The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-07-11
LORD NORTHCLTFFE TELLS OF
OPERATION OF GERMAN
,f AGENTS.
lmVorsans War News Sent To Ger
nAay by Cable Messages and Let
tegs Through Neutral Countries
6srtcs and Alert Censorship Neccs-

" - anu csnsorsntp madc TO the
Natlonsl Press club July 4. lie de-
scrshsd shs work of spies In England
and the Mood OF fatal Information that
pour over the cables through neutral
cesatrtss - Germany and spoke Of
The dAnesrs ox any except technical
military and naval censorship of the
, pfvA Only or' two occasions In the
lase month. Lord Northclfre said. had
he sen anything Published In Amer
tcdn nswspapsrs that might have been
of value 10 the enemy. The address
follows:
v What does not yet seem to be un-
dsrsesod here. nnd what we did not
undsrstand at the beginning OF the
var. b that the really deadly high ex-
plesivs news is not newspaper news.
but tho W sent out by spies In code
10 neutral countries for transmission
60 Germany.
Admitted that tho task OF examin-
Ing hundreds of thousands OF cables a
day - dimcuit and costly. admitted
that Keen brains are here In abund-
sncs. and the outgoing CAT lss can cas-.
ily b cordinated SO that all cables
addrssssd TO the same names abroad
and even 10 the same towns abroad
come under tho Sss OF the same GEN.
sor. week after week. Il is by means
q chsehins back cables addressed
I'm Dneiand to neutral countries
q We have caught many Of our
Qt 4 not difncult for spts to get
ra- fheiP task n the delivery Of
M goods and or that task they con-
-UoAt7sts. 9-i.---..---- 1. ~ -l-.-.l.---. -.
Nov that ocean travel has become
- dineult. now that the British mail
csnser has perfected his methods. tho
enemy spy working I'm your midst is
thrown hack entirely on the cable and
one or two steamer routes.
II do not know whether you have q
mall censorship on letters to Spain.
hut venture to think that II you have
not and start openIng letters to that
country you will ret IN rich a haul OF
Information as our secret service de-
partment ala out of the censoring of
American letters TO Europe.
The cable censor must be remorse-
icss if he finds constant domestic tele-
grams going To one particular place.
AZ the risk of disturbing happy
homes he must hold up or destroy
: the cables A world OF meaning can
be concealed behind the words Moth
er hotter or Mother going to sea-
shore Many complaints will come
from business men as to detention of
their messages. but business men of
standing can easily satisfy the cable
authorities.
I'VE I'm England were loath to be-
Hove In tho existence of an extensive
German spy system In our midst until
! Strange happenings by land and sea
proved that their SPY preparations.
nrmIy established I'm England years
'bsfors the war. were just as efficient
- all their other preparations.
Tho German spies are divided into
nvs or six classes. working independ-
entity OF each other.
There In the business spy. who's
WORK is the gathering OF information
personal and otherwise. An establish
mcat called schimmei Pfennings .
opened up In England. purporting to
. be somethips like Bradstreet's OF
Dunn's. but really with the object OF
sscertaining the capacity for making
guns. munitions and whatnot of every
plant I'm England.
"A second form of spying was or
ganized by the Germ an consuls IN
Great Britain who coll lected informa-
fion by means OF hotel walters. bar
hers. COVE nesses and domestic ser.
wants. to whom they paid compara-
lively small sums monthly.
I'm naval and military towns the
, German government provided Ger
mans with capital with which to oper.
and purchase hotels. All this was
done through the consuls.
Then there was a series Of spies
organized by the famous department
which had Its headquarters In Brus-
sells. These were spies who moved
about In good social circles. picking
mp Information. When II came to pick
Ing up information as 10 British psy-
cholegy they got II all wrong. for II
has been notorious that. almost with