The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1904-12-23
THE SECRET SERVICE
HOW THE STATE SPIES OF EUROPE
DO THEIR WORK.

HOW THE STATE SPIES OF EUROPE
DO THEIR WORK.
Military Secrets often Revealed by
Local Papers to watchful Govern
ment Agents - Russia and France
Partial to Female Spies.
When people read or hear Of a Sc
cret service agent the picture of man
armed to the teeth with revolvers and
stilettos, mixture of Sherlock
Holmes and Bill Skies, rises before
their eyes.
secret service agent in the world and
the one most generally relied upon by
the nations is the editor of the local
paper.
Let us call the town Greenbeach and
assume that the government has de-
cided to build hidden battery close
by. The editor Of the Greenbeach Ga
zette will announce in his columns that
Inspector or Captain So-and-so has
arrived at the local hotel to superin-
tend some work for the government.
Next week tenders will be invited for
bricks, cement and slags. The foreign
intelligence man, reading this news in
Paris, Berlin or st. Petersburg, begins
to chuckle, This is going to be in
teresting."
A few months pass, while foreign
eyes daily scan the paper for news of
the battery. At last the editor grave
ly informs his readers that new guns
for the battery now building have ar
rived"
"Aha," says the intelligence man,
"our agent In London must have a
look at thatw And accordingly one
day pleasant foreigner arrives at
Greenbeach, starts painting the cliffs,
chats in the evening with the local
topers at the bar and is good listener
when yarns about the new battery are
told Finally he departs and sends
on to his expert branch for close inves-
tigation.
As regards the spies of the secret
intelligence service, it is interesting
to know that the supply largely ex-
ceeds the demand. For any one who
has not been in the service himself 1t
seems incredible what numbers of
scoundrels. young and old. are to be
found in most armies and navies who
will willingly sell their country's Sc
crets to the highest bidder.
These and few specially appointed
agents are the main retailers of mill
tary secrets. There are, further, the
deserters, who, arriving in strange
country, generally without money, turn
the knowledge they have acquired dur
ing their time Of service into money
by selling their country's secrets.
On this account Of course prices are
not SO high as ia generally believed.
For example, a government would rare
ly pay several thousand pounds" for
the purchase of signal book. Was not
the secret of the French field guns sold
in 1898 to Germany for 5000 francs
(f2OW, and such secret has hun
dredfold the value Of signal book.
Altogether the life of the secret serv-
ice man is not devoid Of interest. He
gets hardened to the business, and II
it were not for the exciting fact that
where other people deal in goods he
deals in the lives Of nations it would
soon pail.
OF course on the first occasions when
you have been sent to foreign coun-
try and carry papers in your pocket
which II found ON you would obtain
for you twenty years hard labor free
Of charge, it Is difficult to keep per-
fectly at ease when talking to high
police officer or military official. In
the end, however, you get used to it
and careless till you are caught.
The main agents of Russia and
France are ladies. while Germany pre-
fers men. So does Britain.
The triumph Of the French policy Of
employing female spies was celebrated
in Italy when well known lady of the
French embassy managed to get the
italian minister into her tolls. 1t was
at the time Italy intended to occupy
Tunis and to establish protectorate
there. The italian feet was preparing
at Palermo.
In only two more days 1t would sail,
and Tunis would belong to Italy, when
during one of the lovers meetings the
Italian minister let the secret out. The
rest belongs to history. France arrived
first and occupied Tunis.
Here is another fact which may ap-
pear hardly credible, but is absolutely
true; At the beginning Of the South
African war had to consult with the
intelligence department of large Ger
man gun firm. and for fun the chief of
the department showed me the record
Ut the ornaments of the Beers. Well,
this record was true to the last line.
while the report Of the British intelli.