The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1913-08-22
SPIES At CAPITAL
Guards and Doorkeepers Serve
No Purpose.
Recent Theft of the Plans for New
BattIeship Not an Isolated Case
Bio Business Interests Seek
Inside information"

Washington.-The furry occasioneo
here recently by the disclosure OF the
fact that certain tracings OF the plans
for the projected new battleship Penn
sylyania had been stolen from tne
navy department served to enliVen
dull period and add a note OF excite
ment TO the waning discussion or the
Acknowledgements crisis.
The officials of the navy department
seem entirely in good faith IN their
declaration that the missing tracings
are of comparatively small Importance,
and do not disclose any naval secrets
which would be of value TO anybody.
The experience has been a valuable
one. if only because it has brought 10
notice a condition of carelessneSs ana
loose MANAGEMENT making it possible
for any person In or out OF the depart
ment to purloin papers or other Things
Of value. The same is true OF nearly
all of the departments. Inc corrluors
of all the public buildings are hneo
with so-called doorkeeperS and mes
sengers. more than would be needed
to guard the treasures of royalty. zen
orally speaking, they serve no purpose
whatever except to multiply the an
noyance of persons having legitimate
business in the department. Rlght I'M
der the noses of this horde OF hang
ers on, and of regiments of clerks-to
say nothing of bureau chiefs-lnfor-
nation of supposed value Is taken, ana
no one the wiser.
Evidently the drawing first stolen
was disappointing; for several weeks
| later a. duplicate, presumably In
more finished condition, was stolen
from the same room.
And there have been other thefts
since of things of lesser value, but all
! contributing to indicate that some one
within the navy department was
guilty. AS usual, the empty stable was
carefully locked and a force OF de-
| tectives was set to work to watch
every person who might have access
to the place.
1t is typical of the present state OF
| the public mind that there should be
! all this furore over a thing OF this
kind. affecting the subject of war. The
theft of a so-called military secret
is received with gusto attaching tc
no other kind of theft. Espionage Of
forts and ships and such like Is nc
doubt a terrible thing, and the foreign
SOY" or domestic traitor who does Il
should be forthwith arrested and Wis
tied with dire penalties.
Yet upon second thought one won
ders of what special use 1T would be te
foreign naval commander to know
however infinitely, the system of cleo
trio wiring on the ship with which h'
was going forth to do battle. Witt
which Of his heavy guns will he ain
so accurately as to cut the slende
nerve that controls the forward turre
or all the turrets of the enemy? Gun
merry has attained remarkable perfeG
ton, no doubt; but hardly has
reached the point where the location
of wires becomes q part of the cul
riculum of the gunner.
As for the general plan and cor
1
practical that one could learn fror
drawings may be observed by any Wis
itor upon the beautifully accurat
models of the ships OF the Unite
States navy which line the corridor
of the navy department and affor
material for the eloquence Of scor
Of guides.
1t is most likely that some poo
creature in one of the navy depar
ment bureaus saw in these drawing
for the Pennsylvania, SO ready to h
: hand and unprotected by even th
D most superficial system Of care.
: chance to peddle supposedly valuab
secrets to the naval attache OF SON
foreign embassy. In any club
Washington you can hear plausib
4 tales OF this sort of thing, the matte
n OF the alleged offender varying wit