TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX. PORTLAXD, SEPTEMBER - 2,7 1917.
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Big Task of the United
Secret Service Facing a
of German Inform ers
OTkat Covers
The Whole o
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States
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BY RENE BACHE.
WASHINGTON is a nest of German
spies. Of this fact there cannot
be the slightest doubt. It is fuily
ccepted- by United States Government
authorities.
Uncle Sam, it is alleged, is paying
regular salaries to many of them who
are reported to bo working in the
various executive departments some of
them in the Navy and War Depart
ments. Only the other day a United. States
Senator received an anonymous letter
conveying information which Secre
tary Daniels declared could only have
come from a spy who had access to
private and confidential documents on
file in his own office.
Since the war began, three years ago,
there has been a considerable bit of
pro-German sentiment in the War and
Navy departments. Nor is this at all
eurprising, .inasmuch as many Ger
mans are employed in both. A prin
cipal clerk in one of the most impor
tant bureaus, who was born in Ger
many, is said to be so rabid, a pro
German that since the outbreak of the
war he has refused to read any news
papers printed in the language.of the
United States.
X'ncle Snm' Disadvantage.
In all matters that relate to military
eecrecy Uncle Sam is at a great dis
advantage in this war. He is an hon
est man. whose status is like that of
an intelligent but unsuspicious gentle
man wno deals with an unscrupulous
ecoundrel. He does not have half a
chance. At length it dawns upon him
that he is dealing with a professional
crook. But even then he does not know
how to act, because he cannot oppose
crookedness with crookedness.
For illustration, observe the present
course of action toward the diplomatic
representatives of the powers with
which the United States is at war. The
envoys of Germany and Austria-Hungary
were dismissed, but until recently
they were permitted to keep their sub
ordinates "in temporary charge" of
their embassies in Washington. Can it
te for a moment doubted that these em
bassies have continued to be spy cen
ters, acquiring in every possible way
secret information of important useful
ness to the enemy? What silly fools
our foes must think we are!
A National Difference.
We have never thought it worth
while to maintain a system of political
espionage in foreign countries. Indeed,
from our point of view, what reason
able, object was thereby to be gained?
But it is a fact perfectly well known
that the German spy system, even in
time of peace, has covered the United
States as with a network.
No sooner had the war begun (al
though as yet we were at peace with
Germany) than the German and Aus
trian Embassies at Washington organ
ized plots against us, which, ta many
of their developments, suggested, rather
the operations of yeggmen than any
thing less crudely crimioal. When such
operations had progressed beyond the
bearable point we dismissed the Am
bassadors of those countries, permit
ting, nevertheless, their subordinates to
remain- and keep the business going.
Naturally, the chief center of the
spy system (hitherto directed from the
German and Austrian Embassies) has
been, and is today, the capital of the
nation. Recent developments indicate
that it is no longer a mere guess, but
now a certainty, that many of the em
ployes of the executive departments of
the government are, and have been for
a long time, in the pay of enemies.
You see, Germany looks ahead. She
has had for many years a covetous
eye upon South America, the acquisi
tion of which was to begin with Brazil.
German maps, at least semi-official,
have been published, in which all of
South America was marked off as
(to be) German. The problem was one
easy of solution, from Germany's point
of view, for the Monroe Doctrine is re
garded as being no stronger than the
United States Navy, and the latter
could bo safely ignored as soon as
Germany was strong enough to beat
us on the sea. She is that today.
America's Luck.
This particular project was second
in importance only to the conquest of
Europe. It might have been alternative
thereto, as a choice of conquests, ac
cording as convenience served. Most
luckily for us, the trouble started on
the other side of the Atlantic.
In view of what has been said, how
ever, it will be understood why Ger
many long ago extended her spy sys
tem to this side of the ocean. She
knew her business. A lot of money
had to be spent, but she got the worth
of it. By this means she was able to
organize an information service that is
today in perfect shape for the furnish
ing of exactly the kind of news she
needs.
The spy service of Germany is of
enormous magnitude, its ramifications,
even in time of peace., extending into
all the countries of the world. It is
the most wonderful system ever devised
for the gathering of intelligence. The
work it requires is usually easy and the
pay is always liberal even munificent,
when the information given is really
worth while. Money is a temptation to
the average person who toils for a
livelihood. Therefore, would it not be
rather surprising if every person" in
Uncle Sam's employ were beyond the
reach of corruption by Teuton gold?
