Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1898-10-06
HUNTING SPANISH SPIES
HOW OUR SECRET SERVICE FOILED
THE ENEMY'S EMISSARlES-

The a nrIlIins ~~nture OF Downing There
principal Reliance--Hs s1..v Ills Finish
and Relieved the Government bY Csrr-
mitting suicide--Cbief WiiIio's Exploits
The secret service of the govern
ment during the war has been en-
ployed mostly in discovering and
thwarting the efforts of Spain to get
Information and gain certain ends in
this country by means of secret agents.
That the secret service has been sue
cessful has been attested by Lieuten-
ant Carranza, formerly of the Spanish
legation in Washington and the head
of the Spanish spy system in this
country. In his published letter set
ting forth his hopes, plans and expert
ences he referred to the work Of the
secret service thus /:
"The Americans are showing the
most extraordinary vigilance. They
have captured my two best men,"
And he might have added ''In mo-
ment one of their men will come into
this room, take this letter, send it to
John Wilkie, chief of the secret SER
vice of America, who will thereby be
informed officially, as if I were to
confess to him myself, all that have
done and all that hope to do"
An illustration of how the secret
service does its work was given by
Chief Wilkie during a conversation
in his private Office
''The Downing case was taken up
by us and we disposed of him." Chief
Wilkie began, Sin less than one week.
1 was warned that George Downing,
q former sailor on the cruiser Brook
lyn, had entered the Spanish spy SER
vice. He was located on arriving in
Toronto. When he went to pay his
first call to the attache of the Spanish
legation my man was within earshot
and heard every word that passed be.
tween them. He heard all of the in
structions Downing received, and
when Downing left the room my man
met him as il by chance and asked for
match to light his cigar. He walked
with him TO the hotel Office, got
good look OF him, followed him to his
( hotel. learned his assumed name, got
tracing OF his Handwriting from the
sessa'ar and later Swallowed him to
the train.
Then he teleg - sNd NJ, shat
Downing had left for Washington on
the 5 O'Clock train, sent me full de
scription of him, and when the train
arrived here three of my boys spotted
him. They followed him to board
ing house, where he left his grip. Then
they followed him about town and back
to his house. After an hour or so he
came out and walked to the postoffice.
When he dropped letter to his Span.
ish employer in Toronto through the
postoffice receiver, the letter fell into
the hands of one of my operatives and
was brought at once to me, while the,
other operatives followed Downing
back to his boarding house. I opened
the letter and, upon reading it, COM
municated with the war department,
which decided upon military arrest.
Soldiers were sent for, and taking a
few operatives with me, we went to
Downing's house. He was still there,
and we waited till the extinguished
lights told us he had gone to bed.
sThen we knocked at the front door.
The mistress of the house thrust her
head through the window and declined
to let us in till I threatened to break
down her door. Then, very much
frightened, she admitted us. Leaving
the soldiers below, took two of my
men, and bidding the landlady go be-
fore, went up to his door. l Ibade the
landlady knock and tell Downing that
some friends from Chicago wanted to
see him. She could leave the rest to
me. She did so. Downing bit at
once and we could hear him dressing.
The hall was dark, and we stood on
either side OF the door. When he
opened the door he was in the best pos
sible situation for capture had he been
disposed to put up fight, Tor he was
! in the act of putting on his coat and
had one arm through his sleeve and
the other only b, oh. SO tina
he couldn't have used either a
tage. lgrabbed him by the
explained our errand briefly
of fight, he wilted like an ic
Washington pavement in ints
Entering his room, we ;nas
effects, the cipher he was Ter
telegraphing to his Spanish
some destroyed correspol
fact, everything necessaryt y and
a perfect case. He never uns.
from his collapse. He mth>
enough to see that it was NO.
him. We turned him oY ~ IN
soldiers, who took him toF 9 IN
tary prison, and there, aft@ 90 m
attack OF melancholia, he 30 m
suicide by hanging" l15am
Chief Wilkie ia under 40I 40 a m
he was city editor of the Cl 40 w IN
une. He left journalism tt st9a N
don and went from there 23Oam
ret service. 05 I'M
Not long age Secretary 8 g m