---....... -{TlllUT4'RY INTm.U•IENCIE DIVI•. ~ I 

.. ..,.,... nler .. 

REF ID :A7292s(:.:) .. .. 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF 

WUHINCITON . ' 

September 91 1919. 

lly dear Yardley: 

I enclose two latt.era from Colonel Fabyan and my 

anner, both of which are included in one letter, d.ated today. 

Pleue eend me a memonmd.um expl&ini:ag frankly and 

fully exactly what your .idea ia or Colonel Fabyan'a auapiciona 

conceniing Colonel .llauborgne'a motives. 

In eighteen years• aer-rice 1n the Army, ! have uever 

yet coma acroH a genuine case in which an oft'icer,who n.a in 

an7 way rapreaentatin of the Regular Army, baa permitted 

hil!l8elf to be influenced by the ulterior motives assigned ta 

Colonel lla.uborgne by Colonel 1a'byan. Colonel llaubargne'a frank 

manner 1n diacuaaing the-matter with me give~ me an additional 

rAason for belieTing that the suspicion ia entirely unjustified; 

but I should like to have you thrOY a little light on it. 

I do not think it adviaable to have Colonel Mauborgne 

learn through us that Colonel Fabyan feels thia way, but I do 

thi."lk it very eaaential that ill feeling and auapicion be 

remand. 

I enclose a draft which you prepared concerning t.~e 

general question of publication, and also copy ot my latter to 

Colonel J'abyan on the same subject. 

Very sincerely your 

"Yl1ci:urctr!I~_....""""!"'l:;...c.~~·.,....._._ Brigadier-General, General Staff, 

llajor H. o. Yardley, 

No. 3 East 3Bth st., 

Hew York, R. Y. 

5 encla. 

hc:n 

,. ,,,, 

Director of llilitarf-Intelllgence. 

- __ .......... 

004 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 06-10-2014 pursuantto E .0. 1352fl_ __ ~ - --- -~ 
c REF ID:A72925 ( c.,. ~ -

I 'If . 

aan.g., Tialt to liftrNnt, w tiaou•ed •• 1••nl 

41UHU.. at p1&1al:loaU• ill eoaneeUon with oocle1 md eipher'8. 

Col.ael '• Demm. bu n'iuna•d rroa rr.no•, •d atur 

a wtaa'a l.aa.,. will i.. here 1a .. ht.net.on. It JOU •• ... 7our 

97 oleazo to ••• to Wubington ._. '\ilH atwr Oo'\ober I, I 

aoulcl like 'ftJ"J llllob to haye JOU ... M. I. D. u it an funoUou, 

ud wo te baft the •portua.it7 et tiaouaing with Oeaaral Rolan, 

Colon•l lu Deman llll4 .,,elf ibe 1••n.1 •ubj•ri of publia.1.'\J'. 

0'"1.ou.1117 1 peae•-U... oonditiona an aot ar-Ua• oondiUon• •d 

eeriai.n •clitioaU.oaa of our poliq are in•TS.tabl.e. ht it 11'1.U 

al-.Y• 'M '"in.'bl• , I think, to keep Ir• ether aationa M1 

lllfonaa.U.on 11bieh wul.d lead th• to ban 11111 parUoular n1peot 

for our utboda or Gl~r attaok, er which •u.l.4 gin allied aaU.ona 

my oa&&a• tor etten•• ill oozmeaUon witb ib• p\lblioa~ion o! aowa 

ftiab tbe7 Aa4 •truted to •· 

Colonel Oeorg• h.bfan, 

P. o. lox 435, 

Chio•o , Ill. 

hara 

cor,:JFIDEHTIAO 

- ' .. i 

' 005 
REF ID:A72925 

leptmller t, 1119 • 

., ...,. 0.1-1 ,...,_, 

I Mint. MblOWl.e .. • JOU!" J.ri'8n r4 Sep"-ber Ind 

md lib, •• to ....... ..., ncnt 'talat. in our letter et 

hptaMJ- lltd tb9 •r'd •u•Dl!DJ.'ltian" -. aot med in pl.ue of 

•cue••". I M•ve reu t.l:aat tbo wl'd "1•••" -. aot med wi • _,. mpleuat oeuot.Uoa. 

