Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1892-02-05

e~SSSA WAN "
months imprisonment, respectively, is of
international interest. To a freeborn Amer
lean the word "spy" has an especially
odious meaning. 1t is an undeniable fact
that what little espionage is done in the
United States is exclusively done by for
eigners. Abroad matters are different,
and though a spy is considered a debased
creature, espionage itself is in full blast
and well organized in Russia, Germany,
France and Great Britain. All European
governments, more or less, have so called
secret funds available to keep a we'll or
gained spy service going. 1t is generally
divided into three distinct branches
namely, political, social and military es-
pionage. l shall deal with the latter alone.
The armed peace which European ma
lions maintain and the constant fear among
them of being attacked by a neighhoring
power at any moment naturally make it
desirable for one nation to know what the
other is doing in the way of offensive and
defensive preparations. Secret informa-
ton of this kind cannot, for obvious rea-
sons, be obtained through the official chan
nels of military or naval attaches, who, on
account of their position in a foreign co,an-
try, have to be satisfied with what they
can observe for themselves or are shown
voluntarily. 1t is therefore evident that if
a government desires to obtain possession
of SO called state secrets, such as plans of
Notifications, war vessels, mines, fixed
torpedoes, samples of powder, cartridges
and arms, it has to employ secret agents or
spies for this purpose.
Germany has been credited with having
the most efficient spy service in France,
where it dates back to 1864. The war of
1901 proved that the German maps of
France were more accurate than those
used by the French general staff, and small
swamps, brooks, roads and vantage points
for an army were found on the German
maps and did not appear on the French.
Furthermore, the equipment of the French
troops and fortresses was thoroughly
known to the German leaders. Within
her own borders Germany defends herself
efficiently against foreign espionage, and
how carefully she watches every for
eigner is shown by the numerous arrests
which have been made there within the
last five years. Unfortunately for the over
zealou officials, most Of the poor victims
proved to be harmless landscape painters,
who, on account of their sketches, often
experienced great difficulty in convincing
the German authorities of their identity.
All the service powder, cartridges and
rife factories in Germany, Russia, France
and some other European countries are
government property, and it is impossible
for outsiders to obtain access to them.
Walking OF 81 glacis of Il European fortress
is also prohibited, and if an intruder out
of curiosity once in awhile happens to put
his foot inside even the smallest fort, he is
stopped by sentinels and is lucky if he is
not locked up. These measures are carried
out vigorously, and even an active officer
of the German army, if he wishes to visit
one Of these government factories, has to
apply for Il special permission to do so.
The revealing of the secrets of any of these
institutions is high treason, and conse.
quently only very trustworthy men are
employed. Moreover, that the employees
may never forget the penalty inflicted for
a breach of trust, extracts from the penal
code printed in black letters are profusely
placarded on the walls inside the build
ings.
Apart from this the men are divided
into classes, each class manufacturing year
after year the same part Off rifle or a car
fridge. In this way 10 government me-
chanic or subaltern can obtain exact
knowledge of the manufacture of a whole
rifle or cartridge. So it comes to pass that
the spy has hard work to obtain what he
wants. 1t goes without saying that among
such a large body of men as governments
employ a black sheep can always be found.