Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-11
CLUES THAT FAILED.

If the average detective wrote the story
of his life, the longest chapter would be
devoted to clues that failed. The watch
word of the best detective is mystery. He
never let's the public know what he really
thinks.
Most detectives say they can't talk be-
cause il might alarm their quarry. If they
know their business they refuse to talk so
as to avoid committing themselves until
they're certain they've made no mistake.
Sherlock Holmes did not tell his cases to
DR.. Watson until they had worked out.
Who knows how many mistakes he maze
Every detective must make them. Here is
a case in point: -..-...
Some years ago, shortly before Uncle
Sam became a world power, he was very
nearly involved in war with the republic of
well. it's better not to mention names
say the republic of c.. c. had gotten
its back up for reasons too long to rehearse.
and had been acting like a spoiled child.
presuming the unwillingneSS of the
President to proceed to extreme measures.
As a matter of fact 1t was quite safe in
this presumption, for every dispatch sent
by our State Department to the American
minister at the capital of c. carried the
same burden: DO your best to make c.
behave, but don't do anything that might
lead to war: the political situation at home
won't stand ii Just now"
Our minister at the capital of c. was
old fashioned western man with repu-
tation for being able to win three times in
four with an ace high against an ace full,
and 1t certainly seemed from his cable
grams that he was bluffing to the limit.
But 1t was all no use. c. guessed him
every time and he had to back down as
gra cefully as he could.
Such knowledge of the political sttua ton
at home on the part of an unimportant gov
eminent was amazing. The minister could
not explain. and the Secretary OF State
couldn't understand it at all. If the C
premier had been reading our every dis
patch over the minister's shoulder he
couldn't have managed his game better. II
was too amazing to be natural and after a
while the State Department came to the
conclusion that somebody was betrayinS us.
AS soon it began to suspect this in
good earnest it cabled to me to run over
from a reighboring country where l was on
duty to investigate.
Over | went hot foot; and once arrived,
II didn't take me very long to fix on the
guilty man. The departments cipher code
IS WORKED thus: 1t consists of a lot of
phrases and words ard letters. each of
which is represented by a certain nun Der.
Any particular message Is translated into
these numbers, which are then cablcd in
the ordinary way to tn" minister. who
translates them back into their oririnal
form by means of copy of the code in
his posses sion. To guard against the sig
n!fiC9noe of any of the numbers ing
known, the department also has key
number ~ hich II changes from time to me.
and this controls all the other mum ers.
For instance: Suppose the key numbCT to-
day is plus three" that means that hC fore
translarug a code dispatch the mir ster
must aid three to each number in IT. Jim
ilarly before sending code message he
must subtract three from each numher as
shown by his book. by the time n fo' ign
government has learned enough of on" ode
&c make use of il the key number is Oh ng-
ed. and ley. presto! al its work has 10 be
done over again.
OF course c. could get copies of all our
dispat hes in one way or another from the
cable company; but these would do 1t no
good without the code, and the code. the
department felt pretty sure. c. did not
have, especially as the key number had re-
Gently been changed The theory was that
each individual message must have been be-
trayed by some one la the legation, after
the translation had been made.
No one but the minister and the secre-
tary of legation is ever supposed to touch
the code book; both II and the transations
of the dispatches are kept in a safe, the
combination of which is known only to the
minister himself all translating must be
done In the inner room of the legation,
close to the safe; and the room must never
be left by both minister and secretary at