I ell. '9 •ftJ"JtbiJtc in 011 ,.wr to•~ the ufo:raa:tion 

7011 nq..t 1a )'Ollr let_,. et lep~•'Mr I. 

Colonel O.Orge r..-,., 

P. O. kx f3S, 

Qi1o.co, ru. 

CO ~JFIDE: ~JTl/1.Q 

,. ..,. --

----- -- -

.. ------- ~ ~- - ~ - )>_ 

006 
REF ID:A72925, 

I ' Colonel George Pabyan, 

etc. 

Jq dear Colonel Pabyan: \.' ,,- ', 

!I'he subject ot the conversation I had with you 

while I was at Biverballk: has been on rif1 mind trom time to time, but 

1t was not until to~ that I was able to give it further oonsidera--

tion. You will recall that 7ou asked whether Lt. Friedman had rif1 

pel"l'llission to insert ll!. his JllSJlU&oript anything that he desired, and 

Yithout foreseeing at the time ezactly what 2:id:K thi• question 

involved, I stated tbat I had no objection • . . fhe information about codes and ciphers collected 

at our GeneralXeadquarters in Fra.nc0e was the result of a liaison 

with our Allies and of the combined e_tforts of some fifty ottioers, 

field olerks, and enlisted men who tor.,,.,, •• ,,, the period of the 

war devoted their time to the breaking ot ener!f1 K:mK codes and ciphers. 

U- .'ti.is information is not the result o! the efi'orts 

of one man, but. of tJ!e efforts of the Services ofi'rance, .England, 

Italy and the United Statesl"CSti:,in justice to our .Allies, to the , 

r ~-'-~ __ m_~ and to our Service, tt I feel that it this information is 

.-J /:.~ - compiled or published, it should be compiled, published, and issued 

/ 

by the servicex whether for limited or wide o1rculation. 

· 

Jttl)}lhYY---"I Ci ~ 

have your interests in ltlind as well as ra:r own, ~r besides being a reflection on the Servioe,·1t might by son:e be 

~terpreted as a ref'lection on Riverb&llk Which would be :put in a 

position that might lend oolor to BD intimation that it was assuming 

credit for work done by the Servioe. a position that both ot us wish 

to avoid. 

~s opens up the entire subject of publication a.nd distribution which I feel should be settled. The Military 

Intelligence Division will continue to remain silent about codes and 

ciphers. we ma:y loose some pubhci tn bJl our silence, but I am 

concerned with results only. 

But I do not want you to feel boand to our 

policy. I shall offer no objection to Riverballk publications even 

though we remain silent; 1n fact~ now that oondi tions have changed I 

wish to withdraw mJ" objection to the distribution of the Riverbank 

publioatious held during the war.' 

!!he disposition of these and tu:ture publications should be ma.de by Riverbank rather than MID, for 

we oannot r tuse :publish and consent to distribute an'! maintain a 

consistant policy. 

I have a report from :il48.jor J'ardley that your 

latest exposition on the A T & T is highly interesting, but that he 

has not been able to reach a joint conclusion with the.Signal Corps. • 

Very sincerely yours KO 

~ 007 
!· 

) ,-, 

' l 

c ) REF ID :A72925 ( ) 

k1ga41er Ge:neral •• CDmrch111, v.s..A.. 

Director of llil1 t&r7 lJltellipDoe, 

WuhiDgtcm., J). c. 

De&!' Gene:ral Clmrohills 

-- _. 

:JJ./31-£~p ~ JI-{ 

S-1 

V.· / ) ~ 

$ ... t 38th 8t!'eet, 

Kew York. 891>t. 16, 1919. 

