Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1917-12-21
WORK OF THOSE OFFICIALS WHO
GUARD WASHINGTON HAS
BECOME oNERous.
$4,000 WORKERS. IN CITY
Navy Yards, Bridges, Army Depots,
Capitol Building and All Other Vital
Points Must Be Protected Against
Enemy Vaccinations.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.


The capital of the country is the
largest district thus far set aside as
one in which no alien enemy over the
age of fourteen years may loiter or re-
side.
Perhaps the country has no adequate
conception of the trying work it is
for the government officials to guard
this city against the insidiOus machi
nations and overt acts of men who
would like to see the United States
lose the war in which it is engaged.
and who would stop at no means to
help accomplish such an inglOrious
end. 1t must be remembered that not
I alone must navy yards and bridges and
army depOts and camps be guarded,
but every department of government.
indoors and out, must be sentineled
against the intrusion of the spy and
the dynamiter.
f. SO far as the safety of the country
rs concerned, it is largely connected
with the safety of it's diplomatic and
military secrets. Recently 10000 ad-
ditiOnal workers have come to Wash
1ngton to take places in the depart
mentS of government. There must b.
! added the 10000 workers that were
here before, and so now the agents of
Uncle Sam have intrusted to them the
difficult work of detecting in the null
titude the few men or the women who.
! masquerading as friends, are doing the
enemy's work.
= Money Has Bought Spies.
y 1T has been proved on several Occ1-
, Sions since the United States went to
war with Germany that money has
been used to secure the spying services
of individuals who. because of native
birth or of naturalization, were sup
posed to be loyal to their country
against all temptation. 1t is a COM
paratively easy thing for the authOri-
ties to watch men and women of Ger
man birth because their, naturalization
records tell at once who they are, but
1t is another thing for the authorities
10 be able to determine among the
thousands of Americans of American
Lineage who it is that needs watching.
President Wilson, in one of his ad
dresses to congress, spoke of the dis
cOvery of enemy agents within the Of
fees of government. The peril is
real one, but in considerable part it
was met and overcome so far as resi-
dent WashingtOnians were concerned
prior to the time that the District of
Columbia was declared to be a military
zone but since the first searching and
experimenting process, 10000 additional
persons have come to Washington AMI
have secured government work. The
labor of the detection of disaffected
ones has increased in proportion.
For long time the bridges over the
Potomac river, and certain vital places
i'm the city itself have been guarded by
members of the National Guard. Many
of the public buildings and offices, hsw-
ever, have been entrusted to the care
of privately employed watchmen. These
men were chosen for the work only
latter a rigid investigation.
Vital Places Well Guarded.
1t now has been determined that the
vital places in Washington shall be
guarded by men sworn into the service
of the government as members of the
m;litary forces. Such regulars as can
readily Se obtained will be used and
with them wifi be some of the remain
ing National Guardsmen and beyond
this it is probable that members of the
Home Guard organization will be
pressed into the service. The under
standing is that they will be clad in
the blue uniforms of peace days in the
army.
The capitol has been guarded by
civilianS in the service of the govern
ment ever since that day two years
ago when bomb was exploded in the
hallway leading to the senate cham
Der. Entrance to the capitol has been
obtainable only through two doorways,
one at the house end and the other at
the senate end. The main precaution
taken was to see to it that no person
with a package of any kind was al
lowed within the doors. No ATTEMPT
was made to search individuals who
might enter and in a way the safe
guarding was rather q perfunctory
thing.
Now things have changed and it Is
the intention to station guards in
pretty closely set picket line about the
great building. in the hall and about
iother places which might attract ''the
damaging attention" of cranks, spies
for alien enemies generally.
= New War Councils Plans.
In Washington, as perhaps elseuhere
in the country, the question frequently
in this time of war is Are we getting
the results that we should get from the
ENERGY expended"
OF course coordination is the thing
that is needed and one reason that the
seeming need has not been emphasized
more generally in the press of the
country unQueStionably is that most
of the reporters of the news in this
CITY have feared to overstep the prop
Ter lines of criticism, and moreover
have held themselves up with the buoy
of hope from day to day that coal