The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-07-29
UNCLE SANS NOTES"
HOW state Messages Are Prepared
and Transmitted.

Writing a note to Germany is one
thing and sending it is another.
Diplomatic notes pass between
one government and another through
channels that are peculiar to state
craft only. They are safeguarded
from prying eyes. handled only by
the most trusted employees, and are
sent between various points in such
complicated code disguise that even
should they fall into improper hands
1t would be practically impossible to
decipher single word.
The correspondence that has been
passing between the United States
and Germany is handled in a manner
typical of all such communications,
with perhaps even more than the
usual rigid care to prevent any leak
age.
"A note in diplomacy is by no
means brief affair. 1t is always sent
by telegraph and in code. When
note goes out from the State depart
ment at Washington it has already
passed through the hands of several
men. In the first place. it has been
prepared in rough form by the presi-
dent himself, at least under his ad-
ministration. In this form it has
been read to the cabinet and discuss
ed. Then the president makes an
exact draft
This is examined by the counselor
of the State department, who may
suggest some verbal changes in order
to bring it into strict conformity With
diplomatic usage. If there are any
changes, they are made with the ap-
proval Of the president, and the last
revision is examined by him.
1T is turned over to the chief
clerk of the State department with in
structions to transmit it. The code
system most commonly employed by
the government involves the use of
numerals, so that when a note is f.
nally in cipher form the message con-
sists of series of figure groups.
I 'The note now being arranged is
!, in series of numerical groups. it
goes through another change. The
figures in each group are transposed
in accordance with a certain key.
This is an additional check against
unauthorized translation. Should a
State department note fall into the
hands of a person who had in some
manner possessed himself of a copy
OF the code, he would still be unable
30 decode it for want Of the key to
the riddle.
"The use of various keys is under
stood by prearrangement between the
department and the ambassadors and
ministers to whom such communica-
tions are sent. The code copies them
selves are kept under lock and key
at the department in the chief clerks
safe.
The code message goes first to
New York, where it is received in the
office Of a cable company. From this
time until it reaches, its destination
1t is in private hands. Under ordi-
nary circumstances there are we'll
defined routes by which messages are
! cabled from the United States to va
rsous parts of Europe. Since the
war, however, some of these routes
have been interrupted and others
changed. The government leaves it
to the company to get the message
to its destination in the most direct
and speedy manner.
In the case of the note of May
f3, the message went first to Rome.
There the apparently meaningless
groups of figures were relayed to
Vienna. From Vienna the message
travelled to Berlin. Italy was at that
time still neutral.
80 Arriving in Berlin. German tele-
graphers receive the arithmetical puz-
zle and turn it over to Ambassador
Gerard. Now the task of DECIDING
the document begins. The\ ambassa-
dor has expert assistants for this pur-
pose, just as in the case of the State
{ department. He also has an identi-
cal set of code books and, further
more, knows the key. The experts
get to work on the task of making
J sense out of tumble of numerals.
Almost invariably his is longer task
than putting message into code, and
it is often subject to delays caused
. by an error in the transmission of a
single figure.
cat last, however. the ambassador
has the note before him in plain Eng
hsh. He may discover, as in the
case of the original note on the Lusi-