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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1919)
SIXTEEN PAGES DAILY EAST OftEGONIAN, PENDLETON, OREflOK, SATURDAY. MAHCtU19lO PAGE TEN twai . spies Aim i IMAGINARY dNES AND HOW THEY WERE SEPARATED Scwije llemarkable .Workings of JJ. S. Secret Service Revealed ! lv John Lord O'Brlan. A interestln appraisal of the Inner work tnr f the United States Semt Service, the tMnrner,t of alie.. enemies and the fuiht Malnst German spies and domestic sedition during- the period ot the trsr was made re cently by John Lord O Brian, who was closely SftACtsted tnrouffhout those busy months with Attorney General Grerory as a sneclsl ss atstant in the War Emergency Division of the Department of Justice, CnU Liberty In War Time' was the topic Of a raer read by Ir. O'Frian at the recent annuel meeting In this city of the New York State Bar Association. In that paper Mr. O'niiaa said: "With the perspective of years tto achievement of the Americans In the war will loom larger or more significant than tha triumph of the American civil law. the lack of Internal disorder and the law respecting atti tude observed throughout the country by both cut ten and alien alike. No other nation cama through the struggle with so little dteorder and with so little Interference with the civil liberty of the Individual. "This country prior to our entry Into the war had almost no protection on the statute books s gainst hostile activities and throughout a great part of our own period of the war had Inadequate protection against the activities of hostile propagandists. The confidence of the public, which Is at all times essential for the orderly administration of Justice, was seriously affected by this condition of the statute law. The Spy Mania, "'But, curiously enough, one of the chief em barrassments caused by this general condition wsg the spy mania. Throughout the country a number of largo organizations and societies were created fur the purpose of suppressing edition. All of them wars the outsroath of good motive snd msnned by a high type of citizens. The membership of these, associa tions ran Into the hundreds of thousands. One of them carried full page advertisements in leading papers from the Atlantis to the Pacific offering in substance to matte every man a py chaser on the. payment of a dollar mem bership foe. ' "These associations did much good, awaken tr.g the public to the danger of insidious propa ganda, but no other one causo contributed so gnuch to the oppression of innocent men as th systematic and indiscriminate agitation against What was claimed to be an all-pervasive sys tem af tierman espionage. One unpleasant fact continually impressed upon my associates and myself was the Insistent desire of a very large number of highly Intelligent men snd women to become arms of the Secret Service and to ievote their entire time to the patriotic pur pose of pursuing spies. This army of volunteer snofficiaJ spy chasers atiuids in contrast to the enormous army of civilian volunteers who sa lien Uy and unoatentatiousiy devoted their till energies to the constructive work of siding their country by faelpiag in the Red Cross, the m ar charities and many other branches of war activity ''For obvious reasons It was impossible for those in authority to make at any lime a state ment as to tha provable extent of the spy sys tem maintained in this country by our euenties. Jt is still too -ily to disclose the truth on that subject. .Nevertheless it may now be said with out detriment to the public interest that any amggestton that tha Central governments had bw organisation of 2ttf,uwt spies In this country te nonsense. t i PsycboloeT ' Hysteria. "One other aspect of this agitation Is per fcapa of mere interest to the psychologist than tn -the student of civil right, namely, the Urge number of false stories of enemy activi ties within the United States put forth throsuch the medium of press desptsches. pamphlets of patriotic societies and occasion ally .speeches on the flour of Congress. A -pgUSJOtom ship sailed Into our harbors with gJd from the .BollK!Viki with which to cor rupt the country. Another phantom ship was foend carrying ammunition from one