The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-01-12
CIPHERS AS USED IN WAR,
~ ROMANCE AND COMMERCE
Secrecy, Trough Human Ingenuity in the Transmission
of Messages, and Some Actual Incidents, One of
Which Would Have Puzzled Poe.
HOW CUBAN REPORTERS FOOLED BLANCO

any technicallity, and We hear that your
execution has been fixed for an early
date. Rumor says this will be on June
10Th, and, according TO present plans,
promptly at noon
The above IS given as an example. IL
is something which would in all proba-
bility pass a prison censor without tEou-
bic, and yet, through Il previous arrange
ment and the key In the hands OF the
person who received it, the cipher would
show as follows:
Hope and courage. Escape fixed for
June 10th at noon"
HOW IT Is DONE.
In the writing of q cipher OF this kind
the one who receives it must. OF course.
hold a sheet of paper with holes cut III
it arbitrarily corresponding with a sheet
in the possession of the writer. Through
these holes, which show only one or two
words each, the cipher is first written
and the remainder OF the letter merely
filled in plausib1y- Try it yourself.
Another cipher. and one OF the best.
but also very difficult, is one which spells
out words through letters placed in 4
message at regular intervals, one to
another. For instance, through the COM
piexity of the English language a pIaus-
ible message may be sent embracing q
brief spelled out message, say with the
important letters fixed as every tenth
one. This cipher WAS used with entire
success by one Of the greatest New York
daiIies curing the crisis preceding tho
war in Havana, and General BIanco
awoke several mornings with a jolt to
find that important information had es-
capped from Havana despite him and the
censor Luckily for the newspaper man.
he was never suspected, as his copy was
passed on and approved by the censor.
Another arbitrary cipher used by a
New York daily during that period pre-
ceding the war Jared General Blanco q
few It was ridiculous in its simplicity.
and in this simplicity lay its weakness.
PROVISION Tor all sorts OF happenings
was made in this cipher. even TO the
assassination of General Fitzhugh Lee.
General Lee didn't know at the time,
and it can't hurt him now.
NEWS OF THE CRIME.
Should General Lee have oeen assas-
sinated the report OF 1t would have per-
haps reached the New York paper IN
these words:
Reported from Matanzas tnat Spanish
troops routed great force Insurgents
Those few worGs would have sent that
New York new paper Officer into spasms
of activity, and GeneraL--Blanco would
have had another rciuk coming to him.
Another contingency provided for in tnis
CIPHER was thu possibility of the Ameri-
can fleet open-1s fire on Havana. With
good Areric bells tearing the roof OF
the Cuban rse. imagine q war Cor
RESPONDENT. his coat-tals streaming
behind him. Ing madiy into the cable
Office and is senGing something like this:
..4-El is quiet in Havana.
IL was through some weakness or this
kind that rhe cipher was finally d,scov-
cred and abandoned. The correspondent
had troubles OF his OVID explaining Eaw
or.,er secrets had been sent out OF Ha-
vaDa.
BROWN CIPHER LETTERS.
Beyond thesa few examples OF cipher
codes, there are hundreds OF others. some
good but most OF them bad The ciphsrS
in the Brown letters were Eudicrously
simple. one OF them being reversal CT
spelling, which chiid could figure out:
another the straight numbering or the
letters of tie alphabet. with the Key az
tached as Il part OF The document, and
ST.. Others. the mental effuisencss o.
cranks.
But new cipher has lately been
brought TO light THIS Is ridicuioas,y
simple of execution. and IS possible ~
the use of certain typewriter nov on
the market Here IS sample OF II.
s-3. 8: SD ?sFiS3 9 -i;9: S3:ss 50
s;ss :a?3ssa4s 81
This an ARBITRARY cipher. is written
as rau;dlv as any ordinary letter by sim
nly throwing one Ct TIL, switch-keys on
the typewriter. II is as readily decipn -
abIe on q machine of the same make by
throwing the machine back TO its no..
nal condition. and translated is as fol-
lows:
.swhen In the course OF human events
il becomes necessary tor-"
With the Marcont system OF wireless
telegraphy perfected. a cipher between
Cuba and the United States FOR the us6
of newspapers would be rendered useless.
A man could sneak ous on the coast ..ne.
Set up his sending poe. and pump over
any message, OF any length. And this .;
the progress Of the world