Believe it not. Is it to be imagined
that the German and Austrian em
bassies (which made a business of en
gineering criminal plots against us
long before we thought of entering the
war) would neglect to employ spies,
and many of them, in the departments
at Washington and elsewhere?
Germany's spy system is so thor
oughly and efficiently organized that
the chances, are that a verbatim
transcript of no single important docu-
- TV
sain
The "Spy Gate" of the Austria-Hungary Embassy.
. '
S3"4 -S
Off for the Front Under the Observation of How Many Well Distributed,
German Spies?
ment in the files of the War Depart- many civilian clerks, some of whom
ment or Navy Department has failed I must have access daJlv to the official
iu iinu us way 10 ine w uneimsirasse
In Berlin. In all likelihood this sort
of thing is going on right now, for
all the official precautions against' it.
How the Syatem Worki,
It is easy enough. The chief of a
certain military bureau, let us say, is
a hard-workint; and patriotic officer,
honorable and. incorruptible. But he
must trust somebody. Under him are
files. All of them are honest, perhaps
save one man. Nobody thinks of sus
pecting him. Fairly safe from detec
tion, he copies documents of vital im
portance and mails them .to the Ger
man Embassy.
It may be that he is a German sym
pathiser. But quite possibly he be
trays his country merely because he
needs the money. There are such men
and also such women. Among the
trusted employes of the Government
departments at Washington are many
women. The Wilhelmstrasse finds
women spies much more useful than
men for many purposes, one of which
is to cajole men to do dishonorable
things.
Suppose that you were a trusted
civilian" empioye in the drafting divi
sion of the naval bureau of construc
tion. Your pay is $5.04 a day. The
cost of living has gone up: you have
sickness and other misfortunes and
your creditors are pressing you for
settlement of bills you are unable to
meet. In these uncomfortable circum
stances a whisper is somehow con
veyed to you that a person unidenti
fied, but having the money, is willing
to pay you $1000 cash for a rough
sketch of the plans of one of our con
templated battle cruisers.
Of course, you reject the suggestion
with scorn. But it may be that the
young man at the next drawing table
(at work on the same plans) is more
accessible to such temptation. He sells
the sketch, pockets the money and no
body suspects him. From that time
on, of course, he is in the, pay of the
enemy.
How Is this sort of thing to be pre
vented? The answer is that it cannot
be. The best that can be done is to
minimize the mischief. Experience has
proved that there is no Government
secret that can be kept with certainty.
Always1 there is a possible leak some
where the chance of such leak being
in direct proportion to the money ob
taained through the divulging of It.
The spy or traitor is an ever-present
possibility in any of our military
or naval organizations, administrative
or In the field. Now the Government
secret service has taken up the busi
ness of nailing the spy in real earn
est. But, unfortunately, its education
In catching counterfeiters (the busi
ness ordinarily assigned to It) can
hardly be said to equip It very well
for this most difficult of employments.
WOMEN REGISTERED, TOO
Places of Men Called Away to War
Arc Being Taken Rapidly.
ST. UOUIS, Aug. 26. Following im
mediately upon the women's service
registration, the instruction depart
ment of the women's commltte of the
Council of National Defense placed six
registered young women in line for po
sitions that have been vacated by men
who have volunteered for war service.
None of the young women sent to re
place the volunteeer soldiers had been
previously employed and all were
prompted to seek employment as the
result of male members of their own
families having been called to the serv
ice. The women had all registered for
clerical work and have been placed in
six of the large mercantile houses -of
the business district. A seventh reg
istered woman, who asked for instruc
tion to become a business woman, was
placed with a local business college,
where she will receive, without cost
to herself, a course of instruction, in
bookkeeping and stenography.
.The registration pf St. Louis women
at the. out-of-town Summer resorts
promises to be much larger than was
anticipated and will swell noticeably
the total of St. Louis registrations.
Many of the St. Louis women who pre
sided at the registration booths at the
Northern and Eastern resorts have tel
egraphed tp the women's committee for
extra blanks and Hoover pledge agree
ments to accommodate St. Louis women
desiring to register in the two enrollments.
