The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-06-26
BRITISH CAPITAL
( ALIVE WITH SPIES
Americans Are Warned to Keep
Their Mouths Shut While
Staying in London.
GREAT WHISPERING GALLERY
Women Are Particularly Active In
Seeking Information From Careless
offfcers-StiI' Most cosmopoIi.
tan City In the World.

| tan City In the World.
London.-To young American fight
Ing men, as well as to English, tn
same advice is good-that it is a wis
and patriotic soldier and sailor VIII
keeps his war information to himself
because, despite repeated warnings
about the dangerous habit Of discuss
Ing military and naval matters in pub
lie, London restaurants and hotels are
still full Of chatterers. In the pas,
women have been accused Of being
possessed Of an uncomfortable pas
sion for gossip, but it seems that men
are even worse in this respect.
Some idea Of the danger of random
talk about matters that should be kept
confidential and never discussed in
public may be gathered from the fact
that London is still the most cosmo-
politan city in the world. The West
end is crowded with male and female
adventures from almost every known
country, including Germany, and al
though every one of them would swear
by everything that is holy that they
are longing passionately for an allied
victory, there is little reason to doubt
that some Of them are spies, and many
undoubtedly are potential spies.
! 10 give an example: Only recently
IN one Of London's biggest hotels there
was quite little cluster of Russian
women. They were young and pretty,
had attractive manners, and were not
hampered by any chaperon. So they
soon found admirers in plenty-just
what they were after.
Confined Attention to Officers.
Perhaps there would not have been
anything very strange about this but
for the fact that these young women
confined their attention exclusively to
officers, soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
They invariably turned the cold Shout
der upon civilians, but no sooner did a
strange officer appear in the lounge
than somehow or other they man.
aged to scrape up an acquaintance
with him.
Another curious thing about these
women was that they rarely spoke to
any man for more than 20 minutes
Or half an hour. Perhaps they would
have cup of coffee with him or
smoke cigarette, but in a few min
ties the women made some excuse and
vent away.
Still more suspicious was the fact
hat several of these Russian women
we're seen to be constantly conversing
With young Russian civilian. He
llso was stopping in the hotel and ap-
'eared wherever he was seen with
hem to be cross-examining the women.
Eventually their behavior attract.
d attention, and they were watched.
The next day they disappeared ana
ave not been seen since.
Women Probably Acted Tor Spies.
OF course, it is just possible that
here Is an innocent, or, at any rate,
lausible explanation of these mys-
erious women. On the other hand It
regarded as likely that they were
the pay Of spy organization;
lat their part Of the business was to !
ollect information, which they hand
! over to a master spy, who In his
i'm sifted and checked the data he
'ceived, and then in some way or
her transmitted them to Berlin. Z
Only the other evening two young
lots were dining in restaurant
3ted for it's foreign clientele. They
ere talking loudly and, as is the way
'metimes with young men, somewhat
eedlessly. When, however, woman,
total stranger to both Of them, sit
ng at the next table leaned over and :
id: II wonder if you can tell me
here the - squadron is stationed
wv; I have a friend there" the =
ungsters were shrewd enough to say
ey did not know and started talk
G about theaters. =
There is, Of course, the wise dictum
at "those who talk don't know, and
ose who know don't talk" All the
me it must be remembered that =
'ndon is one great whispering gal
y, and the most casual remark deal :
: with operations in France or else F
lere may be just the final check
lnted by the Germans to verify
st mass of information obtained =
I'm a thousand and one sources. F,