, while this method Is slow, there Is less worry attached to its operation. The European war is causing . the United States Government a tremen dous outlay In the way of message transmission, and it was admitted by an official recently that the normal cable bill of the State Department, both for "sent" and "received" messages, was come $15,000 a month. That sum, how ever, applied solely to rates during times of peace. It doesn't cover the bill Since the European war started. "What will the department's cable bills average per month since the war started?" this official was asked. "It would be hard to tellj" he replied. They have been enormous. I heard, bowever, that we spent very nearly as much during the first three months of the war as we spend In two years of rdlnary conditions." And it costs $15,000 a month or about $175,000 a year In peace times! w Mary Jane's Gingerbread iSdan ((J WANT to do something nice," X said Alary Jane one evening shortly before her dinner time. "I want to do something that I nave never done before something that is real hard for a little girl to do," she added definitely. " Her mother was busy getting din- tier, but beinc a real Mother, she al ways nad time to EtoD when her little Kirl needed her. "Something nice and fore," she repeated, smilingly, "now I wonder just what that would be?" Alary Jane looked up expectantly. "Can't you think of it, mother?" she asked. "Try again, please do! You're such a good thinker." Mother thought a minute, then she said, half to herself, "No that would be too hard." "No it wouldn't, mother!" exclaimed llary Jane, dancing up and down in her eagerness, "That would be just what I want to do!" "What would?" asked mother, laugh- Mother 'lied oil the Apron, h- i " . wC - And that is only for cable tolls. What then, you ask, does the department, in the ordinary course of business, spend for postage stamps? .That Is a ques tion which no one cares to answer. It would pay a lot of salaries that much Is certain. " - Here is another instance of the way the department spends money to get messages to its Ministers and Ambas sadors abroad: At the outbreak of the war, last Au gust, the Department of State was called upon to relieve a great number of "stranded" Americans abroad, who had lost their money and possessions in the rush for ocean ports when the war rolled upon them. Friends in the United States began pouring money in upon the department, to be transmitted to relatives abroad, and before this money could be paid by a State' De partment representative abroad a brief description of the payee had to be cabled. In one running mesage of this. kind the State Department . cabled 20,000 words, which filled SS typewritten lngly. "What was I talking about?" "I don't know," answered Mary Jane, "but if you have thought of some thing that maybe is too hard for a little girl to do, I perfectly well know that that very thing is what - I am wanting to do right now!" she added. coaxingly. , "Alright, then, we'll do it!" an nounced mother. "You . go and get your biggest apron, and , you . shall make a gingerbread man for - your dinner." Mary Jane danced away for the apron and danced back again, saying, . "But I'll not make him for MY din ner!" "No?" asked mother. "No," replied Mary Jane with great determination. "I'll make him for Daddy's." Mother tied on the apron and Mary Jane climbed up to the baking table. Such fun' as they had mlving -egg and sugar and molasses (nice, sticky, mussy molasses) and flour and spices! There is no use telling you all about it, for if you have made gingerbread men yourself, you know all about It; and if you haven't, reading about it in a story won't give you half the idea ofall the fun! Finally the dough -was ready. Mother lifted it up with the big spoon and declared It "just right." "Now the next thing is the pan." she said. "You can get it out and grease it yourself if you are careful." And, of course, Mary Jane was care ful. She went to the pantry, got the biggest pan she could find and greased it carefully with a greased paper, just as she had seen her mother do. Then the gingerbread man was laid in the pan. Mary Jane made a beau tiful round head, a shapely body, two straight legs and a hat. "Isn't he to have any arms?" asked mother, when she was asked to in spect it. Mary Jane giggled and made some arms as fast as ever she could. Then mother showed her how to make hair of cocoanut shreads and eyes of raisins and a nose of clove. Mary Jane was so pleased "with his pages and paid for at the rate of 12 cents a word, thes costing very close to $2500. It seems prodigal, but gov ernments cannot hold back for ex penses In time of .stress. All this, however, is nothing, but the cable feature of the big intelligence system. There are about 580 embas sies, legations, consulates and consular agencies, which must report to the department at varying intervals, rang ing from once a day to once every two weeks. These . branch offices of the departments are scattered from China to Chile. The center the brain of the system is at Washington. One man and his assistants preside over this nerve cen ter. Me Is Dr. John R. Buck, chief of the Index bureau of the State Depart ment. The title, however, does not half way describe the job. Buck is the boss of the depart ment's intelligence system, but - his work is so closely allied with . the department officials that he, alone, would be powerless to run the system. His function is simply to supervise the department's vast network of- mail good looks that she gave him some buttons of currants and a belt of cit ron, so that he could be very stylish. Then mother whisked him Into the oven and baked him brown. ' Oh, dear! but he did smell good; and when father came home and saw him, and said he was the finest ginger bread man ever made, Mary Jane was so proud and happy she resolved