The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-05-16
MEN WHO HOLD SECRETS
WORTH FORTUNES.

One day an obscure chemist,
named Custave Frapcks, stepped into
the stmaster-General's office and
announced that he had discovered a
method OF removing ink stains from
used postage stamps.
The official offered him $4,000 to
keep it a secret, but the man, being
conscientious, refused the sum, and
retained his liberty of action
The fate of London, in the event of
war, rests in the hands of five work
ing men.
\ cottage situated on the Thames
marshes is the key to the situation OF
the submarine mines which would
protect the metropolis in the event of
2 naval reverse. By means OF an
electric switchboard, the working of
which is only known to these men, a
powerful fleet could be sunk in ten
minutes.
The Russian government tried to
bride one of the men with 100000
some years back to give them the Sc
cret, but without effect.
A similar secret is held by detach-
1nent of the sappers in charge of the
mines and general defenceS at Ports
mouth, England and other maratime
ports, and were any of these men
other than loyal, their position might
be grayely imperiled.
A shop worth thousands a year to
any European power is possessed by
an Fast Coast grocer.
The passage communicating with
the mines defending lie harbor adj
join IS cellars
He himself has not been able to as
certain the secret Of their working.
owing to several sets of doors with
secret locks; but should he one day
be tempted to sell his premises to the
agent of foreign power, no doubt it
might be ascertained with ordinary
skill in espionage.
Look also at the secrets which lie
in keeping of workers at navy yards.
Any one of these men, and there is
an army of them, is in position TO
realize fabulous sums we're he dis
posed to reveal what 4,e knew to a
foreign agent.
Considering a hrst-class battleship
contains sometimes over 500 secrets
in it's construction, it will be seen
what an enormous strain there is on
the reserve of these worhmen.
Any one OF these secrets would be
worth enormous sums to a foreign gov
eminent. However, in spite OF temp
tations often offered them cases in
which these secrets are betrayed are
very rare indeed.
Monks are avowedly the poorest
men Yet until quite recently three
of them held in close keeping one of
the greatest secrets of comm cree the
manufacture of the liqueur Char
treuse.
The exact constituents of lyddite
and cordite are secrets of incalculable
value to foreign powers, yet these
could be revealed by any one of the
thousands of men employed at the
British government at Waltham and
elsewhere, and by the great private
contractors in various parts of the
country.
II Franco had as many traitors in
her army as her press would make us
believe they would be good prey for
the British spy.
What would not the British gov
ernment, for instance, give to learn
the secret of that new quick firing
gun introduced year or so ago into
the French artillery?
a word or two from a hard-up gum
ner would probably provide him with
opulence for the rest of his life-if
he liked to take the risk Of betrayal
A valet could no doubt tell US more
of the inner thoughts of Mr.. Gladstone
than his biographer, Mr.. Morley, and
if he wished to know the causes of this
or that political surprise, the house