The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-04-12

Manila attracted attention. There was
nothing about their appearance to in
dictate that they were other than what
they pretended TO be. They lived in
poor quarters and sold their catch
regularly in the market. but the man
ner in which they shifted about from
one place TO another finally caused
them to be brought under surveil-
lance. It was then discovered that
when no one was near they were en-
gagged in making soundings, evidently
for the purpose of accurately chart
ing the harbor for the war Office in
Toxic.
A newspaper correspondent in Yo-
kohama had an experience which IL
Illustrated the perfect system of keep
ing check on the whereabouts of
foreigners in the country. He was in
vited to the police station to see an
expert instructing the raw recruits
for the police force in the science of
jiu-jitsu. The chief of police told the
correspondent that he would have
some facts typewriter in English and
would send them around to the hotel
next day. The correspondent had
moved that morning from one hotel to
another, and as he was leaving the
police station he happened to think
of this and returned to leave his new
address. The chief smiled and turned
to the register, showing the foreign
er the corrected address after his
name. The system was so complete
that the removal had been entered at
headquarters almost before the lug
gage had arrived at the new place.
A recent exposure revealed the
clever manner in which the japanese
war office had been keeping in touch
with military matters in Germany.
One of the trusted agents of the Mi
kados bureau of secret information
learned the BARRIERS trade, and in
SOME ttldIIiICT SCC0ICIl d pletSC Al O.
large military club in Berlin. Here
he came into personal contact with
the leading military lights of the
Kafser's realm. BY listening to the
confidential gossip around him he
learned many military secrets and
found that the real opinion of many
prominent German officials in regard
to Japanese matters was quite the
contrary to what had been expressed
through diplomatic channels. When
the real character of this clever little
was disclosed, there was q
great commotion in German military
circles. No more Japanese BARRIERS
need apply in Berlin.
While the activity of the japanese
secret service representatives in many
attitudes is unquestioned, it does not
necessarily follow that Japan intends
% declare war with every nation upon
which it is found spying, or upon any
IF them for that matter. It is a good
hing for every government to be as
we'll posted about its neighbors as
possible, and as a matter of fact it 10
most difficult to keep military secrets
However, other nations do
lot go quite as far in espionage as
he, Japanese, nor do they assign cit |
zens of high standing to such ordi- |
1ary tasks. If the American Govern |
nent should determine to pattern after |
he Japanese. and to go them one bet7 |
er on their system, we might one day
lear of the Honorable William H. Taft /
aking observations in Toxic in the /
suise of fat wrestler, or of General |
{. Franklin Bell impersonating a jim
fkfsha man in the streets of Kobe.
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. |