of our fearfeors to Germany. Submarine captains landed on our coasts nd went to the theatre and spread influence gersne. A new species of pigeon, thought to Le German, was shot In Michigan, mysterious aeroplanes floating over Kansas at night, Ac ITheai there were the alleged spies themselves. Speerman, alleged intimate of Bernstorff, landed on our coasts by the U-53. adminis trator of large fuads. caugtit spying in our aiaP. turned out to be a plumber tram. DhU timoie. tie vera I other alleged spies, caimht on iie beaches signalling to submarine, were ulwetjuently released because they were in the .several cases hottest men. one of whotn had been chancing an incandescent light bulb it bis hotel room, another of whom was trying to attract the attention of a passerby on the beach, Jet "There was no community in the country so smsil that It did not produce a complaint be cause of the i Uue te Intern or execute at least one alleged German spy. Those instances are cited not to make light of the danger Af hostile activities nor to imply that inces sant vigilance waa not necessary in watching lbs German activities but to show how im possible It was to check that kind of hysteria wad war axeitement which found expression in impatience with the civil courts snd the oft recurring and false statement that this gov ernment ehowed undue eoieoy tow aid ene mumm it-bin our gates, , . : Toe Eaewsy AJiew. other 'policy so clearly and sharply dif ferentiates America from the other nations at' -r as the attitude which it took on the sub ject of Internal- enemy aliens. It was a policy not fully understood and In the earlier period waa freely criticised, but 1 venture to say that of all of the policies advanced by this e;o vera meat la the war no other pays a higher tribute to the American' ideal of juaiice. and 1 feefieve that the vetditt of the future upon tii is policy will be one bf uncondjtkMtal eoto nieacUtion. For in a time of war. w hile dutusblug offenders severely, we found It pos sible to close our ears to insensate clamor and to perpetuate the American atandards of lair piey. "Si previous war had presented on a large rale two problems of imprisoning or regulat ing the cot j duct of non-combatant civilians of eitosny origin Great Britain -embarked in a policy of internment early in the war and the a mat disorder which followed the sinking of the LusifcAUia resulted in the Mini try intern ing meat of the eeeeny aliens in the British latee. I.ter, In 111. owing to another Intense pub lie agitation eei the suect. although it was enated that only about tweive thousand were till at large (jnany of whom were alien ene mies only in a technical senaei, l'arlismnt waa compelled by public sentiment to adopt tuore stringent measure looking toaard toe aiimuHMt of many of Uee remaining sliei.e. JKrauoe pra-uih-ally all eeteniy alums were Itttersted down to the spring of U18. Both c thtse nations were la eloae Juxtaposition to lu Ceo U ml .Empire. u both f them the Ccrewji mpy stent wag thoroughly oraan- I H r nr"'-f'" " r" - " " " ." ..- . t i " x " . ' V I N " ' . - . i i M I:!' i b- j a Ai - c--" -J i ;4 . rw. i?tVxJ-aitwJt" r-!-- . N '$ i ' - 5 4 ! ' ' " :::: t ! (?AVr-lW 4C)Tf. 'v'lfjr ',-'''vVtf,T,t,;. AVT irivingattl,Uandol B : 5 XS'' ! iW - - ' r " v ' conu-d Fr..cJi Army of Df- ft a - ;f'L " , 1 n V r js-TIir i -ni I vtr.vtfv,v' V; rH;r . v -'.-iM 1 Ccme?ery of V,-r- ' -s " " ' ' (4-.. , V V" ' "''J i SwitecrlaaJ. .' , v , , ,V , . 5 i-l g TinbofArFr,n,!.i f 2 7' 'V. ' ? " "..J V' r'lt Vj I V Q . fJrW aJ... I I ; !- ' ' ... - , jw.. m i:'s' HuHnit Ittr1 period of thfl ex- - I?ed and it is not for us to dlsetss or appraise the roriectnetta of tlitir fl-c a on. "There is no doubt thnt thla prows oi "hitetiiment was a co?Hy one. in aihliihm to the lose to NMlufft ryv rW expense of maintain ing the large internment camp was a very serious Item. Suitable work - c.UlJ be f unI for only a ff action f the persons int rnd nl the bulk of Ukid living in Idleness tlR mratl physically, mentally and morally to sur-h-sn extent that an official" observer 0 tie condi tions in the well muintiiUied for-lssn intern ment tamps recently utatf-u to the u rtt-r that when released Ihe inmates of thep? e-imT'P. wherevifi they might -go. would be n kisI liability anJ a source .of danRr to the coin miiuity. "In America the proMf m of t!ic alien enen;y waa different. WV. had uMrotiiitrftely five kundrext thousand unnatnmli'l 'Jeri.'Ufis and probabiy Utt wwn three imd fuur r.