Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-05
ALL Is NOT LOST!
NAVY CODE SAFE, BUT
SIGNAL BOOK IS COM
"Mischievous," Say Officers !.
Mishap in Pacific Fleet,
But 1t Won't Be
Fatal"
MYSTERIES OF ConEo

u - GlNlEo VI CODES
! What would happen If the United s,...
! went to war on Monday, and II vvas s,'ss
| denly realized that on Sunday the anss
! had possession OF the secret code ~ N
navy-realized too later Too late fos tse sae
| enemy would at once use the code w . .ne
! the Atlantic fleet to Greenland ana ~
| Pacific fleet to Alaska and thev ,,osI, wy
nave gone, leaving both coasts unpra,
| tected. p'o'
For theirs not to reason whv ,h.t
not to make reply, theirs but to do wS.,
| they're told and let the nation die W y
| the rule of obedience that is as rnucb ~, =
rule today as II was at Balaklava. e. Y.
Is important that the secret code NJ ~
navy be not lost. "e
And for one terrible moment the ON.
day, the Navy Department though ~
secret code had been lost! And found ~
| enemy For while there is no enS,1s ~
strictly speaking, there Is always
theoretiC enemy. The theoretic cnen, ~
any other nation, for every War sss., =
tary in the world treasures the secret !,
every other War Secretary as he yvo,,i
his own. He treasures them more tb.s
his own and sometimes pays gold 10 ans
one mean enough to sell other peonls,,
secrets to him.
But after that terrible moment of On.
pense there came the news, to the eres,
relief of our Navy Department, that
wasn't the navy's secret code that wa,
lost, but only the battle signal book
InIt ina Was not SO PAD. ferpIeXing.' said
i,tNaI omicers Stationed IN thls city today
"eXasperating," they grunted, but "no,
fatal"
SECRET CODE" REALLY SECRET
Tho "socrot codo" ,nd ,,o ,ra.,I.
,,,i hooI,I, ,ier ua'ue sls'
though the dispatches from San Fran.
CIsco S itI',s uuout me Toss Oh the book
rom lne toipeuopoat destroyer Hun used
tne uerilis i,'ter 81, rchanS Seapy. me secret
eoue @ ,aoou. .''e o,iy tni.s III this free
Eou,It'y army anu navy tnat IS secret
- lHe couc Wy "t@iIcIl @ al! u,Spatches iron
shIP W Sihp vi iroil Statioh 10 snip OF
i'oth S'"''o" W @'"t'''' are sent
It is known to only two officers on each
warship-the commanding officer and he
executive officer. 1t is kept in a safe IN
the cabin under lock and key. and Irs
worth your life to go peeping at II II you
are not one of those two aforesaid officers
This was not what was lost ON IN,
Hull 1t was the battle signal book
that was lost Every officer on ever
ship has one of those. The book Is used
to direct the movements of ships In bat
tie or in maneuvers and to signal to each /
other. 1t is not used in the very impor
tant directions that come to and from
admirals and Secretaries of the Nav
directing major movements of the fleets
However, the lieutenant and ensign ia
charge of the Hull are reported to Raw
been ordered to Mare Island for court.
martial. The lost book will be replaced
by n new set of signals, which must "a
place the similar book in every shin n
the service.
-
lhiCNhD bhll 1911 ADhihAh
What happens when a navy's secret
code" is lost was demonstrated In th
trick played upon the British shortly aftet <
the beginning of the war. If any nations
secret code were to get into the hands
OF the enemy, of course 1t would be Eng
lands. And the Germans got hold Of
England's naVy's secret code. That was
minor detail for the German spy ss-
tenn. The Kaiser would have been bq'
oughly dissusted II all qf england, sda
codes were not always IN MS hands Thai
was mere detail which German seeEe
agent would not have dreamed or oSet
LOOKING
Now, the Goeben and the Breslau, Ger
man cruisers. were bottled up in ths
Straits of Messina by the British Ned
tcrranean squadron. commanded by Al
miral Il. c. T. Troubridge. The Admira
was sitting in his cabin one fine day
when an officer came to the door ana
saluted The Admiral received from nh
hand a message, which had come by wlre
less lie solemnly opened the messass
whlch read:
ferinit the Ioepeh ana tnc e bIeS'au ~.
eepart at once 10 ilot r"o.uie ,.1..H u''
90 nte ~ HsSo'! p,,t there a
no doubt about the import of the mes
sage. for when the Goeben and the Bres
lau steamed out from the Straits Oh ass
sina the English dogs OF war let usin
go, while all the world wondered
Iheh London sent loT Aulliral i,v ~
prldse lie leit ueeplS hoIoreu , its isasN
poeI io,s III 'ue az .doai,,e cam.
Was n'sn 1iiilJ ''i3I ne Slou I,ni,sSoJ IN m,
/, Slshal re"aIu' ne nau Loi'' III tha ,ray
s t,anu'e ot t,,u p,s irVl,t Goinrttn "oT % and h
.,o to hn riaceJ in charge Of he
Heets