Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-12-10
SECRET SERVICE.
How Governments Burrow Into One
Another's Private Affairs.


vice and the men who serve 1t at once
appear. Secret service may be defined
In a phrase as the art Of acquiring at
the expense of friendly power infor-
nation which it is desirable should be
kept private. With such q definition
attaching to 1t the occupation at first
sight may not appear to be very praise
worthy, yet there Is no profession In
the world Offering to the successful
such rich rewards nor any where the
man who fails Is so quickly super
seded.
Secret service men work, however.
In variety Of ways and through in
Vulnerable channels. BY virtue Of ne
eessity their identity is never dis
closed, and even on the roll Of their
corps they are known only by num-
ber or a letter. Each country, Of
course, possesses such a service, the
branches of which are grouped under
the bureau of intelligence division and
attached to the several departments of
state requiring them. It Is indispensa-
BILE to war and naval Offices, invalua-
Bile to foreign Offices, and may be said
tc work In conjunction with the en-
bassies, legations and consnlates that
one country maintains within, the
realms Of another. The service Is, d.
vided into several classes, but the
usual heads are naval. military and
general affairs. l>n, r..
A scheme of coastal defences, the
disposition Of an army or feet at the
outbreak Of hostilities, the designs OF
4 battleship, the plans Of p submarine
or the mechanism Of a gun, and the
ingredients of high explosive powder
are among the items Of Information
which would be Of importance to naval
and military secret service men, while
the draft of confidential treaty, the
unpublished clauses attaching to
loan. the character Of private COM
munication from O sovereign to his
ministers would appeal to those who
1ealt with general affairs or paid at,
.ention to movements in the political
ond diplomatic worlds. Information
rnder any of these heads, II once au-
thenticated, would possess specific
value, which might be paid for in
thousands Of pounds, and 1t Is unde-
niable that there is constant trafiic
In state secrets of this description.
Moreover, no government can AFFORD
to ignore such q means OF supplement-
ing or confirming the reports returned
by the representatives that 1t main
tains abroad, and the activity Of the
secret service In any Of the directions
here indicated is unremitting.
Among the European powers, the
Russian secret service is probably the
finest, but It embraces many thou
sands of persons who are merely vol
unteers, or who report confidential In
formation with view Of escaping Of
fetal Interference. In France and
Germany the. secret service Is support
ed by systematic investigation that
cannot be said to rely in any material
way upon casual assistance. In Eng
land the service is controlled to a
great extent by the intelligence divis-
ions Of the admiralty and the war Of
fee, but such system Of private in
quiry has not been elevated in this
country to the exact science that 1t Is,
let us say, in Russia or japan. On
doubtedly, the most perfect secret SER
vice in the world is that possessed by
the Japanese, who devote to 1t all the
patience for which the Oriental is ia
nous. The late war in Manchuria Of
fered ample evidence Of the value OF
the work accomplished by 1t. In Pc
kin, Harbin, Port Arthur and Seoul
the centres of an elaborate system were
established, by which secret service
men, disguised as BARRIERS, servants,
itinerant merchants and travelling
priests swarmed all over northwest
Asia. There was neither village nor
military post that escaped observa-
ton, and many Of the earlier successes
of the Japanese were due to the excel
lence Of the information supplied by
the members Of the secret service be-
fore hostilities began.
Under the japanese system the more
delicate work Is frequently carried out
by officers Of high standing in the ma
val and military service, and there Is
very little doubt that the men who
were arrested in San Diego, as well as
those who were elected from the navy
yard, hold responsible positions In the
Mikados army. While their discov-
cry Is an unfortunate development In
situation which was already grave
enough, It must not be concluded that
detection brings a Japanese-American
war appreciably nearer. For years
past the whole Of Asia has been COW
cred by a perfect network Of japanese
secret service men. Every point OF
Importance in the possession Of Great
Britain, Russia, France, and Germany,
east Of Suez, has been secretly sur
veyed. the headquarters Of the several
squadrons receiving particular atten-
lHuccu, IL "ouio bO III S<>AooN
tion to say that the character OF the
approaches and the possibilities Of de-
fence Of each naval base held by the
mowers in far eastern waters have been
most carefully plotted by the spies OF
our ally. For a long time British In
dia. French Indo- China. and the gulf
represented their most important
hunting ground, but the recent turn
If events no doubt has impressed the
american position on the Pacific with
prior claim.
In many cases 1t is quite well known
that this surveillance exists. and 1t Is
undoubtedly facilitated by the practice
If enrolling native servants as mess
room boys" in Asiatic waters. Brit
ish, French, Russian and American ma
val authorities permit the custom,
and, as 1t is very difficult to detect
Japanese II he wishes to pass himself
off as a Siamese or Filipino, there is
no doubt that much valuable informa-
ton has been obtained in this way.
Unfortunately, the Asiatic is very suit