Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-02-11
Miseellaneoas Reaaina.
WOMEN AS GOVERNMENT SPIES.
Stealing Naval Plans-obtainins
SmokeIess Powder Formula.

Stealing Naval Plans-Obtaining
Smokeless Powder Formula.
1t may be remembered that short
time ago some valuable admiralty plans
disappeared from Chatham. Mr.. Nc
Kenna. the first lord of the admiralty,
admitted that they had been stolen, but
| a mystery surrounded their disappear
ance. 1t Is now suggested that well
known international woman spy. who
i is ever ready to sell her services to the
highest bidder, be it the Russian, Ger
man or French government, was res
sponible for the disappearance Of those
| plans. It is known that she was in
this country for some weeks prior to
the incident and it is supposed that
during that time she engineered the
plot which resulted in the vanishing Of
the important papers.
Whatever truth there may be in the
story, 1t is very feasible one, for it
is usually women who prove the most
successful spies. When 1t comes to
trickery and cunning" said a well
known detective to the writer on one
occasion, there is no match for a
clever woman. If she is pretty into
the bargain / would back her to beat
the cleverest men at Scotland Yard
nine times out Of ten" And judging
from the success Of women in secret
service work it would seem that the
tribute is in no way exaggerated.
1t Is only a short time ago that a
beautiful and fashionably dressed
teacher Of languages, Fraulein Peter
sen, about 25 years Of age. was arrest.
ed at Kel. in Germany, on suspicion Of
being a French spy. She was said to
have entered into love affair deli
berately with a nom commissioned OFF,
Ger named Dietrich Of the explosives
department for the the purpose OF in
ducing him to divulge important Ger
man naval secrets.
Dietrich, fiattered by the attentions
Of such beautiful woman, could deny
her nothing, and at the time of the
arrest was said to have been supplying
her with the formula for the manufac-
ture Of the German smokeless powder
Zone Of the most effective yet invent
ed) and the situation Of the port mines.
To disguise her true occupation she
posed as a teacher Of languages. Sus-
picion was directed against her on ac-
count of the ample funds with which
she was always provided and of ner
fear Of giving the police the customary
notice of her frequent changes Of ad-
dress.
In Russia, where the secret service
is raised to the level Of a fine art, the
woman spy is recognized as an ex-
tremely valuable medium for obtaining
information, not only about foreign
matters but also concerning the vari-
Gus revolutionary movements going on
at home. One Of the most notorious
of these feminine police spies Is Nine.
Joutchenko, who has been described as
a female Azeff.
This person, posing as one of the Ter
rorists, took part in their enterprises,
and discovering all their plans gave in
formation to the police. For this work
she obtained a handsome monthly sal
ary. She began her nefarious trade at
the age of %, and her first big coup
was when she betrayed the Respontine
plot against the car in 1895. Scores
Of those who had trusted her went into
exile in Siberia on the plot being dis
covered.
She herself, to disarm suspicion, was
sent away also, but was allowed to es-
cape and rejoin the revolutionists In
order to obtain more information. One
Of her victims was a handsome girl
named Frania Froumkin, who was sent
to the gallows after an abortive at
tempt to kill the prefect of Moscow.
The arch traitress wormed herself into
the confidence Of families, with the re-
suit that numbers Of persons were BAN
ished to Siberia.
Quite recently the French govern
ment caused large number Of German
women employed on the eastern from
tier as barmaids to be expelled from
the country. These women had been
watched and found to be in the pay OF
German spies, to whom they gave the
information that they acquired from
listening to the conversation Of drunk
en- sailors in tine taverns.
A more serious affair was that at
Reims. Seven men and three women
alleged to be paid agents Of the Ger
man war office were arrested. The
three women were in the habit, it was
said, of making the acquaintance Of
soldiers and wheedling military secrets
out Of them, which information they
passed on to the men. Compromising
correspondence was found at their
lodgings and seemed to reveal whole
sale espionage by the women. AS a
matter of fact the arrest Of these men