-ii ll.n .u-tio-liuiKariant4. 'fneMC persons -1 . v 1 lrl Iti eenial indutrWn which fuUl r.t't Ig noredthe Germans Mr the skilled jsdei and the Ausiro-Iluiini iNS irt rt.iln othe in dustries, ucn as steel maiiitiaiaurv and oat snininaT. to an patent hi. b n -de th-.-e ii dus UiMV virtually dependent on tlielr labor. W-ciet iiistruttions ronilh- Oerrnan for eign Office and oilier fnfojinai on which fame Into our iwxM-hfKin eaily In the w:r 0' 1 that after the flrnt few munt'.m of w tr the tier man FurHgn Office eta'd to !n;.o sumv Oertnitn citlxtns In this cuuauy In .(.,.i.,.1a. - uory. ut .o(.t ' ,,;",.' , hv ,iie intiixuH ..f fionef and eoUiU .)f 'tt tle ' war the various hn h'id he l t lu-'-' I O the flt-rtnans in i:-hfH cfTVur sccr-t rer , .vittr Lin; ih- aetivlih-s illiM cftuMry w ho were v.ith rnv id It the Htklfg I't llllelf. I' ren-'h or HrHifh. It waf i'l 1 :v f;cts and prn cnl irly br-:un eath' nd throu;:h the rlianiiein H-ht d" tl eso of tin- data uf the rtecrel s, rv'fc iUu the A 1 101 r-y ;"i:-r:il fe- nr.l- ni'iKd to tl-.'i l'nidet t; f nrnenient and en t ,-nt he plaeed t.:- ma a intvr- lliel)! : rd w ill :.f!v. hut t'ml ml t; fhou'd I"1 r-nri.l t hH e to u. c sai-'iy ot :he eMtjtr . "Tiiit Kt'tcy. nrnrniilrrted the fliA" we eii(e"-d t he w a v, i etni d l;i ri-an'-d- i "i '1, art! r, v. lift:. a .i n C t!": . :t v Ii i I'indr C Mi- v Ii i ii m i- m'I !M ilfl OV' inilT'll'S fei of this o-.n- i inn n yoveriiiti'f't ;r t. e ii. : S o'ii ' h, I v- a He I- I-' ncli hr.tl fit Atrii. Up.H l'tider ' vun t!:e Krem-h a-id i - ai l ; ; I! v a Ia ndnned t h i..' vl. l'f.k- i. i niliient ly r rv.-.., - trt '.(,;. traf e ii(h alnna pk desire to I'M-np to tiL:r ie. i'cl.vf oi.iiii ; i ai.d to . --mot icrtai.i f,ti.er to n-iml'i under liit;ll;i'M as to rt.-!-dence ai:d ;arvelll:iiM e. " Authority t tr in' crnn.cn i. Mr. 0'Ern IX). n ltd wut, came from the o.d act pabsd br vvt-re h r eit i st-ii af t ii : bthitist-d to t(tf fu-a'l-i fl i "ti"!' n: ti'- firfl i!irve t Hi cu.intry. at timo when it v.-;j. Ui J-'rfinCfi v. rt." Imminent. j.d tint war wiiii rout Vh p'Tind or me act vas used to a info a plale of nbo- v ar ' cp f IJi'.'. w hen tin' ln.iiUd fxient, H parsed 1; fi .!!". 'r' rii:iilli-J unUii mI until April h. n:jile aw ure of TdT, !a-n I he cunlrv wnj fin e;I.-tene.; hv the nnuoim ement of t"B I rt 'rlfiit' OKU Jiiinrttfoii find the to le men t that 'I'Mini tft- nlJht : April 6 n Kronp of had been n- teii'v nr i'if h. lid. d a nd interned by the i .in or tlw- Atiuiney ( j-:t ral. in the li.f)it of what- wn now J:now it is r- ir in ihiit !io drastic intlon On tnken W4, .luirtly and pn-mptlV. tol -ei ii!ieiv hy the flernmn a blow from l!o r id. : liiiif-Tit. wrK.Ki d .0,, t,i :ui -v em H d t V- i-h i' M".er tnl'v recovered. fIir m i:i".tr-l cr-Vr tw con rnert this !ft Mite I'm- nift use rat r.r an la a in -eivlnt.- int. afety of ti.e ronniiy aim pre- i HD- cjm ir.y Hciivili:.: hf lm norm ne rnn. he VxiiTii r.-led. In addilh-n to Itw iiK- rul h ;o d i-ciid a-aliiM the n!in en iny It W IIW l.iH', f,r ad-n i Mid I'M tt.. K.n-'.di t.r-n for the tnllre coo' trutive law vid' v.hich prohibited led ;trei;js uere cnnMd thKHiKhotil v the nn-Ht fnrliJMlnnj.; ami vain- pMe hcitiT the ci'jitimi and tnatntenartce of iit protected water liont xui.e syutcin in aJ towns alont the aea-oMt. t "More than six thoupjind caes were sub- . mined to the Attorney tjeneral, in a great number of which the individual were in terned, the remainder being released on pa role under realnolions a to hahttu-t and sur eiflatice. Of the mimlwr leleaned on parol h as than one per cent ever came aaln under Ceinplalit. Although Internment canea were treated al .vaya at open canes for 'the recep tion of further proof, comparatively few in dividuals once interned have sutmeuuenUy ben i elease.l, "Tho curious nnornafy In our jurisprudence presented hy the eereie of this power t il Ii;sttnted by thu altitude of-the general public o'i ti'e Fuhject To insure its fiillent value ss a dtdei-reiit tn hostile activities It was ennen 1 h 1 that. k far n ntwjble. particularly dur ing the early p;i rt of the war. tntanapa of Hie excrete of tit is power phoiild he kept necret. lnroi naitlon .In the hands of tlm department of .Tu.HiJce tro Veil I hat tht" hi a correct theory, on the o.lher hand, after the flrttt h)k mouths of the war an enterprising plena kept tlie puhl e fully ntiprlxrd of every Instance of lideriiiiienl, toRetlier with kuchmcs us to -the cause. 