The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-07-30

New York.-How the Providence
Journal met guile with guile, and spy
with spy how it had Its man In Bern
storff's own household and its two
wireless stations listening in" on the
German Sayville slime" to Berlin-hoW,
in fact, this one New England newspa-
per for almost three years kept the
United States government Informed Of
the German-Austrian plots in America
has at last been revealed.
John r. Rathom, in speech made
at the convention Of the Canadian
Press association in Toronto, and re-
ported IN the Editor and Publisher
from the Toronto Star, weaves story
of plot and counterpart as remarkable
as any that have come from the pen Of
E. Phillips Oppenheim. And Mr.. Rath-
ON says that he has safe full Of doc
uments yet unused which he will pull
out If the situation ever again requires
1t.
The story bristles with dramatic lit
tie scenes almost unbelievable In hum
drum America. There Is Bernst0rff's
confidential secretary at the last mo-
ment at Halifax revealing himself as
an American. There Is the pretty ste
nographer who sat on the packing box
with Captain Won Papen and made him
write the evidence Of his own guilt.
And through it oil runs the trail Of
the "green blubber," which Is Mr.. Rath-
om's word for the strange "air holes"
in German brains which make them
overlook the most obvious things. We
see the "green blubber" when Van
Horne, the spy, dressed up like a work
man and then rode in Pullman. Fol-
lows, too, the incident Of the foolish
little street car fight that cost Doctor
Albert his famous portfolio Of treach.
erous secrets.
Its 4 Great Story.
It's great story, and greater still IN
its hints of what it might be. Here it
is:
1.-THE Providence Journal" begins
the Editor and Publisher, happened
upon it's course Of exposure through
having had for ten years before the
war what other papers described as a
bug on wireless telegraphy. The pa
per had maintained two powerful wire
less plants at Point Judith and at
Block Island. When war broke out
they had decided to listen in on the
messages crossing the Atlantic. For
five months they kept record Of these
messages, and then they set out to find
the codes and make revelations. OF
the material they secured they used
only a fractional part.
zone Of the newspapers stenogra-
piers was sent and secured an ap-
pOintment In the Austrian consulate In
New York. Other of its workers were
constantly engaged in shadowing Cap
tain Boyd, Captain Won Papen, for
mer Austrian Ambassador Dumba, the
German Ambassador Bernstorff and
other German and Austrian officials.
The two wireless plants increasingly
listened In, two shifts Of operators at
work day and night, on Sayville and
Nantucket, the two wireless stations
which were being used mostly by the
Germans to keep in touch with Berlin,
from where they received instructions
for every detail Of their plotting pol
Icy.
For the United States government
the Brooklyn navy yard had had In
structions to keep close watch on
the Sayville and Nantucket stations,
but nothing suspicious was ever re-
ported until Mr.. Rathom took some
of the messages which he had received
from his operators to the state depart
ment. 1t was then learned that the
navy yard operators had been In the
pay of German agents in America, and
had been told not to hear too much.
Ingenious Codes Used.
"The codes used by the Germans
we're of the most ingenious nature.
Many Of them pretended to be stock
quotations, and some were even done
up as funeral directions. In some
cases. however, the codes showed EVIL.
dence of the screen blubber," referred
to by the speaker, as on one occasion
when Mr.. Rathom was able to 60 to
President Wilson and show him copies
of eight separate messages sent by the
wireless plant within nine days, all
relating that 'little Emily" had died
Of such and such an illness, in certain
Dart of a room, had been buried In
certain cemetery beside such and such
previously deceased relative. In every
one Of these messages the illness, the
part of the room, the name OF the rela-
tive, the cemetery, and so on, varied,
and a clear code was detected In each
of the messages.
Green elubber In Brain.
1.-THE first revelation which Mr..
Rathom told illustrated the German
capacity for laundering. 1t was the
story of Werner Horne-the man who
was responsible for the attempt to
blow up the Vanceboro bridge. Horne
had been detected as German spy by
one of the Journal reporters In New
York. In an effort to disguise himself
Horne allowed his beard to grow for
three days. put on an old suit which he
purchased for three dollars (even this
detail was reported) and packed his
personal effects in an old carpet bag.