New-York tribune., 1912-01-28

liant future Advancement in time Of
peace is necessarily slow, and successful
espionage constituted a great tempta-
tion especially as the punishment if
caught entailed no disgrace.
So irresistible did the inducement, in
fact. become that last autumn the Ger
man War Department became embar-
rassed by the extraordinary number of
relatively unsophisticated subalterns
who, without any authority, were en-
deavoring to obtain possession of naval
and military secrets of foreign powers,
going about in such a foolish way as to
invite suspicion, distrust and needless
irritation. The Berlin authorities conse-
quently began to discourage this volun-
teer espionage by officers, ordered that
they should secure definite permission
before being allowed to travel abroad on
themselves as to how and where that
leave would he spent, and that if they
proposed to engage i'm any Intelligence"
work-that is to say, espionage-they
should temporarily relinquish their COM
missions, so that if captured they could
he disavowed. as civilians, instead of
being accountable as men holding the
Kaser's commission
ESPIONAGE WILL STILL GO ON.
Although this great increase of the
dangers attending espionage will, as I
have mentioned above, act as de-
terrent i'm the majority of cases. and can
not fail to put an end to the disconcert-
ing abundance of irresponsible volunteer
spying by subalterns yearning for ad-
will add tD the zest of others, to whom
the greater the risk, the greater the
fascination of the game. There are al
ways a lot of adventurous spirits i'm
every army and navy who are willing
to stake everything for the sake of sue
cess. and il is from these undoubtedly,
that the War Department In the future
will select the officers of their military
and naval intelligence departments. A
amount of espionage is indis-
pensable. No government and no war
or navy department can dispense there
with, hut henceforth they will he con-
tent To depend upon the ordinary paid
spies; that is to say, the nondescript in
dividuals who make a ncfarious pecuni-
AIRY business thereof, on the one hand.
and on the other upon certain care
fully chosen officers who realize that
If they get caught they will be pun
ished, not only by the power that capt
ures them. but also by their own gov
ernment with the confiscation Of their
The famous French Marshal Bugcaud.
whose writings are TO this day standard
works of military education in the army
of France and in those Of a number Of
ether nations. expresses himself in his
"Apercus sur Fart de la Gucrre.' In the
following categorical manner: English.
American. Russian and German officers
DO not hesitate to assume disguiscs as
regards name. nationality. profession
and appearance. in order 10 secure in
formation concerning the designs of a
power which may become an enemy. In
acting thus, they are no more guilty Of
dshonorable conduct or crime than the
soldier is of murder, with regard to the
foe whom he kills in battle. our French
officers should be encouraged 10 follow
their example"
That this doctrine no longer holds
good is best shown by the fact that
when Captain Lux. of the French Cen
eral Staff, reached Paris after his night
from Glatz. where he was undergoing
German captivity for espionage. he was
received by the French War Depart
ment not with open arms, but in a very
curt and dscouraging manner was or
dered to hold his tongue. 10 avoid all
notoriety, and instead Of receiving any
promise Of promotion or an order Of
knighthood vas ordered To hold him
self ready for trial by court martial for
absence without leave, his espionage
having been undertaken, not by order Of
volitiOn
II will be interesting 10 see what atti-
tude the United States government viii
now take. especially In dealing with the
Japanese espionage, so prevalent in the
Sandwich Islands and in the Philippines.
and Of spying not only by the japanese.
but also by other foreign powers. into
the fortifcations and plans for defence
of the Panama Canal
EX-ATTACHE.