The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-28
Former Officer of British Intelligence
Staff Explains Methods of Carrying
Information to the Kaiser

turppdOes, mines. submarines and guns
that he Is able To recognize any one
of these things at a glance and tell
the particular class and Power which
II represents. d
Further. the naval spy IL aC-
quaintcd with the build and outline of
every class Of naval vessel in the
world. lie is first schoolcd in the
details Of the various hattleships,
cruisers and smaller craft belonging
- the Great Powers and later x
tauGIt "a recognize these vessels 10y
silhouettcs. from which he Fans sur
hcient knowledge to recognize any
ship either ny day or night--asaum-
ing That the night il Of such A char
acter that the ship is at all visible.
He studies uniforms and insignia ~
rank. signals n codes. and at tho
end of his training is a fully qualified
naval officer so far as the theory of
naval matters goes. In the yards of
Wilhclmshaven and Kiel is opportunity
of putting his knowledge to the test,
and he has to satisfy his examiners
IN all the points on which he has been
coached.
Win regard To diplomatic espionage
the coaching bestowed on the Two
branches already mentioned is not
undertaken. for the diplomatic spy
N the narrower sense Of The phrase.
in"e all spies must be extremely dip
lomatiC--is chosen as a rule from
among the ranks of naval and military
spies. In order to undertake diplo-
matte missions, and supplement the
work of the German embassies in tho
various European centres. a spy must
be a very good man indeed. ~ far as
his work is concerned. He must be as
was Sti"her. absolutely ruthless and
without scruplc. he must be a good
linCuist. a man Of good presence and
address n a tactful man as well. The
corps Of diplomatic spies is a small
one. for this work is the best paid Of
all, the most delicate and intimate
of all. and it is not a class OF work
Of which there could even be enough
for a large stan. even in the state OF
European politics that existed at the
outbreak Of this last German war.
since the diplomats Of Germany are
themselves sufficient. as a rule. for all
needs OF this kind. The diplomatic
spy is called in for services which a
diplomat is unable to unde'rlke. and
also as a check on the work Of diplo-
mats: he is. as II were. a member NJ "A
system which assures the efficiency of
the diplomatic system.
lis training lies in the commissions
entrusted to him in military and naval
capacities, ny super-excellence in the
performance of his duties in these de-
partmcnts. he shows himself suifi-
Ciently able n efficient to warrant his
being trusted with less obvious and
moe confidential tasks. He works, as
d. all the members OF the German spy
system. Independently Of all other
workers for the good of the State. For
in every case the spy works alone. lest
in comprising his own downfall ne
should bring about that OF others as
well. This was a principle inaugurat~d
by Sticbcr. who believed in trusting no
man more than was absolutely I'M
a~voidable.
1t must not be thought from these
few details Of the training given to
the official spies Of the German sys-
TEN that every member Of the espion-
age corps is thus trained. Training
such as is detailed here is only for
NV Nlllfi SIlltN, INC IlthtN I1'H WIN
accomplish great things: few mon
could come out satisfactorily from the
examinations set TO these military and
naval spies-few men. hat is, of the
class from which spies are recruited.
The spies at fixed posts" for instance.
get very little training. since their
duties do not involve nearly as much
technical work as do those OF the
travelling members Of the fraternity.
Since much of the total Of about
f7S0,O00 per annum known to be dis
trihuted among the members Of the
German secret service Gin addition to
the probably larger sum OF which no
records are available) goes To the oc-
cupants Of these fixed posts, ii is
obvious that the highly trained SPY
is in the minority. The highly trained
spy. however, forms the nucleus and
head of the system-he is a superior
officer to the liked post man or Ger
nan futon in a foreign family.
In any q of the German spy
system one invariably harks back
to Stieber when passing to a review
uf any fresh branch of the system.
Psychologist as he was, Stieber reCug-
niZed that such a system as he pro-
posed to establish in France prior :
the war OF 1870 could be rendered
more effective II women were en-
ployed in conjunction with men.
Thus he requested that there might be
sent from Prussia to France a certain
| number Of domestic servants, govern
essee, women workers and others
who might by gaining access to the
family life OF the French people pass
on to the fixed agents information
!, which might be useful. Further, he
requisitioned the services Of n smaller
/. number of attractive looking girls
+, who were TO be placed out az har-
maids and in similar positions, where
. they could incite men to ak a little
, too freely for the benefit of the eros
ser General Stab of Berlin. Stieber
reckoned that wonen could learn
/, what men would miss in many cases
-, and the event proved him right.
He was careful. however, o &c
employ his women spies in positions
+, ~ extreme trust, for he had learned
by the time that he was ready &c
!, organize his system that the Prus,
, s!an woman-it is unwise to include
more-was not to he trusted with
a secret. out Of the many failures
. TO be credited to spies most Of al
mainly through the women in pues,
ton having lost control ~ thcil
heads through their hearts and hay.