then and there to be a cook. Neio Shoes NO matter how I tippy-toe. No matter where I try to go. My brand-new shoes keep squeaking You sneaky, squeaky,' creaky shoe! I really don't know what to do With such a naughty thing as you! You squeaky shoe! You squeak like tiny little mice Who've nibbled at the cheese and rice; Now tell me shoes, is this thing nice? You sneaky, squeaky, creaky shoe! I really, don't know what to do With such a naughty thing as you! You squeaky shoe! You squeak like squirrels in a tree. You squeak at mother, then at me. Now what can all this trouble be? You sneaky, squeaky, creaky shoe! I really don't know what to do With such a naughty thing as you! You squeaky shoe! i Fun With Apples :. DO YOU live near any Apple Trees? If you do, you can print your or your friends initials on the growing apples. While, the fruit yet hangs green on the trees select the biggest apple for the fun. Cut out from thin, tough paper your initials, with round dots for periods. Next paste these let ters and dots on that side of the apple which is most turned to the sun, taking: care not to loosen the fruit's hold upon its stem. As soon as the apple is ripe take off the paper cuttings, which, hav ing shut out the reddening rays ot the sun, have kept the fruit green just beneath them, so that the name or initials now show plainly. . " - - THE SECRETARY OF A-.' - , WASHINGTON, D. UNITED Cosma a nictations 7rom routes, telegraph and cable lines that spread around the world.' In the larger sense. Buck and his in telligence system care for the product of the department's note writers, and the note writers have been very busy folks since last August. He must also care for the miscellaneous . output of the diplomatic and consular service, which means not alone the messages or orders to agents abroad but also the responses from those same agents which are constantly pouring In. In other words. Buck has the Job of mov-. ing this mass 'of correspondence; and, SHE An Eye Opener ACCORDING to the old saying, it certainly ' makes a difference whose dog is doing the barking. Somehow, you know, if a neighbor's dog barks during the night you are mighty apt to complain about it to his owner. And yet, for some strange "rea son, if it happens to be your own dog that is barking, you don't mind' it so much. - Bearing that fact in mind, listen to the etory of little Billy Tuft and his dog. Rags.! Now Billy was really a very mischievous boy. Lots of peo ple in town ! referred to him as "the bad boy," and many even thought hhn cruel. -( . Billy loved Rags. , his . scraggly fox terrier.. But. Billy seemed to have only slight regard for any. other dog. And Rags seemed to share his master's opinion in. this respect. . . Of ten, . of an afternoon when school was out. Billy and . Rags would roam around. on the outskirts of the village, both on . the lookout . for mischief. Billy, for example, would pick up a small stick or stone and take great Oliver .What a Sorry Spectacle He Wast I STATE, STATES OF AMERICA. nj-crt y&riVj- so far, he has moved it as well as the cables would permit. For the most part, the cable gets the department's closest attention. The cable carries the ' major portion of all important diplomatic correspondence and a great deal of "rush" consular material, such as the reams of orders that passed between Consul Frost at Queenstown and the department when the Lusitania was sunk. ' On the other hand, no government, re gardless of the sum it pays for its cable tolls or postage stamps, can expect to bring its intelligence system- to the highest possible status If It permits lta THE delight In throwing it at any dog which happened to be passing. Rags, too. would enjoy it and would show his pleasure by barking and. if the other ' dog ; wasn't too big, by giving chase. If there was one thing both of them did think was the very best of fun, it was to get hold of Borne poor unsus pecting dog, tie a tin can to his tail and then turn him loose. The poor dog would take a step or two. hear the can bumping along behind him, become frightened by the noise and "take out" down the street at top speed. But one day Rags was missing. It was a Saturday, too, and Billy had looked everywhere for him, but to no avail. He called and whistled and looked under the woodshed and out on the lot where the boys were play ing baseball and even down by the creek. And still no Rags was to be seen. Billy was miserable. Yet he felt confident that, even if Rags were lost, he would eventually find his way home, since all dogs know how to do that. But as the afternoon wore on and it grew dark and still no hide nor hair of Rags, Billy was about in tears. At supper he voiced his fears to his parents.. "Well." said papa, "if. he doesn't show up by tomorrow morning, I'll advertise in the ' newspaper for him and offer a reward. Rags is a good dog and I'd hate to see anything hap pen to him. So don't worry, son, for I believe " Bang bang de bang bang! The interrupting noise came from Just out side the dining-room- window; and it sounded as though someone had picked up an armful of pots and pans and dropped them on the walk. "Mercy sakes! What is that?" ex claimed mamma. . Just then, from outside the window, came a whine and a weak, pitiable little bark. "It's Rags. It's Rags!" cried Billy, jumping up from the table and fairly running out to the kitchen door which he flung open, shouting: "Here Rags! Here Rags! Come here, old fellow!" And Rags ' came. . But, . goodness me, what . a sorry facilities for secrecy to degenerate. There must be a code which is a model of secrecy, and which would defy de tection under any and all circumstances. A code is built on the theory that it must defy detection even should a copy fall Into improper hands and a possible spy be given a chance to study it. Code systems, despite the fact that every