The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-10-12
MUST GO THROUGH
RIGID CRILLINC
Not Permitted to Carry Even a vis-
iting Card; Baggage and Personal
Belongings Thoroughly
Searched by Inspectors
By ED L. KEEN.
Gu. P. staff correspondent

LONDON, Sept 1S.-(By mail. -
The Germans call it Bentheim. Amer
leans recently acquainted with this
frontier town would name it efficiency.
Bentheim is the German gateway
nearest Amsterdam. 1t is there the
anti-spy activities of the German
government are concentrated. The
authorities suspect that most British
spies employ this route. To break up
their work there has been applied to
Bentheim system of inquisition that
convinces the visitor that what he has
read of Teutonic thoroughness was not
exaggerated
Here resume the narrative Of the
American correspondent, who imag-
inatively a pro-German spy. managed
without great deal of difficulty, OF
escape from England.
Having jettisoned in the North Sea
his imaginative cargo of contraband
information and having assumed the
mental attitude of pro-British spy,
the correspondent proceeded to Rot
terdam for the wise OF the German
consul-general on his passport his
first snag
The document bore his photograph
and signature, but wise was refused
until the American consul-general af-
fixed certificate attesting that these
we're actually those of the bearer
Then exhaustive data was required
regarding the purpose of his contem-
plated trip to Berlin, the names of
persons he expected to meet there.
where he would stop, probably how
long, etc, all of which was carefully
recorded in a big ledger.
''You understand, of course" re-
marked the German official. that you
are not permitted to take any written
or printed matter into Germany. Not
even your visiting cards. If you want
TO use them send them on by mail"
Afterward, at Berlin, the corre-
spondent learned the reason. Novels
carried in by travellers had been found
with pin-pricked words here and there;
instructions to British secret agents.
Teutonic officialdom does not over
much to the discretion of subordinates.
If the order had read: ''No printed
matter shall be admitted at the from
tier except what appears after careful
examination to be innocuous," the in
spector might err By banning all
print, Germany takes no chances.
Postal censors are more trusted.
The correspondents visiting cards
reached him day after he got to
Berlin,
His experience at Bentheim re-
minded the male-believe spy of that
at Tnbury-it was so different. In
stead of the six verbal examiners thero
was only one; but he was more in
quisitive and suspicious than all the
Englishmen put together. In minute
detail the traveller had to give the
reasons for his journey, also sundry
secrets OF his past. Time and again
the questioner reverted to matters
previously covered, to trap the sus-
pect. For fifteen minutes he scrut-
.nigsd the passport. meantime firing
questions.
incidentally, he endeayored to ex-
tract little military information.
What about the last Zeppelin raid
over London? How badly was Vic
toria station damagedg Did you see
the Zepplins yourself?" etc.
The spondent-neutral in real
ity and pro-British spy by pretense
-side-stepped He hadn't heard be-
fore that Victoria station had been
hombed-nes since-nis lack Of
knowledge Of Zeppelin raids was pitt
ful
Even more thorough was the bag
gage examination A lieutenant be-
hind the counter directed operations.