The Raymer enterprise., 1918-01-31

II
- peace; there was hardly man
who had ever matched wits with
the foreign government experts
Inc story of how this menace was met can as
yet be told only in part. But not the least in
feresting part concerns the men who have
done the work.
Chief OF the weapons which were at hand was
the secret service Of the department Of justice
Its agents were an unobtrusvely efficient lot, but
woefuly small In numbers and, for the most
part, inexperienced in international affairs
white slaves and predatory business had been
their chief game. The even smaller force Of
the treasury secret service was almost fully oc-
cupied with Its routine duties of guarding the
currency and the presidents lfe 1t, too has
rendered amazing service against the spies, but
upon the department of justice agents fell the
chief burden.
They were called upon to match the craft
the experience and the ruthlessness of the keen
est OF German spies. who were backed by a
renowned secret service organization and unm-
ited funds
Their chief, the man who had developed the
government detective force who had laid the
Foundation for an extensive, loosely geared, even
running mechanism, and who promptly assem-
bled It when the need came, is Alexander Bruce
Bieaski (''Home Run" Bleaski they called him
In his high school days). He entered the depart
ment a dozen years ago, when the development
Of bureau of investigation to handle secret
work for which no other provision had been made
was started.
This bureau was commissioned to wreste with
violations of neutrality, with those Of the nation
al banking laws. with antitrust cases, bucket
shop cases. white slave" cases; 1t was to prose-
cute those who impersonate an officer of the
government, to pursue those who flee the coun-
try and seek to evade the long arm of the federal
law.
There were already several detective agencies
In the government, each created for specific pur-
pose and limited by law In Its operations For In
stance, there was the secret service In the treas
ury department. There were customs agents to
prevent smuggling, land agents to protect the
public domain, post Office inspectors to make
difficult the misuse of the mails. But the special
agents of the department Of justice had a field
many times broad as that occupied by any other
detective agency. One phase Of its work alone
that of circumventing violations Of neutrality
became herculean task when the war broke.
The department of justice refused to follow
precedent In its creation of detective agency. 1t
built staff of operatives that was new thing In
the field of detective work. In doing 30 1t made
brains Its first requisite of selection Of men and
held that education was developer Of brains.
The youngsters of this service have succeeded
where veteran police have failed Every case an
operative undertakes is an entirely new problem,
In which his past experience is by no means an
infallible guide 1t needs brains and initiative.
Young agent of the bureau of investigation,
formerly a salesman for wholesale grocer went
into the Alleghenles on his first case and cleaned
up nest of moonshIners that had defed local
authorities and United States marshas for years.
Another of these men worked as laborer on the
docks of New Orleans and found out the meth
ods employed by the sugar samplers In 30 grad
inr imported cnrgoes that the loss to the govern
ment was hundreds of thousands In duties every
year. Still another "roped In" with Mexican
revolutionists In FL Paso.
CHE Importance of the work Of these special
ageE-..-ssaAy be measured by an account OF the
circ,N Eances back Of the seizure Of the port Of
yerax sin April 1914. and the part played In
that sby one Of those ingenious men, 1t
was some months before that event that huge
bearded Russian attracted the attention OF
house detective In a New York hotel BY the DIS
play of a draft for 100000 signed BY President
Uuerta of Mexico The house detective tele-
nhoned the special agents, who watched the opera
tions of the Russian.
That individual bought firearms and ammuni-
tIon In sufficient quantities to load ship II
was the business Of the government to see to
II that he did not send this to Mexico, as there
was an embargo on firearms to that country. The
ship, however, cleared for Odessa. Russia, and the
sncclal agents traced It to that point and wit
messed the refusal Of the Russian government to
allow the ammunition to be landed, because OF
feor thot IT was to be used by revolutlonsts
rhey saw the ship again traverse the Mediterra
mean and unload its cargo at Hamburg. The
snecial agents noted. however. that the Russian
Ind disappeared. and suspected that he was more
Iovol TO his own pocket than to the Mexican
government.
The ammunition was reshipped from Hamburg
n Vera Cruz, As 1t approached the latter port
the United States, under the influence OF the In
formation furnished by Its special agents, entered
md seized the port that Huerta might not get