The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-03-05
GERMAN SPY
SYSTEM IS IN
OLD MEXICO
WARNING SENT OUT FROM WASH
INGTON TO BEWARE OF MIS-
GUIDED PEOPLE
SOCIALISTS ARE HELPING
WELL INTENTIONED PEOPLE UN-
CONSCIOUSLY WORKING FOR
GERMAN INTERESTS

WASHINGTON.-While there are
millions of loyal. German-Americans
in our country, the spy peril is not
an abstract matter, but concrete
every day fact.
The headquarters of the German spy
system at present is in Mexico.
But German spies are not always
Germans, or natives of the other Cen
trail powers, but frequently are sub
jects of neutral countries.
The first line of defense against the
spies is the police force, the letter
carriers and constabulary of city,
county and state.
German spies are not all busy re-
porting war information to their gov
ernment, but many carry on trouble
making propaganda in this country.
Spreading industrial strife and the
poison of discomfort and socialism is
a favorite occupation of German spies
and near-spies.
The Saturday Evening Post says
''What Germany wants is to prevent
labor from keeping on good terms
with capital, to cause endless strikes
and industrial disputes, to spread
germs of discomfort among ship en-
ployes, to carry back and forth tales
of alleged profits and inspire demands
fa, Il i0I 1,o11t11o1 n
tagonisms, cause food panics and food
riots, destroy munition plants and fac
tories-in short, to do everything that
will prevent America from getting to
the allies the ships, food, munitions
and supplies they ned to insure vic
tory.
"To call labor leader pro-German
or an enemy agent is in nine cases
out of ten absolutely wrong. But to
trace the subtle manner in which en-
emy agents have through devious ways
influenced a labor leader to call a
strike just as frequently leads back
to German agents or sympathizers.
with hundreds and thousands of
agents no one can be occupied in
anything that is too trivial some day |
to cause trouble. Enemies are quiet |
ly slipped into the laboring communi-
tics to talk against the employer, to
argue against the war, to call it
rich mans affair and to deplore the
of the workingman.
Capital and labor are hard things
to reconcile in times of peace. NotJ
all industrial discomfort is due to the
war. But true patriotism demands
that both employers and employees
shall be the more careful not to lend
consciously or uncon-
sciously to enemy plots.
Socialism is the best vehicle the
Germans have found. The trend of
the age is socialistic. 1t is SO during
LII wars. Many of the socialist lead
srs are not aware that they are mere
puppets for German agents.
II don't know a single German.
would never listen to one" remarks
IN indignant socialist. "I have be- r
ieved in socialism for 20 years"
"But Mr.. Jones, who has been a
socialist in time of peace and is ex-
lltant over the growth of the move
nent today, does not realize how en- {
my agents have filled the homes of !
American citizens with fallible ar |
.uments about the war and have re- ]
orted even to the districting of COM /
nunities wherein slowly but gradu- 6
lily the seeds of disloyalty have been
own by Americans who believed |
themselves right in their views be- q
ause no dissent or dispute rose from t
ny nearby quarter"