New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-11
Magazine Men Charged
with Disclosing Mill
tary Secrets.
PICTURED DEFENCES
FROM AN AEROPLANE
Question of Whether Flying
Over Reservation Is Enter.
ing In" Now Raised.

tor Of "The Sunset Magazine" and for
mer president of the Bohemian Club.
Robert J. Fowler, an aviator; Ray A.
Duhem. a photographer, and Riley A.
Scott, a writer. were issued to-day az
the request of John W. Preston. United
States District Attorney. They arc
/ charged with disclosing military Sc
crets. and the penalty is ten years i'm
prisonment or a $4,000 fine for such
disclosure if made abroad. and one
year or $1,000 fine if made in the
United States.
In April Sunset" published an ar
ticle entitled "Can the Panama Canal
Be Destroyed from the Air." Repro
ductions OF photographs taken from an
acroplane and showing some Of the
fortiications Of the Canal Zone and
Of the San Francisco Preside accom-
panied the text As soon as a copy Of
the number was called TO the attention
Of the War Department it requested
Preston to investigate.
Fields defence was that the photo
graph showed no actual fortifcations
or artillery, but only the emplacement
for a gun and the preliminary work for
a fort. To this Mr. Preston replied:
81 think the case has merit. II has
always been an army regulation with
the force of law forbidding the taxing
cf photographs or views Of the per
manent works of defence, whether m
course of construction or completed.
Ask Indictments To-day.
"By the act Of March 3. 1911, Con-
gress strengthened the regulation. so
that il is now a violation of a plain
statute for civilian to take or pub
lish photographs of any fortifcation,
whether complete or in process of con-
struction. The War Department re-
CARDS the enforcement of this law as
absolutely essential. and my instruc-
tions are emphatic IN this case
At special session OF the federal
grand jury tomorrow the government
will present its evidence against the
0e1pn0Anls anu dSk lOI lIluiNNHlNbNSs
The editorial comment of the maga-
zine on one OF the photographs against
which the War Department particularly
complained was as follows:
This is one Of the most significant
photographs ever published in this
country. Below the acroplane from
which the picture was taken lie the
Naos Islands, in the Bay of Panama,
on which the United States govern
ment IS now mounting batteries OF the
heaviest artillery in the world, to pro-
tect the Pacific approach TO the Panama
Canal.
"On the island. almost directly under
the aeroplane, can be seen the en-
nlacement for the most powerful
weapon ever constructed the first SIX
teen-inch disappearing gun, which has
an effective range OF about twelve
miles.
"Here is the significance Of the
photograph. The aeroplane might have
come in lime Of war from battleship
ont of range Of the big gun, flying at
a safe height and carrying 500 pounds
of high explosive instead OF camera.
Would not the big gun be helpless
against such foe?'
Tho editors 20 on TO describe the
circumstances in which the photograph
was taken and who took IT, ADDING.
shortly afterward President VII
SON issued an executive order forbld-
ding such flights under heavy penslty.
The photographs made on TINS night
are probably the only pictures that
will ever be taken Of the canal from
the air except for purposes OF war
Washington, July 10.-The arrests at
San Francisco to-day marked the be-
Ginning of the first criminal prosecu-
t;ors under the national defence act OF
uo,cb 2 1911. for disclosure OF MILL
tary secrets
New Point Raised.
Tho fact that the pictures complained
of IN this case were taken from All
ooronlarc raises for the first time an
Interesting point Of jurisdiction by the
national authorities over the uPP.i
air and involves decision as 10
whether a person sailing over resi-
yation can be held 10 have unlawiulIy
orterod it, This point is quite as I'M
nortont in a military view as the ri2nt
10 take photographs, because a mil
tarv expert might by merely passing
o,or fortress observe enough 10 en-
ahlo him aftcrward 10 draw an accu-
rate sketch Of the defences.
Tho act provides 81 900 fine or ono
,.oar,s ;mnrisonment for any person
Who. for the purpose OF obtaining IN
formation respecting the national dc-
fcnco TO which he IS not lawfully en-
,;Iod COOS upon any vessel or govern
mont reservation or fort or takes Pho
tocranhs or sketches thereof, or VINO
receives the same, knowing them 10
have been illegally taken. soon aiter
tho defensive works were undertaKch
in the Canal Zone Colonel Gocthals
issued an order prohibiting any person
from entering these dcfcnces or tax
ing sketches or photographs without
permission. fI :,
nocosearv at times to warn some pub
fishers who printed special articles and
pictures dealing with the coast dc
fences of the country, but because the
clement Of intent TO do mischief was
lacking no attempt was made to prose
cute the offenders.
In this instance. however, depart
ment officials pointed out, the publica-
lion specifically directed attention to
alleged shortcomings Of the defence
svstcm Of the Panama Canal. When
,bc magazine reached Washington from
bcadouarters Of the Western DEPART
mcnt Judge Advocate General Crowdcr
decided this WAS case warrhntlng
prosecution, and accordingly the Secrc-
iary forwarded the papers TO the At
torncy General. who caused the arrests.
"DID MRS. CARMAN KILL
MRS. BAiLEY7"
The Brooklyn Sunday Eagle. july 18th
D,n,norrovJ J. viii contain "a special MUS
4. I.r.no.l..IL i1.I IL GIGNln.