Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1918-02-01

the war. Bielaski, in Washington sat at the
center OF the web which covered the nation In
other important cities such as New York Chi
cago, New orleans, there were lesser web CEN
tiers. In the federal building in each important
city was an Office of special agents with group
of operatives which revolyed about IT. In the
smaller centers were single representatives
who could call for 7e-enforcements whenever an
emergency developed. Then there were the free
lances of the service, those who could be shut
tied to whatever point required the attention Of
especially skilled men.
Bielaski is the silent with every mesh of
the web in his sensitive fingers. His career is
one that might we'll be inspiration to any am
bilious youngster He entered the department
of justice ~ years ago a laborer and for
compensation of $500 a year. Soon he was
clerk of special agents, then examiner, a spe-~
cal examiner, an assistant to the attorney gem
eral acting chief and chief of special agents.
This latter post he has held since 1912. These
have been the years during which the newest and
greatest of the governments detective agencies
has been taking definite FORM Bieask has been
molding it.
Then the great war came, and the United States
found itself non-partcipant faced with the ne
cessity of maintaining neutrality within its bor-
ders. Finally this country itself in war and
must combat the much Wanted secret service
of the Germans and must watch those millions
of people living within it's borders that had been
born in enemy countries and whose allegiance
sufficiently in doubt to make their surveil-
lance necessary
During the period Of neutrality scores of un-
pleasant situations arose because of the insist
ence of Germany upon abusing the hospitality of
the United States. Almost the first of these
resulted from plan laid by Capt. Franz Pa
pen, military attache to the German embassy, for
obtaining false passports for the of German
reservists. First through Lieut. Hans Wedell
and later through Ruroede he operated
office in New York which sought to get vagabonds
around the wharfs and cheap boarding houses
and to induce these men to apply to Washington
for passports, which he purchased and used in
returning reservists to Europe. The plan had not
been working long when a special agent from the
New York office the trail He succeeded
in representing himself the proper sort of man
to secure fraudulent passports, and was soon
deep in the confidence of the Germans. Ruroede
was sent to prison; Wede fed but was in
tercepted by the British and imprisoned and the
whole scheme was broken up. Van Papen was
recalled at the request of the state department
because Of improper activities of which this
was but one.
The watchfuness of the special agents evil
denced by the fact that they knew the exact hour
when, on April 10, 1916 Wolf Won Igel had taken
20 pounds of secret papers out of various hiding
places and assembled them for transfer to Wash
ington Won Igel operated from an office at 60
Wall street Though he employee of the
German embassy, there was question as to
whether his papers immune from seizure,
as they would be in the embassy. So he was
making ready to transfer them to unquestioned
safety He claimed that his papers were exempt
from the right of seizure. The German ambas-
sador backed his claim. The special agents adj
mitted that If they official papers of the
embassy they should be returned. They took
them to Washington, where at the state depart
ment they met the German ambassador. Through
long hours of night that official dug through
those papers. They. placed him in a most en-
barrassing position. If he claimed them as state
papers he admitted official part in their reve-
latons If he failed to claim them he left this
discriminating evidence in the hands of the Amer
lean authorities. He decided that the latter
course was the less embarrassing Practically
all the papers were left with the special agents
These papers revealed a degree of scheming and
intrigue against neutral country that is almost
beyond conception.