Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-02-26
~. WARRIORS OF THE DARKNESS
Dangerous and IhankeSS
A1-But It's Necessary
By Frederic j. HaSkin
All-But IT. Is Necessary

bases, of supply depots and concealed batteries,
is cleaned from the reports of spies as well
from airplane scouts. Camoufage is ineffective
against the spy.
Men for this work are generally introduced
into the enemy's lines by airplane. A squadron
of planes sets out by night AS soon as the, enemy
is aroused, and hostile planes come up TO give
battle, one plane slips quietly away: Besides the
pilot it carries the spy Flying high in the dark
ness, presently engine is cut off, and the plane
gdes silently down to some lonely landing-place,
selected in daylight scouting operations Here
the spy alights and after giving him time to disap-
pear, the aviator takes the air again rapidly as
may be, to escape before the of the engine be-
trays him. This task of dropping a spy is one OF
the most hazardous that a military aviator must
undertake
But if the aviator is captured, he is only pris-
oner. He may be shot down in rising, and escape
with his life. He is in uniform, officer pris-
Oner of AS for the spy, if he is discovered,
that is the end Of him. He is, of course, man
He speaks the language of the enemy, probably
knows the countryside intimately. He is sup
piled with whatever captured or forged papers
and evidence his super1ors are able to supply. he
may pass for peasant, or even for soldier OF
the enemy. For fixed number of days he will
remain within the hostile lines, seeking for what
ever information has been assigned to him. At
given place and hour, he has rendezvous with
aviator of his own army. Again an airplane
will glide down silently through the darkness, and
if the spy has been lucky he is there to scramble
aboard and be carried back to his own lines If
he does not appear, the aviator returns alone
One or two more trips may be undertaken IN an
attempt to meet the spy If they are unsuccessful
another name is blotted from the list
Strangely enough, it is said that some men
seem to have genuine taste for the perilous life
of the spy in spite of the continual menace of in
glorious death that accompanies it. The centu-
ries of international intrigue which have occupied
Europe have produced class of men more
trained to the business, skilled in its shifts
and expedients. Also, there highly intelligent
men and who have undertaken the work
out of pure devotion to the for which they
fight. The information brought back by a spy
after single successful expedition may be worth
M tO hiE a of
the ranks
The touch of pathos is added to the spy's life
and death by the secrecy which must surround il.
One of the great driving impulses in every human
breast is the natural desire for recognition, for
appreciation of service rendered and reward for
danger defed. The spy must undergo all this. Any
recognition of his success would destroy his fur
Their usefulness, and praise of his services after
his death might imperil his successors. His iden-
tity is usually unknown even to the men who carry
him his mission. His brother may not
know the work in which he is engaged. His fate
is to work in the darkness and die nameIess.
In view of such considerations. it as
though a certain amount of the contempt felt for
the spy may be unmerited. Every nation at
makes of them. American spies may
thousands of American lives by discovering enemy
plans There are spies and spies Besides the
spy who enters a friendly country in peace time.
clOaking his purpose under a garment of hypoc-
gold. there is the who in wartime deliber-
ateIy chooses a perilous life and unmarked
grave out of sheer desire to serve where he do
most good. The stories of most of these men will
be told, their names will never be known.
But their multitudinous subterranean activities
underlie the whole fabric of modern war, and fur
nish one of its most exotic and romantic elements.