The Washington herald., 1914-05-24

II
ward deck, on huge temporary plat
form OF timbers, were disposed over a
hundred mines. These mine, were for
the defense of the Golden Gate. Anv
one of these mines was capable of d.
stroying a dozen battleships, and there
were over a hundred mines. The de-
struction was terrific, but II was onIv
Gluck's overture. He PLAYED his faxbc,
down the Mare Island shore blow;no
up five torpedo boats, the torpedo eta.
tion and the great magazine at IN. East.
ern end of the island. Returning west.
ward again, and scoopins in occasional
isolated magazines on the high ground
back from the shore, he blew up three
cruisers and the battleships Oregon.
Delaware, New Hampshire, and Florida
the latter had just gone into dry dock.
and the magnificent dry dock was de-
stroyed along with her.
It was frightful catastrophe, and ,
shiyer of horror passed through IN,
land. But il was nothing to what wa,
to follow. In the late fall of that wear.
Emil Gluck made clean sweep Of the
Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Flor.
ida. Nothing escaped Forts. mines
coast defenses of all sort, torpedo sta.
tons, magazines-everything went 10.
Three months sfterward, in nidvinter
he smote the north shore of the Medi.
terranean from Gibraltar to Greece in
the same stupefying manner. A wall
went up from the nations. 1t was clea,
that human agency was behind all this
destruction, and it was equally clear.
because of Emil Gluck's impsrtiaIitv
that the destruction was not the work
OF any particular nation. One thing wa,
patent, namely. that whoever was the
human behind it all. that human was a
menace to the world. No nation wa,
safe. There was no defense against
TINS unknown and all-powerful foe.
warfare was futile-nay, not merely
futile, but itself the very essence of the
peril dor twelvemonth the manufac-
ture OF powder ceased and all soldiers
and sailors were withdrawn from all
fortihcations and war vessels. And even
a world disarmament was seriously con-
sidered at convention of the powers
held at The Hague at that time.
And then Silas Bannerman, A Secret
Service agent of the United State.
leaped into world fame by the arres, of
Emil Gluck. At first Bannerman wac
laughed at. but he had prepared his case
well, and in a few weeks the most skro-
teal were convinced of Emil CIuck'.
guilt. The one thing, however that
Silas Bannerman never succeeded IN ex.
planning. even to his own satisfaction.
was how first he came to connect GiucIs
with the strocious crimes. II is true.
Bannerman was in Vallejo on secret
government business at the time of the
n dAcs~ II Il
true that on the streets of Vallejo Emil
Gluck was pointed out to him as a queer
crank; but no impression was made at
the time. 1t was not until afterward.
when on vacation in the Rocky Noun
talns. and when reading the first pub
lished reports of the destruction along
the Atlantic coast. that suddenly BAN
herman thought of Emil Gluck. And
on the instant there flashed into his
mind the connection between Gluck and
the destruction 1t was only an hypothe-
sis, but it was sufficient The great
thing was the conception of the hypothe-
Sis, in itself an act of unconscious cere-
bration-a thing as unaccountable at the
flashing. for instance, into Newton's
mind of the principle of gravitation.
The rest was easy. Where was Gluck
at the time of the destruction along the
Atlantic seaboard" was the question
that formed in Bannerman's mind By
his own request he was put upon the
case In no time he ascertained that
Gluck had himself been up and down the
Atlantic coast in the late fall of 1910.
Also he ascertained that Gluck had been
in New York City during the epidemic
OF the shooting of police officers.
Where was Chuck now?" was Banner
mans next query. And as if in answer
came the wholesale destruction along the
Mediterranean. Gluck had sailed for
Europe month before. Bannerman
knew that. It was not necessary for
bannerman to go to Europe. By means
OF cable messages and the cooperation
OF the European secret services, he
traced Gluck's course along the Medi-
terranean and found that in every in
stance it conceded with the blowing up
OF coast defenses and ships. Also, he
learned that Gluck had Just sailed on
the Green Star liner Plutonic for the
United States.
The case was complete in Banner
mans mind, though in the interval OF
waiting he worked up the details. In
this he was ably assisted by George
Brown, an operator employed by the
Wood System of Wireless Telegraphy.
When the Plutonic arrived off Sandy
Hook, she was boarded by Bannerman
from government tug and Emil Gluck
was made prisoner. The trial and the
confession followed. In the confession,
Gluck professed regret only for one
thing, namely, that he had taken his
time. As he said, had he dreamed that
he was ever to be discovered. he would
have worked more rapidly and accom-
plished thousand times the destruc.
ton he did.
His secret died with him, though It Is
now known that the French government
managed to get access to him and Of
fered him a billion francs for the in
vention, wherewith he was able to direct
at pleasure and closely to confine cleo
trio discharges.
WHAT" was Glucks reply. To sell
to you that which would enable you to
enslave and maltreat suffering hu-
manity:"
And though the war departments OF
the nations have continued to experi>
ment in their secret laboratories, they
have so far failed to light upon the
slightest trace of the secret.
Emil Gluck was executed on Decem-
Der 4, Io4I, and so died, at the age OF
forty-six, one OF the worlds most un-
0f trer,srd