Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-06
USE DETECTIV ES
NATIONS EMPLOY MANY MEANS
TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.
SECRET SERVICE MEN CRAFTY
Ottumwans Have But Little Use for
Private Detectives - Many Are EN-.
pioyed by Large Professional and
Commercial Firms.

Ottumwa people have but little use
for private detectives but in the
larger cities the business OF the pri-
yate detective is not only lucrative
to those who engage in it but is an
important factor in private life and
In the life of professional and COM
mercial firms in the transaction and
coasummation of large deals.
Nations have even greater need for
( the private detective and his subtle
manner OF getting information than
either the private individual or firm.
They use the detective constantly in
side their own territory for thou
sand different. purposes but possibly
K the greatest governmental use OF the
secret detective idea is in the gath
Z ering of information of the doings and
intentions of other nations which is
not intended to be matter of public
or foreign knowledge.
May be Attaches.
There are many things about each
other which nations would like to
know. In order to discover what they
must know, but are not allowed to-,
civilized states employ military spies.
They may be military or naval at
tacheS, duly accredited to an embassy,
or secret agents, who are sent to re-
side or travel in those districts from
which information is required by the
intelligence department The work
of the first class is not unimportant
but it is not risky. The officer may
not overstep the bounds of common
honesty, and rarely, if ever, attempts
to achieve anything secretly. He is
closely watched and knows it. If he
becomes a strong center of attraction
(. he may divert the attention of watch
ers from some secret agent who is
possessing himself Of the particulars
the attache is osteasibly SO anxious to
acquire, but is constantly prevented
from securing. The attache is useful
as clearing agent. spies become
possessed of facts which are of no
real value to those who employ them,
but are assumed to be worth much by.
the agents of other countries, and an
exchange of pieces is effected.
Sometimes appa entity useless infor-
nation is sought simply for it's ex-
change value. For instance, some
years ago two British officers created
considerable annoyance in Russia by
their persistence in hanging about the
district in which the autumn maneu-
yers We're to take place. They We're
invited to join the staff-the British
attache was there-but this honor
they declined
Then representations were made at
the British embassy, where the Of
ficers were unknown and subsequently
they disappeared for time, only to
be discovered at the end of the man
euvers in one of the five great fort
resses which protect the west frontier
OF Russia, and the one that had been
the center of the military operations
Had these men been Prussian officers
their position would have been danger
Gus and an unpleasant international
incident might have occurred. The
Russo-German frontier is nothing to
Great Britain, neither is the France
German We exchange the first piece
with Germany for the second, and the
second with France for little bit of
( news about Russia in Asia which India
believes to be important. And thus we
get home.
Each Country Has Its Method.
Each country has it's own peculiar
sphere of interest to which it devotes
its greatest attention. Great Britain
has SO many that, properly speaking,
it has none. But India is always
alarmed as to Russia. and agents -
and natives-of the India department
are ever busy seeking particulars like
ly to be of service when we have to de-
fend an empire which already in the
military sense extends from Alden to
Hong Kong. Most OF the Indian agents