I ha.Te 701I!' letter ef leptembU' tth w1 th enolosmoe1 requeatiDC 

tbat I at&te ~and. hllJ' 117 148& ef Oolael Jlabpn'a Rllpiciou oonoem1.Dg Ooleul Jlaubo:rpe' a mo ti.,.. •• 

I Aml'bt Colonel ~·· aiDHrity 1n tb11 matter, nt ill ercler 

to point out how the decipherer 1• 'ft?'T often a1D0erel7 m:L8p1c1ou of the encipherer of problems, I wiah to atate 1'riefi7 the oharp that was cmce Jmde 

againat • 'by a Lieut8D8.!lt 1Jl "118 •a.,,., who at that time waa the k'YJ' oipber 

u;pen. When I a:plained. to him how •eaagea 1n a :rnnn1ng by could 'be aolTed, 

lie aslced that I su"bmit him aevel'&l ••Age• ill a nmtng lc87• I tarned 'the 

work oTer to a clerk and aent the cipher to J.t. Smith without eTen lmolr1Dg 

the oontent. Be deciphered. the meaaage &114 in lli• letter ef Vtl.Dml1as1on, which 

I m. eable to f1n4, oh&rge4 •with a cleli'ber&te effort to ma.a the 111eaaage 

indeoipberable. His o.b&rge was that 1n the cipher of two hlm.dred letters there 

WRe three placea where the rmm.1ng key and the 1;e%t atopped at the Nme point. 

In 117 nply I 't014 him that I laa4 had D01ihil:lg to 4o w1 th the prepa.ration ef 

the cipher, 'but that •napmsb u the &Terage length of Bcgl.illh worcla wa.a api-

::proximatel.7 :t1Te lettera, acoord.ing to the l• of average• when two lines of 

Bagliah wre written w1 th.out Ql&Oe om &boTe the Othel' the words of each line 

ahould end at the aama place eTer;y twentT-:t1Te letters, or at eight points 1n ~ lm:i:u!red letters: that •n•an1cb a.a there were nly three auoh place• 1n ~ 

teat meaaage the problem n1 three time a u eaay as 1 t should ha.Te 'been acoori.-

1ng to the law of averages. I -.lte 1ihia point ~o ah.aw how prejlld1oe4 'the deoipharer ftr'J' o:tten lHtccmea. 

~ opinion of Colonel ll&uborpe oan l>e•t be Ujpla1u4 )7 recitillg 

ltriafi)' ao:me of m;y u;pert.-. with him. ~r a period of two or three 19ara 

'before the war Colonels ll&u'borpe au4 Ritt had advertised through the Signal 

lorpa au in'l'Ulur&ble method of uing the u. s. ~ oipher 41Blt, DBZD917 the 

:rnnn1ng lm7. 9le rmm•11g ay 1a a ke7 that 1• not oaq>ased of a Sl"OViP of 

letters or a word ~t of a pangraph or a page of aa. l>oolt that ie aa 10ll8 &a 

the message to 'H enciphered. !hi.a ~tor4a a key that neTer repeata and wu 

'Hlle'ftd 'b7 Jlrm'borpe au4 JU. tt to 'H 1ndeo1pbe:rable. 

I tal.Dd to Jlauborgne about thi• in October, 1917. I told lL1m 

I 'beliewd I couJ.4 4eo1pbar messages enciphered ill a Z'ID!n•ng a7. Be laup.eA 

at me good-11&ture417, A)'ing that he &114 Hitt had tr1e4 it; that I woul.4 fin4 

when I 'began to attack the meaaagea that I wouJ.4 get all aorta of thlnga. !he 

o1pb.er 'bareau 1m:Dediatel7 'began work on a method of aolution md it was not 

until December l, 1917. pat llauborg:ae finally sublDl tted teat meaaase•• On 

l>eoember 6, I returned to ~rpe the decipherment of' the messages he hac1 

7 qi; ' 

.. 008 
r~ REF ID:A72925 ( .. \..~-

a1lm1 tte4. !be letter of tNumi••iOD. 1• (Ute4 'ftrN.t1m1 

'll&Jor J. It. Jl&'aborgu, 

11gaal Ottioe, l.&114 l>1 Tiaien., 

~ 722, till• IDJMXe 

»ear llaJor llauborgne: 

• Beoeml>er 6, 1917 

•1 am enclosing he1"9Wi th 4ec1phe~t• of the 11% ••Nge• b the aame rmming lm7 enoiphen4 Yi th the u. s. J,:nq oipher 41ak, 

1ihat 70U nbm1tte4 to the Oipber Jhlnau.. 

