The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-11-02


found prying into her naval and mill
concerns. These inquisitive gentlemen
are not warned directly that their op-
iect in this country Is known, but
hint Is dropped to the powers employ
ing them that the authorizes mere
are we'll acquainted with the opera.
tons Of the spies. the result being tnae
the latter are usually quietly with
drawn.
At the same time Of course, the
spies are afforded very little oppor-
tunity of gaining really valuable IN
formation, although, at time when
naval maneuvers are being conducted
o ma large scale, the task of guarding
secrets from them is much more dlrn-
cult than on ordinary occasions.
When a new battleship is about to
be launched. however, no little anxiety
is felt by the admiralty officials In
their desire to prevent the betrayal
of the secrets Of her armament. 1t Is
absolutely necessary, II Great Britain
is to hold her own on the seas. that
no opportunity should be offered other
powers of outclassing her guns: and II
was on this account that so much SEN
sation was caused at the recent launch
ing of the Dreadnought, when 1t be-
came known that all the details of the
new quick-firing guns intended for this
and other men-o-war were in the pos
session of a certain European power.
There are two ways of gaining such
information. viz, from the dockyard or
the admiralty headquarters In White
hall. In the case Of the Dreadnought
it was clearly proved that the work.
men were above suspicion and that
those on whom the slightest suspicion
of foreign interest had fallen had been
promptly discharged. Besides, the ma
ture of the work was such that there
was little any one man could have be-
trayed
AS a matter of fact, the leakage was
traced to London. A duplicate design
of the gun was missing for few hours
and then suddenly found in the strong
box where it had originally been plac-
ed Apparently 1t had been stolen for
a time, another copy had been made
and the duplicate design returned to
prevent further inquiry and investiga-
ton.
The authorities are fully alive to the
fact that foreign powers have agents
who send home every scrap of inform
alton they can CLEAN. These men are
sociable fellows. who make many
friends amongst the members Of the
various departments, and thus increase
their channels Of information. The
majority of the clerks are models Of
discretion and caution, but even the
best of them is likely to drop a word
or hint at some time which the spy can
act upon. The latter will even go to
the extent of securing the contents Of
waste paper baskets, through the me-
dunn of office cleaners. OF course,
the chances are against him finding
anything Of much value. But patience
and perseverance have often been re-
warded in this direction
Moves In Best Circles.
The modern naval spy, however, who
seeks information at headquarters Is
circles. Some striking romances have
been written round the doings Of for
eign spies who have the entree Of
good society. But truth is stranger
than fiction in this as in other cases,
and during the last half-dozen years
nearly a score of men and women who
came over to this country with the
highest credentials and letters Of In
PRODUCTION have been obliged to make
sudden return to the continent because
the admiralty had gained knowledge
of their mission.
This country is fully alive to the ne
cessary of setting a spy to catch spy,
and it Is very rare indeed that for
eigner, who apparently has no other
object than to participate in society
pleasures, is allowed to escape the OBJ
SSTNdllUH VI SSCISl ScINlCS OclcCllNCS,
no matter who or what he may be.
1t might be mentioned that the spies
of foreign powers do not confine their
attention solely to this country in Or
der to learn England's naval secrets.
They often go to Japan for information.
Owing to the Anglo-Japanese alliance,
England is in constant communication
with her eastern ally concerning naval
improvements, and consequently spies
Tol MI he c,,i
vive.
Fort Receives Attention.
The forts around the British coast
receive much attention from foreign
Spies more particularly when it Is
known that improvements are pro-
posed. Periodical inspections Of the
forts are made by naval experts and 1t
is at such times that the spy is very
much on the alert. Particulars re-
gar5ing the experts are duly learned
through employees at the admiralty or
by spies at naval clubs, and plans
made accordingly. 1t is probable that
the officers will be followed through
out the whole tour of inspection, and
every effort made at the hotels. ETC.,
where they may stop to learn some
thing of their reports and suggestions.
Foreign walters are bribed to keep
their ears open when called into the
room where the officials may be, and
to purloin any piece Of paper possible,
While on more than one occasion the
officials have been obliged to engage
the whole Of the hotel or inn at which
they might happen to be staying in
order to guard against the slightest
possibility Of their conversation being
overheard by other guests.
1t is popular fallacy that photo
graphy is largely employed by naval
and military spies. AS a matter Of
fact, the camera is eschewed as much
as possible, on account Of tho atten-
ton 1t is likely to attract. Drawings
prepared after careful observation are
the most favored method of work
The precautions taken In the case of
the Dreadnought have already been
mentioned. AS matter of fact, every
dock-yard is subject to strict espion-
age by members Of the intelligence
department, and II is not unusual for
dozen or more of the latter to be
placed on duty in the dock-yard where
a battleship may be In course of con-
struction.
Under Guise of Friendship
Instead, however, Of sending spies
into the dockyards to work, and thus
acquiring information, a power will
often instruct them to worm news out
Of the naval engineers, gunners and
even ordinary sailors at port. under
the guise Of socialbility and friend
ship. This is far more difficult than