The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-08-11

49, - NlA~' - fNA ~ 49,
old as war itself. The mod
ern German elaboration of
- espionage, in time Of peace
@ a 8s %i5l as as veli T as ea e@Sas
p is rather a reversion to type
EI than a step in progress, says
49, a writer in the Philadelphia
Record. Joshua and Solomon employed
spies. The Hebrew peregrinations to
reach the promised land required infor-
nation concerning regions and peoples
to be invaded. One Caleb was the chief
spy of a corps that was sent to learn
of the fertility and the military
strength of the land Of Canaan. After
40 days of espionage they reported
that it was a land of milk and honey
and fruit, but that the cities were for
titled and the people were strong, some
of them being giants.
The Greeks rather prided themselves
on the c%leverness of their spies.
The Romans, If we are to take their
STOPPING to the baseness Of common
spying or studied treachery of any sort.
When Abraham Lincoln, president
elect, in his address on Washington's
birthday, 1861, at Independence hall, in
reply to the mayor of Philadelphia,
limited In a single clause that he might
not live to be i~naugurated, he had been
informed, through John Allen Pinker-
ton, of the plot to take his life at Bal
timOre. He left on an earlier train,
and did not stop at that city. The
United States at that time had no Sc
cret service organization. But q sys-
TEN for obtaining military informa-
ton in the Southern states was estab-
lished early in the wal by General Nc
Clellan, and from this developed the
federal secret service, which was
throughout the war in charge Of the
original PinkertOn under the name OF
Maj. E. j. Allen.
Americas Secret Service.
Pinkerton, gaining some reputation
by running down a gang of counter
~feiters, had been appointed deput!
sheriff Of Cook county, Illinois, will
offices in Chicago. He won more fam
by getting the thieves and nearly al
the loot of a 100000 theft from tn
safes of the Adams Express company
In 1852 he established the Pinkertol
National Detective agency. And per
haps 1t Is only just to say that Pinker
ton saved Lincoln for the p%reSidenc!
and thereby saved the Union.
Important figures in the secret serv
ice work of the Civil wal were news
paper reporters, scouts and women
The newspaper men did not have thu
semioficial and perfunctory status tina.
they have in this war. They had t.
assume the DISCUSSES and %pretenses o.
real spies to get material they were
supposed to get, and then send 1T I'm
inspired and also u~ncensored. The.
were frequently arrested and impris
oned and took many Of the same risk.
that the military spies did. This wa!
especially true of the early part of tn,
war, and the seeding period proceed
ing, when they followed the movement
leading to the war and mingled witt
legislators at the Southern capitals
Scouts, who are ordinarily in uniform
and treated as regular prisoners o
war when captured, did much servic
under such commanders as Mosby an,
Young quite after the manner Of spies
and they were hanged when caught
The most notable female spies wer
not professional secret service agents
but were residing in one section an
holding their %sympathies with the 9th
er, and acted primarily through stroni
patriotic motives.
In~efficieney During Civil War.
Besides the spy activities at home
the Confederate states had an impor
tant secret service work In Europe
English sympathy was enlisted or thei
side, arrangements were made TO
building cruisers at Bordeaux, Englisl
i~ronworkers were sent to the South.
When the army of the Potomac, aft
err long delay and preparation, begal
its advance in October, 1851, McClel
lan's orders had been given In entir
ignorance of the topography of the en-
virons of Edwards Ferry (all the map
being inexact), and of the force of tn,
enemy in front of Leesburg. In spit
of the efforts of PinkertOn, at tina
time the secret service organization
was entirely inefficient. Fighting unit
thought to be within supporting dis
lance of each other were crushed with
out the knowledge of the intended sup
porters. The South had the advantag
of familiarity with their WI country
There were no airplanes to guide tn