•lJl t.bfte ot the meaaagea 70U &tart with proper umea; in 

$he entire ai.% ••sage• and DJ 70'U ue •lll1' OM oollJmaotin, wo 1Dftn1 ti Tea, tov prepoai tiou, and wo ad.verb a. 

"O:f' onrae I don't wish to aay that 1ihia 1• a ~&1r problm 

nt I to wish to 0&11 70U1" atwnticm to what I :mntionecl in oar oaftl"s&ticm.; namely, that bei.Dg 1m e:q19rt O?')'Ptographer, 7011 do, aoonu1oa.a17, aeleot verr 41tt1cult cd 1IZlUll&1 paaaapa of -.aglillh•i 

"Oor41all1'1 

lat Itt., Signal Oorpa, u.s.B. • 

Please aote that iD pa.ragraph8 two ad three o! .,- letter I eaplaill of the acart of' laugaage Mauborgne ued. I han ainoe learned by e:z;per1ence that the problem was a fair problem, tor 1D the tielcl one oan DeTer be 

oertain that ••ease• an h the aame lce7 or in the aame olpher, u far as tba:t 

1• oODOerne4, and the intel'Oepti.Dg •tationa UR&l.J.T garble the messagea &bout 

ten per oent. So ~ aa the J.uguage is ocmcern&d., it waa cml.J' Satarciay that 

n decode4 a meaaage about the llhipDaDt ot bann•al 

In "1ldging Colonel llau"borgu • 1 aoticm llhen he rece1 ved this let-

'ter, 1 t Uoul.4 be nmembered that he 1md ll1 tt were reapona1ble for the 1U8 of 

the rm:ming lce7 1D the ~· Be 414 not wait to write me but oalled 1lllae41&teq 

'7 telephom, W&1 pro~ .. ·iD h11 oo:ugratulat10Jlll and 'begged that I 1mne41ateJ.7 

nlait a :memomdmn w the Chief Signal Ottioer of the J:rlll1 •"tat!J3g that the 

rmm111g lce7 W&8 ~e &114 8hoal.4 1M 41sooatbme4 at cmoe. !hi.a l 414 ad 

the Chief •f ;..8t&ft oable4 hrahizag to 41•oont1me 1 t• ue ale•• tile cipher was 

mo41:t1ed with a tl'&DSpositia. l7m'ortmaatel7 I ha.Te DO oopy o! the mamorandmll 

1n 1117 file•• rou oan :probably :tizl.d it in tile JI. I. J>. files. 

Colonel Jlauborg:ae 11.lce &Jll' other olpher ·~rt ia ver,y ti:rm :l.n 

hi• opinion.a, ht when ah.own iihat lle 1• in the wro:ng ia ollly too glad to ad.mi t 

1 t au4 au tor 1Blpr0Tement1 tor ~ benefit_~ aenice. Both Ca~n .lil&nl1' 

>~.;.J;u,¥.- 7> 009 
I ' 

REF ID:A72925 ) 

-zad 1 DY• a nry deep affection for COlonel Jlauborpe, 'because of his tn.nkMH a.nd willi.DgDeaa to aooept .uggestiona for oh&zlgea in Signal Corp• :method.a. 

While mentioning the rmming key I wish to add another paragraph 

that ha.a notb.1Jl8 to 4o w1 th Colonel Jla:ciborgne but 11hioh will g1 n 10U 'r1efl.7 

all the tacts regardizag thia particular subject. 1 thilllt 1 t was 1n October 

or Jlovember, 1917, that C&pt&in Powell left m.'ftrb&?lk and stopped in Wash.1ngtcm 

for a fn 4aya "before a&ilil:l.8 tor ~ope. Be waa uked at th.11 time what 

B1 verbmik lcnn &bout the aoluticm of me1aages in the rmming :uy, &11d he replied 

that lt1 nrbank lc:Mnr uthillg, 'libai Rl Ter'baZlk had mnr worked on meaaagea ill the 

l"!"n1 ng DJ' and 41d not •Ten know that Jlauborgne and Hitt had ncom:nended 1 ta 

uae to the J.:ztrq. In the latter pa.rt of October Genar&l Perllhill8 &aked :to:r 

tour oocle and o1pher ez.pe?"t• for illtelligenee l!:at1n and the cipher bureau 

1.mDediatelJ" hgan to aelect out of aome wel'Y9 atudents :tour n.1 table men. 

