The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-05-23


while an army of navy officer is arrest
ed for spying or attempting to obtain
military secrets from foreign govern
ment Practically every government.
including the United States. has a law
which makes this crime. Usually
there Is more or less secrecy about
the officers arrest and trial. His gov
eminent repudiates his activity, and
IL he is sentenced to a term of i'm
prisonment he receives no support or
aid from his government.
Within the last few months two
British officers, Captain Brandon and
Captain Trench, have been arrested,
tried and imprisoned in Germany for
gathering military information in that
country which might be valuable to
Great Britain in case OF hostilities. A
German officer. Lieutenant Helm. was
arrested in England for sketching and
photographing British Notifications. In
the Philippines two Japanese officers
were arreste while attempting to
bride a private to furnish them with
photographs OF the Notifications Of
Corregidor. Manila bay.
These incidents are only indications
of a general system of secret military
espionage which is in progress in all
parts OF the world. Although they
will not officially admit it. practically
every government has a secret service
OF army and navy officers whose only
duty ia to travel in foreign countries
| to gather information which might be
useful in time OF war. Because of the
shortage of officers the United States
has only engaged in this practice in
time of active hostilities.
Military espionage is. of course. a
delicate subject, and it would be a
gross violation OF international pro-
priety for any government to admit
that II had secret agents spying on its
neighbors. However, IL is well
known fact that this system exists.
| Not long ago officers of the war de-
partment had an experience which is
still a mystery. One of the most i'm
portant secrets of the army in recent
years has been the details of the forti-
fications of the island of Corregidor,
which is situated at the mouth of Ma
Mia bay. A British subject in the city
of Calcutta found on the streets of that
city small packet of blueprints con-
tanning information of the defenses of
Corregidor Recognizing the charac-
ter of the documents, he turned them
over to the American consul-general
there, who in turn forwarded them to
the state department at Washington.
Finally they found their way to the
war department, where the blueprints
were critically examined.
All importan Details
The officers of the department were
amazed when they found that the blue
prints contained all the important de-
tails Of the defenses of Corregidor.
They were duplicates of the original
plans. the whereabouts of which have
never been ascertained. They are on
a small scale. evidently made with the
idea of carrying them in a pocket and
were very finely and accurately drawn.
On some of the blue prints were tab
ulations giving the nights of the guns
above the sea level, the location of the
searchlights. fire control stations and
other highly confidential information
The blueprints were not copied from
any drawings or charts prepared by
the United States, but were evidently
mcde from careful and painstakine
research from the official and conf
Dental records of the government.
The maker of the blue prints was
never identified Officers of the war
department are confident that the blue
prints were based upon information
which had been distracted and DELHI
erately sold to foreign government
But the most careful and comprehen
sive investigation which was made by
the department failed to disclose the
identity OF the supposed traitor.
Information for Japanese
About year ago two Japanese Of
ficers attempted to obtain photographs
of the Corregidor Notifications by
bribing an enlisted man of the Amer
lean army. To the private, who was
in the engineer corps, was offered SIS.
900 IL he would agree to do this and
as he was the official photographer Of
the corps, no suspicion was aroused
when he made the photographs. He
revealed his knowledge to the military
autohrities in Manila, however. who
Instructed him to proceed with the
deal. A trap was laid and the two
Japanese officers were captured wher
they were about to receive the photo
graphs from the private. There was
no law under which they could be pros
ecuted and they were released from
custody. Since then, however, con
gres has passed law covering sucf
cases.
Early in 1905 the police department
of New York city reported to the wal
department that maps and military in
formation of confidential character
had been found in trunk belonging tt
an American. who. he police believed
had been employed by foreign gov
ernment. His arrest had been hat
in connection with another offens4
and the discovery Of these papers wal
accidental.
In 1907 an American ambassador a
foreign capital reported to the stat,
department that an army officer of TIT
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