Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-08-22
SECRET AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT
HAVE BEEN At WORK FOR
MANY MONTHS.
UNITED STATES DOES NOT
PROPOSE TO BE uNPREPARED
Heads Of War Department. Know just
What Would Be Required in Case Il
is Necessary to Send Soldiers Across
eerder-Lons and Difficult. Campaign
Would 30 Necessary.
Lspecia, Correspondence


4 Washington, Aug. e2.-With the wa.
cloud again looming up ia the south
west, the extent of the secret army
preparations becomes q subject of re-
nswed gossip about WASHINGTON. Nee
essarily. comparatively little is known
about these preparations but there Is
no doubt they are extensive. Only a
campaign would test their complete
ness or their efficiency but army men
give out the impression they have been
. thorough.
) Modern wars have shown the value
F., of q complete knowledge of the topo-
gTaphy of the country to be fought
over. Acquaintance with the country
WAS one of the great assets Of the
: confederates in the civil war. The
: minute knowledge OF Manchuria which
japanese intelligence officers had
gained thru months and years OF quiet
work il that country was a grea, fac
/ tor IN the successes OF the Japanese in
the war with Russia So, if the troops
have to cross the border, knowledge of
the country will play an important par,
/ in the campaigning.
Contest Would Be One Sided.
/ 1t is true. this would be one sided
contest from the beginning. John
Sharp Williams said in the senate the
other day that he did not even feel
brave when talking about war with
poor little Mexico. Nevertheless, army
1 men realize there would be plenty of
ugly fighting and that in the broken
! ana disconnected operations Of a
guerilla sort which would be carried on
knowledge OF the country would save
the lives of many men and would
economic vastly with respect to men,
animals. equipment and time.
Army Men Fear Hardshipe.
Responsible officers Of the army
have no zest for years Of campaigning
in Mexico. Too many OF them went
thru the arduous years Of campaigning
| in the Philippines to have any illusions
about that sor, OF fighting. Glory is
not a part Of it. 1t means months and
months OF hard work. endless hiking
thru difficult country. with men cut
Oh here and there in minor actions and
| many succumbing to the haxdships OF
the climate and having to be sent back
/ TO the hospitals. Only . few Of the
! army hotheads want trouble. Never
/ theless. the Mexican cloud has been
hanging over the army for years and
| the general stan has done q vast
| amount OF quiet work getting every
| thing in readiness for operations. The
mobilization which was ordered by
| President Taft was an admirable school
OF education. II showed up many
weaknesses and II another mobilization
is ordered 1t will be accomplished with
more expedition and less friction. A
few orders sent out from Washington
would set the army speedily in motion.
Secret Agents in Mexico.
For many months. the war depart
ment has had its secret agents scat
! tered thru Mexico. They have been
there in various capacities. Not a few
OF them have been there in the guise
Of railroad men. They have been high
class men. officers Of the intelligence
| division. who have gone Tor the pur-
pose Of spying the land. finding out
what was doing. studying topography,
roads. bridges and all these things
which are important when 1t comes to
moving troops This has been done
without any splurges. Officers have
come to Washington or to other head
quarters and have gone and nobody
but a few superiors have been the
wiser and they have kept their mouths
shut. Within the last few weeks, It Il
known increased attention has been
given to the getting OF Information
out Of Mexico. Officers who can speak
Spanish and who are familiar with
Latin American affairs are the one.
who have been chosen for this sort OF
service. The aTmy's training IN the
Philippines has proven Of value.
II war comes, while army men think
it will be a costly experience, and one
that everybody ought to wish to avoid
they think at the same time it will be
! good school for the army. Coming
on top OF the experience OF the Span.
ish war and the fighting in the Philip.
pines. it will give the army a training
that will be valuable from a purely
military standpoint One thing not t.
be overlooked is that Mexicans in the
las: two or three years have seen /.
lc: OF hard fighting and they woulc
put up q resistance to any army o.
invasion that would doubtless NEAR
much heavier operations than any thi.
country has seen since civil war days
Not all Of the work would be of g
guerilla character, especially If there
was united movement of the Next