1 - 'l"frtiinntfy, the most dangerous ertsmy nllenn ha'I Fu-cn interned duniiK the early a period and the original tJei-inan eipionatp svs-t-tn, m fur na f Fteinatieally OrnnizeJ, wnit sucet awfully bi'uhett up iK'foie this policy of publicity inlet fereU with It. "U iyint ut UqI, the experience of the V Hysteria and Actualities Ila'd Tof ( J3e Sifted Mpar, in the JVprlc J' jof rrot'ectinff America, j partment showed that disloyal utterances and activities were quite as common among na tu rallied citlxens as among alien enemies. "No antl-diat propaganda had the slightest chance of success. After the Draft act went Into active operation the power of the so called tier man propaganda rapidly declined and within six montha lost all degree of eN fectlvenese. friecrst Service reports demon strate this beyond doubt and also show how ImnosHlble it was after the first six montha of our participation in the war for the enemy governments to accomplish anything here in a large way through the operations of spies or secret agents. The operation of this Belec tive Draft statute cleansed, clarified and uni fied public opinion in support of the war and had the continuing effect or minimising in the popular mind the effect of all Interference with civil rights and civil liberty. ..- Best Secret Senrite. r1 It l at prnt problematic! how much InJ terrerenra with civil lib.rllts of Individuals rettulted from the operation! fit the America . Fecret Kervice. ' The larfent division of thla aervlce aa that oraanlied hy the Department' of Jitatlce, having aa an auxiliary the Amer. lean Protective I.c.itue. with jneir'tr.htn acattered throughout the country. AltZniRit the remarkahle work of the latter orftau. nation la worthy of the hlsheat pralae, both tn? At torney tienernl and the writer are atronaly oipored to any ayalem of citizen eapion.re Itk pence lime an1 the organization above men tioned la already in the proceaa of rfkflaolutlom "It la not premnture to aay that the work of the American 8eret Service waa extraordl. nnrlly etflclent. and a competent foreign ob. server la prnbahly correct in aayine; that this country had durlnr the war unqtietlonahiy a more efficient and better arjranlsed Secret Service than any other nation In the world. "But a aervice organized In thla manner manifestly included a large membership ot persons not familiar with crime and varyinsj widely In individual capablllttea and judgment. This characteristic, waa true not ouiy of the service mentioned but alao In a measure ot the membership of the military and naval In. telligence forcea. both of which ware remark, auly well officered and Intelligently managed. Our difficulties lay not In the supervision ot these services but tn the palriotlo zeal Of mar of these subordinates In the field. At timet they made mistakia which could not be conv doned. aa, for Instance, on tha occasion of II 4 'slacker' canvass at New York city, where th method employed were In contravention of specific Inal ructions of the Attorney (leneral. But in thla field again cltlzena everywhere seemed to understand the object of these ao tlvitiva and aood-naturedly submitted to il aorta of inquiiies about their buaioesa and prl Vie affalia It la probable that when Ihe full history of thla aide of government activity run be made public the Individual eases conn plumed of aa ill prove to lie casea of annoyance4 rathor than of actual wrong done tha Individ' ual. Organised esplonaae on a large scale IS at variance with our theories of government and aa 1 have said, except aa a war necessity, was not favored by Ihe lieparlment of Justice. "Allhoutih the Attorney Ueneral, so far aa was ixxwlule. employed hie powers 10 aecure the protection