])12ring the period of tn.in!ng these men were 1:a.atructed 1n the method.a of 

aolut1on of the rmming DJ' and when they went to Jl1 Terbllllk., at Colonel :rabyan • s 

~estion for turther inatruction, they ~l&i:zaed to Jll.verb&Zilt ~methods of 

solution. I have 1 t from ODe of the men that 'lt'hen they arr1 Ted a.t Qel:aeT&, 

R1 verb&Ilk lcD.ew nothing &'bout the J"llnnh>g lce7. 

I 11m eDCloaillg lael'ewith a Biverbazlk publication entitled 

llJlethoda tor the Solution of .Bm:m1.J18-Xey Ciphers", on the fl.7-le~ of which 

7012 will find a note to Colonel Van J>eman dated Jl&roh 17, 1918, and signed 

George l'a.'b)ra.n• Yau will t1nd alao a. reprint of a letter to :rabya.u 48.ted 

Jamary 18, 1918, aigned bf Jlr. lriedm&n, 1lho at that time was a c1T1.l1an. 

I quote the letter herewith: 

"Jf1' dear Colonel :r&bJana Jsnuary 18, 1918" 

•I have the honor to transm1 t to )"OU hblioation number 

16, of the Department ot Ciphers, "Jletb.oda tor the Solution of Banning-Key Ciphers.• 

-Oonoer:aing the possibility of the decipherment of a me•-

pge or a ••r1e• of maaagea enciphered by a rmming-ke7, 1 t wae 

8&1.d until as reoentl.J" aa three month.a ago, •It can't \e done• or 

•It i1 nry qa.astionable.• It 1• probabl.Jr lCDalrn -to J'OU that the 

u. s. li:rrq l>iak ill oomiection w1 th a l"mlDillB-keJ' has been ue4 aa 

a cipher in field aervioe tor ~ J9&rl, &ud 1s, to the best of 

our lcn01fledge, ill ue Wd&J'• I RiPJ>OH that it1 lOJ18"-COntimled 

"1188, a.:nd the conf14ence plaoed in 1 ts aafa't7 aa a field cipher has 

been. 4tte V8rJ' probablJ" w the taot ~t no one ha.a eTer taken the 

trouble to ••e whether •It ooul.4 be elem.• It la al.together probable 

that the enemy, who haa been preparing for war for a long time, ha.I 

not mgl.eated to look into our field ciphers, and we a.re incl1lled 

CO ~JFIDE ~JTIA P=;=:- - - - -- 'T-'+t-----. - Ii.,.., .. (' • ,. l .. "" f 010 
' . REF ID:A72925 ) 

-~-

Ol'941t him with a lcllOIJledge •tul to or w;perior to our cnm. We have 

\oen able to »1"0Te that not al7 11 a 11Dgle abort message enciphered 

~ the u. s. '1Zlq »1.ak, or cq limilar clevioe, ou117 mid quiakJ.7 d.eaipbered, lra.t that a Hrih :.of aeaaage1 Mnt Rt bl the .._ DJ ~ 

'be deciphered •re ~idq tib&n '&ibey haft beoJl onoipherecU 

"Bnce, ainoe DOt lle•Vu8t1n lila.t oautra.ct1Te or1t1o1mn 11 

the pa.rpoae of tihe Departme:c.t, we haTe ~•tl.7 cde&Tored, 'bT poiJltblg out the defects of the old 979tem, to llhow how the aame -..v 'be 

remedied., ancl how 'the 119tem may 'be made more tra.a'twortbJ. !he final 

paragraph.8 of Wa lN>Olc •tate n.r ooDCluio:aa, pined from the :results 

of our inve•tigationa. 

