The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-25
SECRET SERVICE MEN
EACH NATION POSSESSES SYSTEM
 or ITS OWN.
object is to Acquire Information at Expense of Friendly Power Which
 1t Is Desirable should
 / Be Kept Secret.

London Sphere.
 Whenever rumors of war become bruited about references to secret ser- vice and the men who serve it at once appear. Secret service may be defined in phrase as the art of acquiring at the expense of a friendly power in- formation which it is desirable Should be kept private. With such defini- tion attaching to it, the occupation at first sight may not appear to be very praiseworthy, yet there is no pro- fession in the world offering to the successful such rich rewards nor any where the man who fails is so quickly superseded.
 The arrest of two Japanese. disguis- ed as servants. under circumstances of grave suspicion by the officer com manding an American fort at San Diego throws light upon the methods by which the requirements of secret service are fulfilled while the expul- sion of twosothers from the navy yard at Washington is yet another instance. Secret service men work, however, in a variety of ways and through innu- merable channels. By virtue of neces- sity their identity is never disclosed, and even on the roll of their corps they are known only by number or a. letter Each country, of course, pos sesses such a service. the branches of which are grouped under the bureau' of the intelligence division and att tached to the several departments of the State requiring them. It is indis- pensable to war and naval offices. in- valuable to foreign offices, and may be said to work in conjunction with the embassies, legations, and consulates that one country maintains within the realms of another. The service is divided into several classes, but the usual heads are naval, military and general affairs.
 Information Sought.
 A scheme of coast defenses, the dis position of an army or fleet at the outbreak of hostilities, the designs ot a battleship ,(the plans of subma- rine or the mechaninism of gun, and the ingredients of a high explosive powder are among the items of infor- nation which would be of importance to naval and military secret service men, while the draft of confidential treaty, the unpublished clauses at- taching to a loan, the character of private communication from sover- eign to his ministers would appeal 10 those who dealt with general affairs or paid attention to movements in the political and diplomatic worlds In- formation under any of these neaos if once authenticated. would possess
 
 in thousands of pounds, and 1t is unde- niable that there is constant tramc in State secrets of this desGlptlon. Moreover, no Governnnen can aHord 10 ignore such a means of supplementing or confirming the reports returned oy the representatives that 1t maintains abroad, and the activity of the secret service in any of he dlrectlohs heFe indicated is unremitting.
 Among European powers the Russian secret service is probably the finest. but 1t embraces many thousands or people who are merely volunteers or who report confidential information with a view of escaping official inter ference, In France and Germany the secret service is supported by system attic investigation that can not be said to rely in any material way upon casual assistance. In England the ser vice is controlled to a great extent by the intelligence divisions of the Admiralty and the War Office, but sucn system of private inquiry has not been elevated in this country 10 the exact science that 1t is. let us say, Tn i Russia or Japan. Undoubtedly. the most 1 perfect secret service in the world is ! by the Japanese, who devote to 1t all | the patience and care for whicn the 1 Oriental is famous. The late war Tn Manchuria offered ample evidence or | the value of the work hccohphsheo py it. In Picking, Harbin, Port Arthur and 4 Seoul the centers of an elaborate sys- tenn were established by which secret service men, disguised as barbers, ser wants, itinerant merchants and travel ing priests swarmed all over North west Asia. There was neither a village nor a military post that escaped obser- vation; and many of the earlier sue- cesses of the Japanese were due to the excellence of the information supplied | by the members of the secreta service | before hostilities began. Japanese Active.
 | Hinder the Japanese system the more deficate work is frequently carried out