The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-31
SECRET SERVICE.
Government Agents i'm Evidence
Everywhere
Protecting This Country
Against Designs of Spies.
WOMEN ARE EMPLOYED
Most Complete Police Surveil-
lance
Ever Attempted i'm This Or Any
WOMEN ARE EMPLOYED
Ever Attempted i'm This OR Any
Other Country.

New York, May s1.-A special to the
| World from Washington says: One of
| the most important branches of the gov
eminent war service about which, for OBJ
| Tious reasons little information is to be
| obtained, is the bureau of the secret serv-
| Ice The ordinary capacity of the serv-
| ice has been doubled since the declaration
| of war against Spain. To no branch of
| the government is intrusted such i'm
portant and delicate undertakings.
The number of men actually employed
| in securing information for the use of the
government, both in this country and
abroad cannot be accurately stated, but
| there are enough of them to make up
| full military regiment of the most intel
ligent and highly trained servants of the
nation.
Their movements are naturally guarded
with the utmost caution, but it can be
stated that in addition to the ordinary
functions of the service, such as the de-
lection of counterfeiting, the agents of
place in the world where information is
to be secured or where persons who may
injure the government are to be watched
in Havana, in Madrid itself, where it is
nor SAFE 1or an AnnedIC ;5 ~ ulsc4oSe ms
nationality or give evidence OF his pa
triotisIn.
It is through this mysterious source that
the government gains much Of the tnfor-
| nation which inspires it's plans for the
prosecution of the ei. war against Spain but
come through other sources. The reports
mitted to the chief of the bureau through
many and devious channels. and in a cf-
employed by the most skilled of dipIo-
matte agents, The identity of the men
suaTded as the 1 secrets Of the BRITISH for
eign office.
| really tell how many of the secret agents
of the country are at work and the ma
i r. Wilkie, chief of the bureau, and while
ne is amazingly frank about ordinary arg
woman as compared with him when the
work of his subordinates is mentioned. A
smile and an emphatic assurance that the
work of his department is the business of
wise it. The assurnce is couched in much
more polite language, but it comes to the
About the only Information Mr.: wilkie
can be induced to impart is that the serv-
Tenders with which the service has to
deal in time of peace are being carefully
looked after, and if any enterprising coun-
teTfeiter or M t1 ks the Coy
mess to look after him he is mistaken and
The war with Spain has just about dou-
bled the work of the secret service but
none of it is being neglected.
The war service has been made Iegitt-
mate part of the functions of the bureau
It's efforts to keep the government posted
spies of the enemy are of vital assistance
ant Secretary Meikeljohn of the war de-
partment has been intrusted with the duty
of imparting to Chief Willzie all the tips
that reach the war department and of re-
ceiving the repo Is Of the Officers of the
of service to the department. But Mr..
Wilkie himself directs the work. and it
war is any better acquainted with the de-
tails than the ordinary citizen.
in promoting diplomatic. military and ma
1 W Tan that Of be and of T thare
are no doubt dozens of trained experts
working in q characteristicaIly mysteri-
and Cuba. The service performed en-
braces a wide range; from '.spotting'' the
lowing persons susRe7eted OF BENG IN The the
opera ting, there, or not far away, will be
United States
Every movement, for instance, of Senior
Polo, the former minister to this country,
has been most carefully noted since he
left washington a month ago, and crossed
can agent will not be far away from him
until he has crossed the boundary line
France' Every detail Of his moVements,
the name of every person he consulted in
England and on the continent is or will
be known to the chief of the secret serv-
cerned.
In this country the greater part Of the
persons suspected of plotting against. the
United States. Probably two or three
espionage and will be watched SO long as
their conduct justifes.
cheney of the secret service in connection
with the war was the detection and ar
rest of Downing,a former American sailor,
employed by the Spanish minister to Sc
cure information about the defenses and
equipment of the coast forts and our war
ships. Downing was arrested within two
days of the date he entered the employ of
dence that seemingly proved his guilt He
fined in the military prison at the marine
hanging. Downing was watched from the
moment he reached Montreal to confer
service officer was near him until he
reached here.
being spies have been examined with the
utmost secrecy, but have been able to
Several women are employed to secure
information in quarters where it would be
impossible for a man to do so, and they
have undoubtedly rendered an excellent
service, the most important feature of
which has been their ability to conquer
the weakness of their sex for gossip.
The records of the secret service stree
the beginning of the with Spain con-
tain many Interesting facts and romances.
not like to have them published.
Chief Wilkie, who was a good newspaper
reporter before he was made chief of the
government sleuths month ago, may
write some of them afer the war is
of the goor stories the secret agents have
developed will never come out of the
and day in many countries, for the protec-
ton of the United States.
When Theodore Roosevelt, who
learned to ride bronchos in the west,
mounted one of the animals for the
first time, a lot of people gathered
ed Sure enough Mr.. Roosevelt went
off at the first Jump and fell heavily.