Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-10-13

PARIS, Oct 13.-The discrimina-
ton with which the Germans dis
tributed war fines and acquisitions
in the towns they occupied in Bel
GUM and Northern France and the
precision with which they chose the
most solvent citizens as hostages
have been a surprise, but when the
details became known the facts car
ried their explanation with them.
For instance, the first detachment of
Uhlans that entered the city of Lille
was guided by man who had left
his job as superintendent of an i'm
portant factory in the city to re-
join his regiment.
At scissors, when objections were
raised to the exacting proportions of
the acquisitions, the commanding Of
ficer called his aid, who turned out
to be o well-known business man Of
the town, who, of course, knew Its
resources thoroughly.
You see," said the officer, point
ing to the aide, there's no use re-
sisting; we are posted by someone
who knows"
Similar instances were reported
from Belgium, showing that every
inch of the ground had been care
fully studied; the ready money in
every town estimated every suitable
horse and every ton of hay located,
and the plans of every bridge drawn
up. In France their statistics went
SO far as to show how many bottles
of wine might be exacted in each To-
cality.
Know Better Than Won Moltke Did.
Bismarck knew two years before
the war of 1870 all that was going
on in France, and among his in
formers was no less a parsonage than
the present German chief of staff.
Won Moltke. 1t is doubtful. however,
whether his information was as COM
plete as that possessed by the Ger
man general staff today. Probably
no army ever had the benefit of so
far-reaching system of secret SER
vice as that which the Germans have
developed in France.
There is nothing particular
ly new in the strategems
employed by the German
spies, but the patience, thoroughness
and hardihood with which they have
worked are worthy of note. The re-
ports of the siege of Maubeuge have
demonstrated how the great German
mortars could Immediately be put
into action on arrival, thanks to con-
crete foundations prepared months, II
not years, in advance In the yards of
a German factory.
The land on which this factory was
built was purchased by the Krupps
a go-between. The sale
caused some talk at the time, but ti,a
matter was forgotten until the fall of
recalled the circumstances
". .s~A g. s,Hsr
fully taken in advance, and the Ger
mans had in addition the benefit of
complete underground telephone sys-
tenn, by which spies posted at one end
could inform the battery as to the
exact result of every shot. In con-
nection with the deposits of arms and
uniforms in the establishments of
German merchants in Antwerp, this
confirms how thorough were the prep
arations..
Studied Topography of Battlefield.
As long ago as 1887 the topography
of the region in which the battle of
the Marine was fought was carefully
studied by a company of spies, who
presented themselves even at the
mayors offices and at the procedures
as engineers studying the ground for
new railway lines, They got all the
information they wanted. When 1t
was discovered that the projected
railway lines were myths, 1t was too
late
They employed supposed. artists to
sketch Notifications and supposed
fishermen to take the depths of
streams. There is probably not a
fort in France that the Germans don't
know as we'll as the French, and 1t is
quite possible that there are rieer