ot civil llberllea. nearly all cneea where outrages were committed against Inriivldut-ia lay ouixlile the scope ot federal jurisdiction. Iurlr the vanoua Uberty Lrfian drlvea the cjnipnmn for war char4tiea and tha loyalty drives many complalnu of llltreat ment and coercion were received by the At torney (ieneral from people againat whom as sessments had been levied by non-legal bodies, a ha fixed and collected auhscriptlon ouotas. Considering the extent of the country and the extremely paliiollc temper of tne people. Il ia perhapa remarkable thai great Injustice was not done. Nevertheless, soma of the In slances retxTtrd. Isolated as they ware, wars cases of outrageoua wrong for which no relief could be afforded by the federal government." S-x Miles Up, Oxygen Clogged Following Is the Indon Pally Mall's account of -Ihe recent ""I miles up" flight of two) ISrltlsh flyers: The world's record for altitude for an aero plane was broken at Martleshain, near Ips wich, bf t'aptsln I.sng. K. A. V.. and Lleu tenat Hlowes. tho former acting aa pilot and the lower being the passenxer. the height reached being au.Srt) feet (or nearly six miles). The feet was accomplished In a British two tenter biplane filled with a British designed and Brltlh built enslne. It left the ground In a Ihlrly-five mile wind. At aMKll) feet there was 214 degrees Of frost. A-heiKht of 2.1.WW feel wss reached Is min utes 20 seconds, and the final barograph yead Iiib of .K'.."X feet In W mlnutea Ii seconds. The liiahest altitude hitherto recorded for an airplane Z:-m feel, accomplished In 1S16 hy an Italian pilot, who took 1 hour and 6 m;nues. or nearly (ouhl. the time taken by faptain l.nnx. The new record la addi tionally noteanrlhv in view nt the fact that n passenger wns carried. ha achievement means that an airplane haa now ascended to a grenter heijht than any point of tha earth, the hisheMt mountain. Mount Kvcrest tUima lvas) iH ing m.ars feet. There were one or two unpleasant experi ences on t.'aptaln Lang's trip. At 30.000 feet Lieutenant Blowea turijrd cn the oxygen sup ply, and a thousand f- higher, feeling faint, he turned on an extra pressure, but with n Itetter result. He found that the main pips connected with tha oxygen bottls had broken through vibration. He wrote a note to the pilot telling him what had happened, but he collapsed before he could get tha message to the pilot, who therefore carried on In Ignor ance of the observer's plight. At 2H.000 feet the pilot a Healing apparatus waa working errati cally, and at w.aoa fast the shortage of oxygen was apparent. 'Ihe pilot, however, carried on till S0.WK) feet wns reached. Here the engine stopped through lack of petrol. The pressure of air at this height was inadequate to drive the small propellers working he petrol and oil pumps. Urscomlintt slowly, the machine got to 10.UC feet,' where the observer regained conacloua nea.' . Both airmen suffered from the effects of the flight. . The observer waa Bent to ths hospital suffering from frozen hands and toea. Caplnin Lang, the pilot, whose flngera and face are frostbitten. Is a well known Austral Ian motorist and In ll'lO explored North Aus tralia for hie government. He has twlcs prs viously attempted altitude records. Lieutenant ltlowea. the observer, Is a pilot who In Francs accounted for several Hun air planes. t Indian Prejudice Loses Millions ' PuRar making Is one of India's moat ancient Industries, but the loss of three-fourths of ths sugar value of ths cane by uss of primitive machinery snd ths muddy character of the product, because religious prejudices prohibit Ihe use ot animal charcoal for refining, have confined lnd:a'a auaar to loral consumption, snys -ths World outlook. With nearly thros million acrea i nder cane, producing consider ably more than a third of the world's total, India nevertheless exports no sugar. On ths donlrary. In addition to her own stupendous pio.lni.tiun, she sjamda ISi.OOO.OOO for augar an nually. ... . ', With new methods of refining, there Is now a, steady development of centralised plants, and soon Indiathe aboriginal home of Die cane will doubtlesa take A .vlsos ss s, augar exporting land '"muiKniiifn. iM), ggi siae ot har can a 7 - I't - l-aar-w r.