Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-01-01
OTHER POWERS KNOW
WHAT is BEING DONE
Foreign Nations Pledge Press and or
fieiaIs to Secrecy When New Guns
and Ships Are Being Constructed
Japs Not Pioneers in Science Of
Keeping Mouths Shut.
Especial correspondence.l

governments keep their military anG
naval secrets, have been indulging
some unfavorable comment of late or
the publicity which has attended the
construction and trials of the new four
teen-inch naval gun by this govern
ment
They say that there is not another
naval power in the world that would
have permitted that gun to be built as
1t were, under the eyes of the whole
world. The very decision to build ii
would have been kept a close secret
Nobody would have known of the plans
for it, the method of construction
would have been guarded carefully. and
If she proved, on trial a success, there
would have been an order for a battery
OF duplicates. and they would probably
have been built and mounted on a
battleship, before the world would have
known that any such supremely power
full vessel was in contemplation.
Other Powers Watching.
But the American military and naval
methods do not lend themselves to Sc
crecy, and as result the naval powers
know, thus far almost as much about
ing watched with the keenest interest
by the naval attaches of the various
naval countries. and duly and regularly
reported upon to their naval superiors.
The contrast between foreign and
American methods in this regard was
illustrated by an incident which recent
ly took place at the Army and Navy
Club. A navy officer was telling his
experience with the secrecy of the Brit
ish navy.
Everybody recollects," he said chat
when the British started to build the
great Dreadnouglt they took nobody In
to their confidence The monster, which
marked a new era in naval construc-
ton, was actually launched and we'll
toward completion before the rest OF
the world was allowed to know that
such an innovation had been under
taken.
II heard about how they did It, later
on. 1t proved TO be a fact that even
the French and Germans. like our
selves, were taken entirely by surprise
when it became known that a Dread
nought had been built; and most
serious surprise it proved
snow here is the way thew did It
When the admiralty decided to buil6
!, such a vessel, it was realized that ii
could not possibly be done in secre1
without the co-operation of the news
papers. So the admiralty officials call
ED in the newspaper men right in the
beginning, and told them all the facts
Press Pledged to Secrecy.
I'VE are going to build this ves-
sell they said, and it might as vel
never be started if the fact gets to
other governments and they start on
a like program at the same time. We
are at the mercy of the press If it will
keep the secret for us, we can do the
rest
1.-THE newspapers pledged themselves
to observe the confidence just az Am.
erican newspapers would do in like cir
cumstances if necessary. and the
Dreadneught proved one of the biggest
surprises ever sprung in the naval
world.
Later the English had occasion tc
do the same thing again. when they
undertook the construction of the two
battleship- cruisers that We're recently
launched. These are probably the most
useful naval vessels in the world, be-
cause of their combination Of power
speed, and armament and broadside
They put those ships in the water and
placed their ornaments on them be-
fore the rest of the world knew what
was doing"
Japs Pioneers in Keeping Still.
1t is commonly supposed that tbs
Japanese originated and perfected the
system of utter secrecy about militar,
and naval secrets. But in fact, accord.
ing to the military people, the Ger
mans and English keep their secrets
quite as we'll as do the japanese, an6
have been doing it for a long time
Nobody knows certainly the present
stage of the German naval program
The inside facts about all such mat
tiers are guarded with the greatest care
and success. The United States has nev.
er been impressed with the importanc,
of keeping such matters secret, excep
during actual war. The intelligence
business was highly developed during
the Spanish war, but 1t proved impos
sible to keep secrets because Their.
was no method of effective co-opera
9tion between the military administra.
Etion and the newspapers. The newspa
HPClS, D1lilS III llpDOuy were
sout to get all the news they could. A
CORRESPONDENT III light BE printing 4. I'll.
utmost innocence, with no apprecia
ton of its real significance, the bit o
information which would be of tn,
greatest value to the enemy.
III These difficulties have led to gray,
consideration of efforts for improve
sfnent in these regards, and the pro
posal for a scheme under which tn,
publication Of valuable military secrets
can be prevented. The authorities hav,
no doubt of the cooperation Of tn.
press, but the system remains to b.
devised and put at work.