effort is made to bring them to the highest point of secrecy and in tricacy, are like last year's hat. They go out of style. Since 1S76 the State Department has had three separate codes, and the very latest the mysteri ous "green code" is guarded so closely that it is kept locked in a safe day and night and taken out only when actually needed for use. This latest document is the invention of Dr. Buck, head of the index bureau, and represents the most intricate and abstruse combinations of figures it Is possible to obtain for cable use.. Back in 1876 the State Department invented what was called the red code. It was the work of John H. Haswell, the then chief of the index bureau, and, at the time it was invented, it was con sidered a marvel of mystery. This coda was in use for the most confidential matters until 1899, when the depart ment was led to believe that, through years of use. its secret had been de ciphered by certain foreign govern ernments, so Haswell set himself to the task of revising the red code into an other and' more intricate system, which he called the blue code. From 1899 up to within a few years ago the blue code was the. one used for matters of the utmost importance and secrecy, while the red code continued to be used for matters of secondary im portance. But about two years ago it was decided that the blue code, like the red, was outliving its usefulness, and then Dr.-Buck brought out the green code, into which not more than a dozen officials at the State Department, out side of the embassy staffs, have even peeped. Any request to take a look at the code books of the department would be met with a polite but altogether firm refusal. The department sees to it that no possible spy. even though he be dis guised as a harmless Sunday feature spectacle he was! He looked years older than he did when ' Billy had last Been him. He was covered with mud, his head was drooping and he was fairly panting for breath. And tied to his tail was a tin can! "Who did that!" shouted Billy, as though Rags could tell him. "You just let me catch whoever it was and I'll I'll just punch his face good for him! Poor Rags, poor fellow yes yes come here,, old boy, and I'll take it off! I guess you've been running all afternoon trying to get away from it, haven't you. But you just wait I'll find out who did it. and and I'll make him pay for it! Nobody can treat my dog that way. T tell you!" M OUR PUZZLE CORNER m The outlines of what states are formed by these pictures? ENIGMA. My first is in three, but not in two. My second is in old, but not in new; My "third is In low, but not in high. My fourth Is in smile, but not in cry; My fifth is in land, but not in sea. My sixth is in arm, but not in knee; My seventh is in yellow, but not in blue, My eighth is in false, but not in true; My whole is something which all , school children like. writer, has a chance to peek between the covers of that little book. It is generally recognized, however, that practically all government codes are based upon some document and a group of figures is used to represent the page and line of the word Indicated. For instance, a code-book page has, say, 25 numbered words, in a column straight down the page. Suppose, for instance, that on page 45, in line 12. there appears the word "note." There is a code equivalent for that word "note" which may be "cat." If the matter is important, the cable will not use the word "cat" to indicate "note." It will make its code even more ab struse by sending the group of figures "4512," which means that on page 45, first line, second word, is the word "note." It is perfectly easy, however, to make an arrangement, say with the American Ambassador at London, to reverse the figures In a certain code message. In stead of reading "4512," the group of figures in the cable would read "2154," although by means of the previous agreement the word indicated would be the same. An official stated the other day that by previous arrangement with the re cipient of the coded cablegram there was practically no limit to the cryptlo and abstruse code combinations it is possible to arrange by means of the systems already in use. Quite naturally, green code is used as little as possible. It is the one best bet in codes and the department doesn't want it to get before the spy departments of other countries any oftener than possible. So it isn't used freely. ' However, suppose the ruler of some foreign country has acted slightingly toward an American Ambassador ac credited to his country. This slight would in all probability be admin istered in private, and the Ambassador and the Department of State would want the news of the occurrence to be kept very private and confidential until they could at least- act upon the mat ter. Out would come the new green code and a message would be put In cipher. If, however, the State Department Concluded on Pago t. ) And. would you believe it, never aft er that did Billy tie a can to a dog's taiL Also, strange to say. Rags seemed to lose all deeire to run along after a dog that was fleeing down the street with a tin can chasing him. Appropriate. Lady "What games did you play at the lawn party, my dear?" Child "It wasn't a lawn party. It was a bridge party. We played Lon don bridge is falling down." At Japanese auctions each bidder writes his name and bid on a slip of paper, -whicli he puts in a box provided for the purpose. "When the bidding is over, the box is opened and the roods declared the property of the hiKhest bidder. JUMBLED QUOTATIONS. Hawt goreni fo bte retah si nto ulfl f o uro melicsatia. Girvil. Rta aym rer utb autren nocant sims. Yerdnd. Answers. ENIGMA Holidays. JUMBLED QUOTATIONS What re gion of the earth 13 not full of our calamities? Virgil. Art may err but nature cannot miss. Dryden. ' Solution to State Puzzle New Jer sey, Texas, Kentucky, Florida.