Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-02-13

German government received informa-
ton that German reserv.sts or others
were ready to undertake dangerous
missions Koenig is asserted to have
been the man who received the names
of these persons and through various
assistants finally got in touch with
them and assigned them to work.
But KoeniR was distinctively Ger
man. He habitually recorded every
piece of work he did and every dol
lar he expended. That is the reason
why the United States government
knows so much about his methods. In
notebooks, which he kept and which
were seized when the federal authori-
ties arrested him and raided his office
and his home he kept a diary of his
work and wrote the names of his agents.
From a study of these books it
seems that the agents employed by
him had names and numbers.
Numbers Changed at Intervals.
These numbers were changed at
regular intervals and a system of pro-
gression was worked out by which the
agent knew that on certain days his
name was changed or his number
leaped by tens or hundreds. Likewise
these men had codes for writing let
tiers and for telephone communication
and they knew that on fixed days these
codes changed. Koenig had the i'm
preston that his telephone wire was
tapped and that he was overheard
when he spoke over the telephone. Ac-
| cordngly, he had instructed his men
in various code words. For instance,
if he told an agent to meet him at 3
O'Clock at South Ferry. that meant:
Meet me at I. o'clock at Forty second
street and Broadway"
And Koenig trusted no man. He
never sent an agent out on a job with
out detailing another man to follow
that man and report back to him the
movements of the agent and the per-
son whom that man met. Likewise,
he never went out by day without as
signing Mt least one man to follow
| kim and to make sure that no detec-
tive or federal investigator was on the
trail At night he had at least two
men shadowing him. on the lookout
for any person who might be on his
| trail
| Accordingly, when the authorities
decided to shadow Koenig they found
difficult task before them, and 1t
became necessary to evolve new sys-
tenn of shadowing by which the real
shadow was constantly in advance of
Koenig in the street This method re-
quired at least two men back of koe-
/ mig and his back shadow who by a
system of signals kept the detective
in advance informed of Koenig's ap-
parent plans.
| But il never was possible to over
hear any conversation between Koenig
and any man to whom he was giving
instructions. koenig always made 1t a
point to meet his agents-some of his
workers he never permitted to meet
him at all-in the open, in parks in
broad daylight, in the Pennsylvania
station or the Grand Central station.
There, as he talked TO them. he could
make sure that nobody was caves
dropping In the open he met many a
man for the first time, talked with
him and then said:
BE at Third avenue and Fifty ninth
street at $3.50 tomorrow afternoon be-
side a public telephone booth there.
When the telephone rings you answer
it"
The man would obey the request.
Promptly at the minute named the
telephone rang and the man answered
the telephone. A strange voice spoke
to him and told him to do certain
things. perhaps to be at a similar place
on the following day and receive a
message, or he would receive instruc-
tons as to what he should do and
where he should go to meet another
man. who would give him money and
instructions as to what he should do.
The voice at the other end of the wire
was speaking from a public telephone
booth and was making sure also that