The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-26
SPIES NOTIFIED BERLIN AS U. 5.
 FL0TILLA LEFT
Admiral Sims Reports Mines Placed in Path of
 Vessels.

w dSllHSIOI, May A'AAAA0S placed in the path of the American destroyer fleet which recently went abroad because accurate information had been sent to Berlin four days De- fore the arrival of the warships, not on1y that they were on their way, but to what port they were bound.
 Admiral Sims reported this 1nfor-
 nation to the Navy Department yes terday. The port of entrance of the
 destroyers, he says, was mined the day previous to their arrival.
 | No newspaper printed the facts that these destroyers had sailed.
 The information that German spies not only still are at their work in this country. but that they have swift
 and sure means of communicating Americas war secrets to the Father land, is positively known. according to Admiral Sims. His dispatch was not made public, and for obvious reasons nothing will be given out concerning
 how the news came into his posses sion; nor about the precautions which defeated the Germans plans and en- abled the fiotilla to speed safely through the mine field.
 Immediate publicity was given the salient fact, however. to let the people know of the activity and success of
 Teutonic spies, and to emphasize the
 necessity for absolute secrecy in con- nection with naval operations or ship
 ping movements.
 The destroyers now aiding in the
 hunt for submarines in European waters under the direction of Admiral
 Sims, put into port at Queenstown on
 May 16. How long they; were in
 crossing the Atlantic or from what
 port they sailed never has been an-
 nounced, and until word of their arr
 rival came by cable only a few peo- pie in the United States even knew of the governments decision to send warships to Europe. No official would comment on the possible means by which the news was conveyed to Germany. If it did not go from Q. secret wireless plant it must have been carried in some code dispatch that the Allied cable censors passed as innocent. ( The result will be to redouble the vigilance both of the censors and of every agency of the government .en- gagged in rooting out the spy system. Every German known to have been connected with the espionage work of his government already is under ar rest or under surveillance. Other ar rests may follow at any time, and now
 that the country is at war and the revelations of it's secrets may mean death to it's sailors and soldiers, swift punishment undoubtedly will be dealt out to any convicted spy.
 Men now in custody operated when l the United States was neutral. Spy ing now is a very different thing and is likely to lead to hanging instead 1 of to comfortable detention quar- I ters Notwithstanding this the Navy De- partment in a statement given out last night issued the mild warning based
 on Germany's discovery of the sail ing.
 ''The department calls attention to this fact as proof that the German spy system is still at work in this country. making imperative the need of secrecy in connection with our
 naval operations. The premature | ublication of ship movements is par l ticularIy a source of danger.
 .vThe department, while realizing l that newspapers did not give this in- \ formation, would be pleased if the fact were brought to the attention of editors by way of showing what ex- 1 treme care is required in shielding military information from the ene- I my, whether 1t become public through the press or otherwise"