The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-09-11
Europe is Just Now Indulsins in An.
nuaI Excitement and Information
tionaI sleuths Arc
Busy.
PHOTOGRAPHER CAUGHT
Anybody With a Camera is in Danger
Of Being Thrown Into jail
and Held on
Suspicion.

lBy Ed. L. Keen, London correspon-
dent of the United Press.l
LONDON, Sept. 11.-Europe is in
dulging in its annual spy scare.
OF course, the spy game goes on
all the year around, but this is the
particular period when the doings OF
international sleuths manage to gain
most prominence.
Naturally, owing to the prevalent
spirit of distrustfulness between the
English and German people, fostered
by the recently renewed race for
naval supremacy, these two nations
are the worst afflicted with spy-itis.
The risk run by the traveller from one
country, who is reckless enough to
use camera while in the other. and
the apparent eagerness Of military of
ficials to ascribe sinister motives to
the most innocent pastimes, were apt
ly Illustrated in the arrest Of the five
British yachtsmen who were making
pleasure tour along the German
coast. Upon investigation it was
learned that their Photographic activ.
tiles were inspired by nothing more
serious than a desire to win the S.
coo prize offered by London paper
for the best series of vacation pic
lures. Yet they spent five days in a
German jail. and it was only after
Sir Edward Grey, England's foreign
secretary, had personally interested
himself in their plight that they were
released.
Germany, however, is no greater a
blunderer in this respect than Eng
land. Only few days previously a
party of ten German tourists were
detained for several hours in Arch
cliffe Fort, Dover, because one of
them was so foolhardy as to take a
picture of the harbor scenery
Both spying and spy-hunting are ex-
pensive luxuries. For every arrest of
a supposed secret agent of a foreign
government, thousands of the real
article ply their vocation unsupported
A conservative estimate of the annual
expenditures of the various European
government for this work of interna-
tional gumshoeing is $25,00o,O0
England's bill for spying is the
smallest in Europe In the past ten
years the annual amount has not run
over s25o,oOO.
Germany for some years has been
voting a minimum of three million
dollars, while the average in France
is just under one million. The latter
figure, however, Is for military secret
service alone, and does not include
the large sums placed under the head
ing of "dispenses secretes" in the
civil departments, and which are used
for spy work. Austria rarely owns up
to more than million spent for sec
ret service, but like France, she
works secret service funds into 9th
er appropriations
Russia returns no balance sheet at
all but as it has the largest and most
powerful spy system in Europe. the
amount must be enormous, anything
from five to ten millions upwards.
In Europe the secret service Is gen
orally divided into three classes.
naval, military and general" and
even those countries which do no.
openly or regularly employ spies
have funds which can be used to pay
for valuable information brought by
"disinterested" foreigners. The naval
and military men look after such
items as the disposition of foreign
armies and fleets, costal fortifica-
tions, new battleship, submarine. air
ship or cannon designs, and new ex-
plosives, while the general branch
is especially interested in the details
of foreign loans, the draft of conf.
dental treaties. secret clauses in
concessions of commercial agree
ments, or communications passing be-
tween monarchs or ministers.
The report OF the committee which
has been inquiring into the accounts
OF the government stationery depart /
ment has caused a tremendous nm.
roar from economists both in and out /
of parliament 1t shows that on
paper and printing alone the govern
ment spends more than S5,0O0O0O a I
year, most Of which is sheer waste
due to extravaganza, carelessness or
This year 100000 was eaten up
in printing leaflets explaining the ma.
tional insurance act, but apart from
this the printing bill. which totaled /
sl.15o,ooo was run up largely by the
cost, and waste OF time, entailed nv
copious and undue delay in retwning
proofs. Stationery used by members
OF the house of commons cost 5000.
Another striking extravaganza is
the number of books OF reference
used by government officials. One
department alone needs, or thinks n
needs. 1b2 cnniac nf fha oer:1.-,