The Washington herald., 1914-07-13
BETRAYERS CASE
A FRISCO ISSUE
Fate of Sunset Men in Hands
of Frisco District Attorney
ofCalifornia Metropolis.
RIGID QUIZ LOOKED FOR
Herald Presents Resume Of Secrets
Whose Exposure Landed Masa-
zine Employees in Jail.

1t Is left up to District Attorney Pres
| ton, Of San Francisco. to decide whether
or not prosecutions will follow the war
rants for the arrest of Charles X. Field,
editor OF Sunset Magazine: Robert @.
Fowler. aviator: Riley Z. Scott. writer.
and Ray A. Duhem. photographer. on
charges OF photographIng the fortifca-
tions OF the Panama Canal and San
Francisco Harbor.
This announcement was made yester-
day by oficials OF the Department OF
Justice. When the War Department
learned that the photographs had been
taken, the matter was referred to the
Department of Justice. and Attorney
General McReynolds has directed District
Attorney Preston to take whatever ac-
tion he deems proper.
Predict Rigid Quiz.
It is believed. however. that the case
will be prosecuted vigorously. inasmuch
! as the photographs reproduced In the
April Sunset. illustrating a story called
Can the Panama Canal Be Destroyed
from the Air?' were taken from an
aeroplAne The statute covering the
case refers TO photographs taken from
army fortifications. but this Is the first
time any action has been brought under
the act Of 1911 for photographs taken
from the air above the fortihcations
The act provides a penalty OF 81. 900 or
one years imprisonment for disclosure
of military secrets and details OF the
defenses Of this country.
The story printed In the April Sunset
was sensational In character. On the
cover page is shown q picture OF an
aeroplane flying above the Panama Canal.
dropping bombs upon the locks and
fortihcations OF the canal The article
Is written by Riley E. Scott
In a foreword. dwelling largely on the
cover design, the publishers OF the Sun
set, say. in part:
There Is more reality in this painting
than you think. In the first place the
seroplane is sketched from life-from a
Christofferson flying boat of the type
purchased by the Japanese government,
by the way.
Drawn from Life.
Furthermore. the men in the boat are
drawn from life-one OF them Is Christof-
ferson himself. the man who holds the
American record for distance flown IN
one day, and the other is Riley E. Scott,
the man who won all prizes for bomb
dropping in competition with the crack
military aviators OF France, under the
auspices OF the French army. And finally
from an unpublished photograph from
the air taken durind the historic flight
across the Isthmus made by Robert @.
Fowler. the only such flight yet made and
followed by President Wilson'S order for
bidding any repetition"
The first picture illustrating the article
is one of the Noas Islands in the Bay
OF Panama. on which the United States
government is now mounting batteries OF
~. l.. 81.
tect the Pacific and the Panama Canal"
to quote the caption beneath the picture.
The picture also shows the emplacement
for the most powerful weapon ever con-
structsd, the first sixteen-inch disap-
pearing gun. which has an effective range
of twelve miles.
The article says that AN aeroplane in
time Of war might have come from q
hattleship out OF range OF the big guns
flying at a safe height and carrying 200
or more pounds Of high explosives in
stead of a camera. Would not the big
gun be helpless against such q foe?"
Taken from Air.
The photograph was taken by Ray A.
Duhem, from the hydroaeroplane of the
noted aviator. Robert @. Fowler. War
rants have been issued for both.
Among the vulnerable points OF the
planes OF hostile force in time OF war
are a number cited by Sunset, as we'll as
photographs of the fortifications OF San
Francisco Harbor.
Scott, in his article, has this to say Of
the Canals weakness OF defense against
attacks from above:
The most vital and probably the most
points of the Canal are the
great concrete locks which will lift ves- |
sells over the continental divide. They |
are six in number-three at Gatun. about |
eight miles from deep water on the At |
lantic side of the Canal, and three at
the west end of the Culebra Cut, about |
the same distance from the Pacific.
'Gatun Dams most vulnerable point |
outside of the locks is naturally the spill
way-a wier 100 feet long with a slope |
700 feet in width over which the surplus |
water OF the Gatun Lake will flow.
Slides Present Danger.
Immense slides have frequently occurred
n the cut due to the peculiarly unstable
nature OF the soil. which is OF volcanic
orIgin. Also some OF the lower layers
Ire so soft that they have been squeezed
,ut by the weight above. These slides
rave not only greatly interferred with
work, but, 1t is feared, may
embarras the operation of the
anal" .'
All of these points, the writer says.
would be peculiarly easy to attack from
he air
Among the photographs Of army fortif-
ations printed with the article are photo
rraphs of Hunters Point, on the southern
dge OF San Francisco Harbor; Fort Win
Ield Scott, at the narrowest point Of the
iolden Gate; land batteries and mines
n the outer harbor and other locks and
t,fs IN the Canal |