FALL FROM BED MAY KILL
Woman Tumbles 15 Inches to Floor
and Breuks Her Neck.
HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 25.-Mrs.
Lulu Thompson, BO, of Hebron, is slow
ly dying at St. .Joseph's Hospital, the
result of a broken neck sustained when
she fell from her bed at 3 o'clock Tues
day morning. It was not thought at
the time that Mrs. Thompson's cjtid!
ito nwas dangerous. Gradually she lost
the use of her arms and legs and in the
forenoon Xr. Cyrus E, Pendleton, . of
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William J. Flynn, United States Secret Service Chief.
Hebron, was called in and he was of
the opinion that Mrs. Thompson had
a broken neck and her body was para
lyzed from the neck down. He ordered
the woman taken to St. Joseph'3 Hospi
tal, which was done, the ambulance
conveying the woman to the hospital
late Tuesday evening.
The case is a peculiar one, according
to the physicians, as the woman did not
fall over 15 inches. The cause of Mrs.
Thompson's fall is atttributed to the
extreme hot weather, which caused her
to move much in her sleep.
LAD REC0GIN1ZES MARINE
Power of Observation Identifies
Soldier Without Hatband.
NEW YORK. Aug. 10. A group of
youngsters were playing on Riverside
drive. A military man, dressed in
khaki and accompanied by a young
lady, approached the group. The boys
stopped their playing, and, with nudges
and gesticulation, were evidently try
ing to Identify the man in khaki.
As the young lady and her escort
drew nearer, one youngster, with an air
of superior knowledge, informed his
companions: "He's a United States Ma
rine." Overhearing the remark, the young
lady ques'tioned the small boy: "How
do you know he is a marine?"
"Why, lady," exclaimed the young
ster, "he wears an ornament on his
hat showing an eagle, globe and anchor,
but doesn't wear any hat cord."
The colored hat cords, yellow, . blue
and red, help many civilians to rec
ognize at once a cavalryman, an in
fantryman or artilleryman. However,
the United States marine dressed In
khaki is still an enigma to many per
sons who lack.teh powers of observa
tion displayed by the small boy on
Riverside drive.
ufacturers and inspectors of munitions
from foreign governments.
. He went to Alton six months ago and
two months ago resigned as cook in a
cafe and went to work in the hotel. He
said a man who opposed his going to
work at the hotel had reported to Fed
eral authorities that he. an alien enemy,
was within one-halt mile of the bar
racks of soldiers.
ARREST HELD SPITEWORK
German Near Soldiers' Barracks In
Hands of Federal Agents.'
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 26. Max Berger,
who is being held in Alton by' Federal
authorities, attributed his arrest to
"Bpitework." Berger was cook at the
Mineral Springs Hotel. It vas possible
for him there to be near munition man-
KENTUCKY LOSES FORTUNE
Florida Will Costs State $3,000,000
Inheritance Tax.
LOUISVILLE, Kv, Aug. 23. The
State of Kentucky, whose public offi
cials had been anticipating the collec
tion of $3,000,000 in inheritance tax
from the estate of the late Mrs. Robert
Worth Bingham, formerly Mrs. Henry
M. Flagler, of New York, learned re-,
cently that Mrs. Bingham's " will, dis
posing of an estate valued at approxi
mately $70,000,000. had been probated
at West Talm Beach. Fla.
It was expected it would bo probated
in Kentucky, where it was estimated
the state's share would have liquidat
ed the entire state debt.
OYSTERS RISE IN PRICE
Increase in Cost of Labor and
Equipment Is Alleged Cause.
! NEW YORK, Aug." 25. Oysters are
going up.. They will advance 25 to 35
per cent as sold in bulk, it was said at
the convention of the Oyster Growers"
Association of North America, in the
Park Avenue Hotel. More than 75
growers, representing, three-fourths of
the Nation's oyster output, attended.
- W. H. Killian, of Baltimore, the pres
ident, blamed the price rise to the 100
per cent, extra cost of boats, ropes and
other equipment and increased cost of
labor. ,
Here It Is Again.
. Tho Lamb.
It - appears that once a Westerner,
visiting New York, was held up by a
footpad with the demand:
- "Give me your money, or I'll blow
out your brains!"
"Blow away," said the man from tho
West. "You can live in Now York
without brains, but not without money."
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