•It 1a our hope tut this ~oklet will 'M a •ouroe not •nl.7 

of interest to J01l, 'but of aoti ve -•Deti t h these time• wben tbe fate 

of natiou 1• more tbm1 oftr dependeDt 1Q>OJ1 offect1V9 meana of NOret 

~~~~~~.Y•~n-ttaiq, :~ J$F0 :-~,~J~~~ ~ w. ~. nrmux, - J.1.- ..,_,N~~ ~ t ~~'b ~ Di.rector. 

~ ,..- '?:"'"~~ .~ ~ ,-" J>epa.rtment of C1pb.era, • ~ ~·~ ~ 

~ ~ _, ~, I llhal.l not 41acua thia uliborate ate&l for it 11 ~a ~-·~Jlinrbmg ~1 (the mzt •teal, u I :ban al.re~ pointed out to 70u, will 

~ .... °" •thocla 4.eTOlopecl 'b7 '1le Hl'Tio• ill the J.. :&. ~.)' 'but I to willh to 

poin~ out the manner ill whioh they 11a.bm1 tte4 1:ho1r 1.Ilfo.rmation to the 'l'&r 

l)apartment. J'riecbl:ml 1tate1 ill paragraph two of '\he a.bove lettel' that u f&l" 

u be lcl1ow8 the 11ethod 11 'beil:lg ued in the ~ and notea in the last paragraph 

that "l~ i• our hope that thi.1 'booklet will 'be a 110111"0e not oJll.7 of intereat 

to 701l LhbJ'an) wt of aot1·,.. -•nefi t ill theH tS..1 'lhep 'th• f&it of patiDDf 

11 more yum tTer cltptnd!Dt 'l'DQD lf'ftqt1ve mope Of ltoret p5!!!?1l'!Pn1qatiOna1• 

M a natter of' taot the 81gz:J&l Corps &nd the .A. •· -.. had ~een informed that ••a&ge• enciphered 1n the zmm'ng key wen UZLll&fe, 'but J'ritdman and b.ltJ&u 

414 not Ol' pretended. they 414 not lcD.ow that 1 ta uao h&4 been 41soont1mae4. 

lutead of 1n.:!OZ"JZ11.ng u ill •oret uaut tho •fa.te of 21&t1om", Colonel bbJa 

publ111ba1, 00PJ1"1ght1, ad cle41oate• a. oopf' to eolenel Ta. J>emaul 

ht I h&Te got off of my sab'eot, but feel the foregoing ~ 

help J"'O'D. to tom an opinion. 

Den I was hl WR.Abington the week 'before l.abor Day Colonel 

Kauborgne took me to tho 81pal Corps 1f'tioe and mh.oft4 • the .A. !. &: !. 

\ . -·---...1--.c,.-f' 

EOHFIDEHTl#IH 011 
REF ID:A72925 ( ' . ) 

e1p1ler maob1a in operaticm 11h1oh had been pit 1llP especial.17 to encipher 

... saps ~or Colonel J'&~. l lleard. him g1 ve iutra.ctiona to the Lieutenant 

h eh&rga how ••a.gee for Colonel l'a'byml. llhoul4 'be en41pbered.. • •rel.7 

told. the Ia1ntaDSZ1.t to go to the 81g:nal otticse, ta.ke hom the tiles a da.1'' s 

haiDeea and "Dring 1ihe ••P89• 'baolc and emipber them juat as if he nre 

•en41ng them o:tticial.17 'to Hobobn. He did. howenr tell him to csh&Dge the 

ta.tea of the meaaagea for lie feared tome e:r:tort on Colonel Ja.byau' 1 part to 

obtain the or1g1l1al ten ft'Cllll the tiles ot th9 Signal Oorpa. 

It 1• a pa70holog1cal :taot that the decipherer 1• al'ftJTB 9118-

ncioua of the encipherer lnlt Colonel h'bJBD'• oh&rge against Colonel Jl&U'borgne 

11 in 1P1.f opil11on ent1Ml7 1D2Ju•t1:tie4. It i• •rely azaother enmpl• o~ 

lliTar'bazllc' • •thou. 

As :rou asked 'that l 41acuas th.is sub"ect f2'&l1Jcl.y, I ha.Te felt 

f1oee in 'the foregoing to call tMngs 'b7 their right :names. 

Very 11.noerely, 

1 encl. 

I/